THE CONTINUING CONVERSION OF THE CHURCH

[Fr. Greg]

Friends:

I would like to propose a joint book study of the book "The Continuing Conversion of the Church." Here is the link at Amazon to purchase the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Continuing-Conversion-Church-Gospel-Culture/d...

If you are interested, please respond here that you would like to participate. You will need to order the book so that we can get started in a couple of weeks. We'll read a chapter during the week, and then discuss that chapter during the following week whilst we're reading the following chapter.

I would like to start with this particular book because it really is fundamental to a thorough understanding of what it means to be missional. It discusses indepth the reality that we have a missional God (Missio Dei), and that we are called to be intimately involved in God's mission to and in the world. That the Constantinian version of what it means to be the Kingdom of God is discussed at length, and how this version of the Church created a major diversion from the origional mission of the early Church to the world.

I look forward to hearing back from any of you who would like to participate in this important discussion.

Fr. Greg

[Bishop Wes Nolden]

Fr. Greg,
I'd like to participate. I'll be ordering the book soon.
Blessings,
Bishop Wes

[Fr. David]

I will as well.
David+

[Mark B.]

Greg+

I look forward to reading and sharing.
Coming from a Baptist background where
being on mission and evangelism is pushed and
expected, not seeing it really pushed in the
contining Churches has been difficult.

I welcome any chance to spread the kingdom.

Mark

[Fr. Greg]

Mark:

Welcome! The book has been shipped and should be here...possibly by Sunday.

All:

This is a book that will definitely be well worth your time and effort. It is foundational to getting our brains around what being missional is all about, and what being a missional church is supposed to be. The Missio Dei is the foundation of it all!

Greg+

[Fr. Greg]

Friends:

I just want to make sure everyone is aware that we will begin discussion of chapters 1 and 2 of this book next Monday. I'm looking forward to a good discussion with you all.

Fr. Greg

[Fr. Greg]

Yes...we are definitely still on. Let's go ahead and read chapter the introductory information and chatper one and begin our discussion officially this next Monday, 9 Mar 09. If you want to comment between now and then, that is fine too. I look forward to hearing everyone's insights into what Darrel Guder has to say about this important topic, and what the Holy Spirit challenges us with in this book.

Fr. Greg

[Fr. Greg]

Fr. Richard: Thank you for sharing some of your important thoughts and insights into the beginning of the book. Indeed, what Guder has to say about the current state of affairs throughout the rest of the book will be just as alarming, but also highly encouraging.

I must admit that one of the serious disappointments I find with the Continuing Anglican movement is the severe reduction of the Gospel, and the real lack of interest and motivation to actually be about the Missio Dei. This is one of the reasons why I believe we are seeing the aging out of many parishes in Continuing Anglicanism. People are also voting with the feet by leaving our parishes to go where they see the Holy Spirit being allowed to be truly present, and welcomed to lead and inspire the people to take the Great and Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into a world that is broken and in need of healing. To a large extent, we have not been interested in reaching into, building bridges into those in various cultural contexts all around us. We have abdicated our responsibility as Christians. You said it well in your post that so many of Continuing Anglican parishes are only interested in a sort of cultural Christianity, a sort of social club, that meets on a weekly basis. We go through the motions without our hearts, souls, and minds ever being transformed. We simply must repent.

Fr. Greg

[Fr. Greg]

All: Here are some quotes from the Preface I would like to post and solicit your thoughts on.

- "...the church's evangelistic mission as "incarnational ministry."

- "...the understanding of evangelistic ministry as 'being, doing, and saying the witness of the gospel'..."

- "...the experience with an evangelistic parachurch organization began to raise questions about the separation of evangelization from the basic mission community, the local congregation."

- "However, it became clear to me (and many others) that any evangelistic parachurch movement which specializes in a particular constituency or approach to evangelistic ministry mujst shape what it does as a program, rather than as the expression of the very life and calling of a mission community.
When this happens, evangelization tends to be understood in terms of methods, effectiveness, and measurable results, and the gospel itself becomes a manageagle 'product.' I began to see this separation between evangelization and community as a problem of 'reductionism,' with questionable consequences for all concerned. The church, which is intended to be the evangelizing community, tends to reduce or neglect its essential missionary character. The evangelistic organization, with no negative intention, tends to proclaim something less than the full gospel. Such reductionisms stand in obvious tension with an incarnational approach to mission, which is committed to biblical integrity and faithfulness."

- "...the curious separation of salvation from the kingdom of God in the church's evangelistic proclamation, going back a long time."

- "...the growing consensus about the centrality of the reign of God in the biblical witness to the gospel, interating with the radical change in our North Atlantic context as we clearly were moving out of (or being ejected from) Christendom. For someone who focused on evangelization as a theological theme, this convergence raised all kinds of questions about the individualism of most evangelistic work int he West."

Fr. Greg

[Fr. Greg]

Fr. Richard: Yes, this is a very interesting article, and I believe is in line with what so many people are saying is currently happening to Christianity today, and what will likely happen in future years. The author of this article is something I am acquainted with. He and I have exchanged a few emails over the past 3-4 years. Guder, along with others, see the collapse of Christendom and the remergence of a time that will look very similar to those of the early Church. Are we ready?

Another point the author makes is the emergence of Asian and African missionaries in the North America. We definitely see this taking place as TEC breaks down into further heresy and chaos, and a new orthodox Anglican Province unites and takes formation to be about the Missio Dei. I believe this is a phenomenon we need to be watching...and more than that...actually engaging and supporting through our own participation and influence.

Fr. Greg