Inspired
I am setting aside time on Wednesdays to study the Word, pray, and read. Every few months I visit Ron Cole's Blog. Each time I do I find myself confronted, inspired, and occasionally confused... but it's so good for me (thanks Ron). I just read an article that Ron highlited called; "the iGen manifesto" by Rex Miller. This is my first exposure to him as an author, but I like what I read. It's all about this generation's uniqueness, and how it relates to church. Read the full article here. He proposes a list of distinctives that help us understand the culture of this generation. I'd love to read your thoughts on them...
Every revolution needs a manifesto. Here are opening salvos for the iGen Manifesto. But Web 2.0 is collaborative, so I expect to see many additions to the Manifesto. Check out these first 11 items, and see if you can add to them:
We expect content on demand! Access to plentiful, accessible content—when, where and how we want it.
We expect Open Source resources! Content needs to be readily available to rip, mix and burn for novel use.
Amateurs are cool, professionals are old school. The root word for amateur is “to love.” Amateurs play because of their passion, not because of their position. Content is easy—passion is rare.
We expect a Participation Context in every phase of church life. We, the congregation, want to co-create our experience. “Let everyone come with a psalm and hymn and a spiritual song.”
We want a Platform for involvement not a viewer’s forum. We want church transformed from a place of attraction and content transfer to a platform of resources to connect, create and grow.
We do not need more content—we need more Mentors! We want leaders to shift from being prime movers and “franchise” attractions to mentors and catalysts—this was once called “servant-leadership.”
We want contexts for social networking and a radical shift away from the current activity machine. We want church to be more like an extended family and open bazaar of exchange and service to one-another.
We want to redefine the local church as the local church! We want to see ourselves as one congregation interconnected and interdependent with the other congregations in our community.
We want to talk and act globally not as though there were three separate worlds (the good people, the communists and those poor developing countries).
We want to see artificial boundaries dissolve and a convergence of church, charity, community and commerce.
We are the Long Tail. We want to be taken off the shelf and to make a difference. We want to move away from a mass-market approach.
What could church look like? Seriously I want you to dream with me, and help build it!
posted by Rob Petkau at 1:12 PM
9 Comments:
One word Rob: Community.
I don't think community can be explained in one word anymore.
Mentor-leaders not leaders who mentor... realness in leadership not leaders "keeping it real"... pure dirt not drycleaned crap... effort not perfection... honesty not impression... heart not hands... see not tell
Wow...as it was so well spoken in song...it's time to "smell the colour nine."
Am I ready for this...? probably not...but somehow I think the planet is...and so is...Jesus.
I gave the article a quick glance over I can't look at a computer screen right now as my head tends to hurt more when I do, but what I got from it seems to be that we need to be real with people. We need to stop taking stuff out of a box and applying it to church or worse yet trying to take the people from our church and shove them into what ever box they fit in.
I like the web 2.0 concept as we are now seeing people become alot more personal with how they express themselves on the internet. Could we create an interactive site something like a Christian "wikipedia"? ... Allowing Christians to come together and post there beliefs and work together to understand what the iGeneration's influence on the world could be! As long as it is made clear that the Bible is the final say and that interpretation must be developed in a proper context.
We could have Pastors posting sermons and having the congregation go through what has been presented, ask questions, give feedback, add insight...
confronted, inspired, and occasionally confused...Hmmm, we're in great company Rob.
I love your dream Rob...the idea of expectation and want. I was thinking of the reality of disciples of Jesus. We want to be disciples, but, we expect to achieve it without " discipline."
I also want to see a church that sees the potential in women...to se them released as leaders and teachers.
I want a church that resembles the wild radical revoltionary imagination of Christ...the church that turns the world upside down and reveals the Kingdom. Lets step into our dreams and make them reality. Awesome post Rob.
Preach it brothas!!!
Dream it Ron!
For the Cause
I want Jesus.
I want to see his power running through our hands, flooding from the well of our spirits and flashing through our veins - pouring out from our fingertips. Lives are changed. (Good news for the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, release the oppressed).
I want to see a people with eyes like fire, the blazing image of heaven burnt deep within. You can't mistake us. Swords are ready - double-edged and spilling from our mouths. This is it. We see what is.
We are dressed in His glory. Sanctified by His truth. Protected by His name, and the power within. Christ in us. We stand one, united, just as He is.
We are alive. Nourished by the Word. Seeing, we eat, taste (the Lord is good), crave, and long after it like Ezekiel and His scroll. Like the honey from the comb.
We are the church (ecclesia), and our hearts make home beyond. And in every sleeping waking moment our knees are bowed at His feet and hearts humbled at the chilling warmth of His glory as our eyes lock relentlessly with those of the most passionate Lover this world has ever known.
Let it be.
Hey Anonymous- I like your vision and your reminder to the grand picture. Let's not loose sight of it. That's huge. So excuse me if it seems like im backing up to an earthly outlook.
I remember hearing that stat that said some huge amount of post-secondary attenders will quit church upon entry into the world of young adults.
Who would have thought I'd be sitting at the edge of becoming a part of that stat today.
Although I may have some problems with the "institutionalized church" let's not focus on that. There's clearly great God seeking people who hold up that institution on thier shoulders and I don't want to seem like I'm knocking them down by saying I don't like what they do. (there enlies a major difficulty in change - progression is slow but safe, revolotion is quicker and perhaps more necessary therefore- but is also often destructive. [i.e. Catholics and Protestants still have a hard time getting on]). I've just been realizing acutely of late that it's surely time for something different.
Would I be correct to say that "church" is full of people who either enjoy the culture enough to "go" by thier own motivation or have enough "religous obligation" to overcome whatever fleshly part of them says that they don't like "church". I fear that I might be running low on both personal motivation and religous obligation. I used to combat what I didn't like about going to church with the fact that that was where I was getting fed and finding community. But what if there hardly seems enough of either to make it worth my while going anymore? If I, who have grown up in church, feel this way now- how much more my unchurched buddy who hasn't. This guy has an interest in spirituality and in Christian life, but not in "church" as he knows it. Time to re-redefine "church". How about, "The body of Christ".
Community is big. I want it.
I'm all about small groups. Rob - probably one of the biggest things you ever jumped on the bandwagan with back here was the cell groups- Stinkin' HUGE! My unchurched friends don't want to come to a service if they can come chill at some less stereotypical/formal location and talk about life and God, do an alpha program maybe or whatever - let's not put it in a box. . I personally would rather sit down and study a book of the bible with two or three other guys than go to a church service. That article talked about the issue of one overworked pastor pouring into too many lay people once a week, I guess cell groups could begin to fill in the gap? I want to make it clear that I'm not talking about INDIVIDUALIZING one's faith or taking TRUTH or trained pastors out of the picture along the way- but perhaps redefining their role to mentor/teach/lead the sub- mentor/teachers/leaders of community groups? These are just some thoughts to "rip" "mix" and "mod". But it is also this kind of stuff that I am passionate about. It's what I envision.
And that was supposed to be short.
Thanks Cronk,
You reminded me of what I am REALLY doing here! I needed that encouragement bro.
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