I've found it helpful to think of missional as an aspect of one of the attributes of the church spoken of in the Nicene Creed--one, holy, catholic and *apostolic* church, an apostle being a sent one. The attribute of apostolicity doesn't only mean that we hold to the apostolic teaching but that there is a sent-ness to the church itself, missional simply being the current term. Historically discussions of apostolicity seem to have revolved more around questions of authority and the missional aspect of it has often been overlooked.
Keep up the good work. If there has been turnover in youth group leadership lately they may be testing you as to your response. In that case it may not be as much about a new style of teaching to get to the kids who seem to know it all as it is about hanging in there with them, and in a sense, suffering with them in that way.
But yes, there are bad nights sometimes. I knew plenty when I did youth ministry. Ask me about the World's Largest Bowl of Cheese Popcorn sometime. (Or don't, please don't.)
If there is a real disruption going on in the group, that can frustrate not only you but the kids who are there to learn or contribute. I found a helpful book in dealing with these situations with respect is Les Christie's When Church Kids Go Bad: How to Love and Work with Rude, Obnoxious and Apathetic Students.
I appreciate Mulholland's insight. In a world of "niche" spirituality, he urges us to not only appreciate how God has made us but also how we need to sometimes "play against type" in order to grow spiritually, venture into those areas that are naturally uncomfortable for us, where we feel the most vulnerable and not in control and therefore, find ourselves relying more on the Spirit then our own tendencies and strengths. As a natural introvert, I've definitely found this to be true in those times when I've been called into extroversion.
An interesting dovetail with this is Gordon Smith's work on conversion, his book Beginning Well, where he notes that moments of spiritual growth/continuing conversion often take place when we are exposed to a Christian tradition not our own.
I've noticed that with all of the discussion around decisions made at Synod 2016, very little was said about the delegation of deacons to Synod, the first time that this has happened in our denomination's history. I'm not even sure if this was mentioned in the Banner. But I'd like to hear how it was for you.
Thanks, Sam, this is a great topic and one that I hope people will comment on. When I revised our membership process a little while ago there was a dearth of materials about the topic. I found one very good book, called Membership Matters, I think, but not a whole lot else.
My "working" process (always open to change) is based on CS Lewis' image of the Christian faith as a great house with many hallways and rooms. The first session is about belonging to Christ and is a presentation of the gospel. The second is about the biblical nature of the church and what it means biblically to be a member of a church. The third session is about the "hallway" of Reformed theology, history and practice and the last is about the "room" that is our own church. I also sometime show a video about infant baptism if this is a topic of discussion. I would love to hear what others do.
I'm a little surprised that our denomination doesn't have a simple "welcome to the CRC" type of video that could be shown to prospective members, at least not one that I've found. This wouldn't have to be a big DVD production, just a simple Internet video. I think it would fill a real gap.
This is a good and healthy discussion to have. Two questions come to mind right away:
1. How would you define "heart-knowledge"?
2. To what extent is this anti-intellectualism part of a broader cultural trend? Is it really an infiltration from Pentecostalism or is it just a reflection of where the culture is heading?
I've been helped by writers like Edwin Friedman and Peter Steinke to properly appreciate just how much the congregation is an emotional system. One factor that they mention is that a highly anxious system breeds secrecy-- secret unofficial meetings about an issue may initially have good intentions behind them but almost always lead to negative reactions. If it needs to be discussed it needs to be discussed above board and this transparency has to be pushed as a congregational value.
I guess I'd have to lean towards Sam's point here regarding remembering and repenting of past errors. You say that we should not "sulk over past mistakes" and should focus on the present and the future. I think we would all agree that the final outcome is to dedicate ourselves to faithfulness in the present and the years to come. But I think there's more to it then telling the church to "just move forward". I am sure that you have been a part of, or known churches, where a pattern seems to have emerged over the years that has hindered the flourishing of that church--churches where every pastorate ends badly or prematurely, or where power plays seem to be fought over the most innocuous things, leading the people to say "why did this happen *again*?" Something more is going on under the waterline.
