*Re-publishing this on the one-year anniversary of his passing. His thought still shapes my own, and the few times we met still leave a lasting impression.
If you’ve had a heart for missionary work overseas you may or may not have heard of the name “Ralph Winter”. Hands down, his was THE MOST influential voice in global mission in the past 50 years. While not the hagiographical superstar, his thought has subtly, yet profoundly influenced – no – charted the course of global Christianity and steered it toward new dimensions. Pop ideas like the 10 / 40 window would not be were it not for him, and those themes only scratch the surface of his ideas. Sadly, Ralph Winter passed away yesterday (5/20/09) at his home in Pasadena, after a long and courageous battle with Multiple Myeloma. He was well into his eighties. Read more…
I annually re-post this as reminder to fix my eyes on the prize:
Ten Things To Do Before I Die:
1. End genocide.
2. Stabilize the Middle East.
3. Master a foreign language.
4. Eradicate one disease, pathogen or virus.
5. Alleviate unnecessary human suffering.
6. Write one well-written and scholarly book.
7. Promote racial unity, diversity and reconciliation
8. Experiment with micro-loans
9. Provide clean water for those who don’t have it.
10. Finish school dang it.
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OK – here we go. Things have been stewing lately, not to mention the whole Deadly Viper controv, but also things I’ve been observing about the academic / ecclesial establishment. A black man is fired at one place with no attempt to consider racial dimensions behind the act. And then I hear at a recent Halloween party for Regent seminarians someone not only donned blackface but completely justified his behavior. And this is never addressed up here. So I’ve had enough. Dispensing with my usual policy of avoiding polemics. Read more…
Another class-required review:
Let me begin with an affirmation of Hirsch’s book. He is essentially a mirror to evolving ecclesiology; articulating the trends as he sees them. This statement, however, is followed with a proviso; for while I regard Hirsh himself as a capable author, my beef is essentially with the self-avowed experts, those Hirschites who polemicize against all things remotely organized or institutional. Having personally been the target of some claiming the authority of the attractional / incarnational critique (who currently belong to no church, I might add) I have found the criticism to be not only unfair but somewhat elitist in tone, as well as reactionary and containing a polemical ring. No one likes a ranter.
Now, on to an engagement with Hirsh’s ideas themselves. Read more…
Jamie Arpin-Ricci has some good words to say about this subject over @ A Living Alternative. It seems the consensus sways between an undiscriminating dependency on pastors on the one hand and on the other, a sort of anti-hierarchical sentiment. Do we need pastors today? Here were my thoughts: Read more…
There’s been some trending away from the idea of “membership” in the church as an artificial stricture over what some claim ought to be an “organic” form. I understand and agree with this sentiment to some degree, but at the same time have qualms against it. Most of these thoughts are summarized in a previous post but the general gist of my opinion is capsulated by the words of a friend: (membership) is “the difference between guests and hosts, members and visitors, and discerning supporters and empty critics”. That rings true with me, as the church abounds in critics who have essentially given nothing of themselves to any particular body. But to be fair, I am open to disagreement and even (no surprise) criticism. So?
“Should a local church expect commitment to the same degree from everyone who attends?” This question was on a seminary forum for a class I’m taking. Since I posted the below response personally, I think it should be ok to reprint it here. And you don’t need to be workign on a degree to answer it. Here’s my answer, I’d love to hear yours: Read more…
One of the most unique things I have learned @ Roosevelt Community Church is an asset-based approach to community development. Now I’m still wrapping my head around this but it’s all the difference in the world between charity and empowerment. Here are some blurbs that I’m still working through: Read more…
My last year @ Regent College is ahead of me. I’ve been workign at somewhat a frenetic pace, produce, produce, write, write, and every so often you’ll stumble upon somethign that’s significant and maybe a contribution. Maybe that happened recently. I was listening to yet another lecture by two older Caucasian gentlemen in the academia talking about how we ought to go down to them, downward mobility, kenotic spirituality. Over and over again. One fine young gentleman asked why immigrants (refered to as “they”) cluster together in cliques and do not open to the broader society. As if “they” would be easier to reach in our downwardly-mobile efforts if they would just come out of “their” shells. I started to get uneasy because even in this great seminary – I was noticing a glaring blind spot. Read more…
While it’s still been only recently that we shut down missio (last December) it is an anniversary of sorts in that the prior summer was when it really started to hit home: This isn’t going to work. It was the pits. And while it sounds cliche, it’s true, failure in starting a new church is like experiencing a death in the family. It hurts for a long time, and does things to your head, messing up your confidence, shaking some of that youthful cockiness you may have once had. Perhaps it’s for so much good. But in the end it still hurts – and you wonder if you’ve got damaged goods. Read more…
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