In family systems terms, the anxiety has become chronic within the system, and it is recycling itself. It affects the churches way of being in the world and carrying out ministry. In those cases you have to go back before you can go forward. And that may involve repenting of the behavior --individual or corporate--that led to the anxiety in the first place.
In terms of discernment, that can be a tricky thing, can't it? I think one of the passages of scripture I'd like to understand better someday is that line in Acts when the apostles said "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us."--boy, I wish Luke would have filled that out a little more.
I for one am excited to see what the changes might bring. I have been at classis meetings where elders barely spoke a word. According to this line of reasoning, perhaps we shouldn't delegate them to classis, either.
True, deacons have their hands full at the local church level. This has sometimes been used as an argument for not delegating them to the broader assemblies.
But couldn't the same thing be said of pastors? Of elders? Yet there is no talk of them staying home.
Ultimately, doesn't it all go back to fully reflecting the work of the risen and ruling Christ, though the offices, at all levels of assembly and decision making? It will be interesting to see what might take place when this becomes a reality.
I think that looked at from a historical perspective, the office of deacon is incredibly flexible and has manifested itself in many different forms. Your note about nominating people according to skill sets brings up an interesting historical note, Harry. In Geneva the deacons were divided up into procurators, what we would call administrative deacons, and hospitalars, who had the care of the poor and sometimes lived among them. Calvin defended this distinction exegetically. Maybe in our new setup it will make sense to make use of it again.
Posted in: Keeping An Eye On Your CVI
Does anyone know why this information is no longer published in the yearbook? It would only be an extra ten or twenty pages.
Posted in: Understanding Our Missional Identity
Doug,
I've found it helpful to think of missional as an aspect of one of the attributes of the church spoken of in the Nicene Creed--one, holy, catholic and *apostolic* church, an apostle being a sent one. The attribute of apostolicity doesn't only mean that we hold to the apostolic teaching but that there is a sent-ness to the church itself, missional simply being the current term. Historically discussions of apostolicity seem to have revolved more around questions of authority and the missional aspect of it has often been overlooked.
Posted in: Youth Ministry When You Have a Bad Night
Gin,
Keep up the good work. If there has been turnover in youth group leadership lately they may be testing you as to your response. In that case it may not be as much about a new style of teaching to get to the kids who seem to know it all as it is about hanging in there with them, and in a sense, suffering with them in that way.
But yes, there are bad nights sometimes. I knew plenty when I did youth ministry. Ask me about the World's Largest Bowl of Cheese Popcorn sometime. (Or don't, please don't.)
If there is a real disruption going on in the group, that can frustrate not only you but the kids who are there to learn or contribute. I found a helpful book in dealing with these situations with respect is Les Christie's When Church Kids Go Bad: How to Love and Work with Rude, Obnoxious and Apathetic Students.
Persevere!
Posted in: Mulholland, Moses and the Maccabees
I appreciate Mulholland's insight. In a world of "niche" spirituality, he urges us to not only appreciate how God has made us but also how we need to sometimes "play against type" in order to grow spiritually, venture into those areas that are naturally uncomfortable for us, where we feel the most vulnerable and not in control and therefore, find ourselves relying more on the Spirit then our own tendencies and strengths. As a natural introvert, I've definitely found this to be true in those times when I've been called into extroversion.
An interesting dovetail with this is Gordon Smith's work on conversion, his book Beginning Well, where he notes that moments of spiritual growth/continuing conversion often take place when we are exposed to a Christian tradition not our own.
Posted in: How Will Deacon Delegates Change Synod?
Terry,
I've noticed that with all of the discussion around decisions made at Synod 2016, very little was said about the delegation of deacons to Synod, the first time that this has happened in our denomination's history. I'm not even sure if this was mentioned in the Banner. But I'd like to hear how it was for you.
Posted in: What Should Be Included in a New Member's Class?
Thanks, Sam, this is a great topic and one that I hope people will comment on. When I revised our membership process a little while ago there was a dearth of materials about the topic. I found one very good book, called Membership Matters, I think, but not a whole lot else.
My "working" process (always open to change) is based on CS Lewis' image of the Christian faith as a great house with many hallways and rooms. The first session is about belonging to Christ and is a presentation of the gospel. The second is about the biblical nature of the church and what it means biblically to be a member of a church. The third session is about the "hallway" of Reformed theology, history and practice and the last is about the "room" that is our own church. I also sometime show a video about infant baptism if this is a topic of discussion. I would love to hear what others do.
I'm a little surprised that our denomination doesn't have a simple "welcome to the CRC" type of video that could be shown to prospective members, at least not one that I've found. This wouldn't have to be a big DVD production, just a simple Internet video. I think it would fill a real gap.
Posted in: Are We Becoming Anti-Intellectual?
John,
This is a good and healthy discussion to have. Two questions come to mind right away:
1. How would you define "heart-knowledge"?
2. To what extent is this anti-intellectualism part of a broader cultural trend? Is it really an infiltration from Pentecostalism or is it just a reflection of where the culture is heading?
Posted in: Found in the Ashes
Pete,
I've been helped by writers like Edwin Friedman and Peter Steinke to properly appreciate just how much the congregation is an emotional system. One factor that they mention is that a highly anxious system breeds secrecy-- secret unofficial meetings about an issue may initially have good intentions behind them but almost always lead to negative reactions. If it needs to be discussed it needs to be discussed above board and this transparency has to be pushed as a congregational value.
Posted in: Controlling the Holy Spirit
Roger,
I guess I'd have to lean towards Sam's point here regarding remembering and repenting of past errors. You say that we should not "sulk over past mistakes" and should focus on the present and the future. I think we would all agree that the final outcome is to dedicate ourselves to faithfulness in the present and the years to come. But I think there's more to it then telling the church to "just move forward". I am sure that you have been a part of, or known churches, where a pattern seems to have emerged over the years that has hindered the flourishing of that church--churches where every pastorate ends badly or prematurely, or where power plays seem to be fought over the most innocuous things, leading the people to say "why did this happen *again*?" Something more is going on under the waterline.
In family systems terms, the anxiety has become chronic within the system, and it is recycling itself. It affects the churches way of being in the world and carrying out ministry. In those cases you have to go back before you can go forward. And that may involve repenting of the behavior --individual or corporate--that led to the anxiety in the first place.
In terms of discernment, that can be a tricky thing, can't it? I think one of the passages of scripture I'd like to understand better someday is that line in Acts when the apostles said "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us."--boy, I wish Luke would have filled that out a little more.
Posted in: Diakonia Redux: Will Deacons Get a Voice?
I for one am excited to see what the changes might bring. I have been at classis meetings where elders barely spoke a word. According to this line of reasoning, perhaps we shouldn't delegate them to classis, either.
Posted in: Diakonia Redux: Will Deacons Get a Voice?
True, deacons have their hands full at the local church level. This has sometimes been used as an argument for not delegating them to the broader assemblies.
But couldn't the same thing be said of pastors? Of elders? Yet there is no talk of them staying home.
Ultimately, doesn't it all go back to fully reflecting the work of the risen and ruling Christ, though the offices, at all levels of assembly and decision making? It will be interesting to see what might take place when this becomes a reality.
Posted in: Diakonia Redux: Will Deacons Get a Voice?
I think that looked at from a historical perspective, the office of deacon is incredibly flexible and has manifested itself in many different forms. Your note about nominating people according to skill sets brings up an interesting historical note, Harry. In Geneva the deacons were divided up into procurators, what we would call administrative deacons, and hospitalars, who had the care of the poor and sometimes lived among them. Calvin defended this distinction exegetically. Maybe in our new setup it will make sense to make use of it again.