Book Review,
Halter, Hugh. Smay, Matt. The Gathered AND the Scattered Church. Zondervan, 2010.
Comment. Henry.
This book is a sequel to “The Tangible Kingdom”. This resource is an honest, commendable attempt to ‘move beyond the attractional-missional divide’. It is not a matter of either/or but both AND (scattered and gathered). It describes a balanced biblical church. Church leaders should find this read encouraging and informative.
Right off the authors are declaring that any valid expression of a (living) church, micro or macro or anything in between, is legitimate. “The power of the AND is seen in churches of all sizes” (26) where good things are happening.
The story of the church, the bride of Christ, begins with the chosen people of Abraham’s race and then continues with the chosen One who came as the Bridegroom, in the flesh. We are part of that chosen one, “the sent church”. (43)
“Any church of any size can be both missional and nonmissional at the same time. The difference is the lifestyle of the believers.” (52) In church planting a missional community needs to be developed whether you are starting from scratch or from structure.
Some helpful advice is shared regarding the challenge of consumerism in the church. A ‘consumer less’ church is a possibility.
Spiritual formation in missional churches is presented as a result of “observance, preparation, participation, and partnership”. (102) these concepts were introduced in “The Tangible Kingdom”.
To help us with the AND concept regarding gathered AND scattered, we revisit the concepts of “sodalic” and “modalic”. (127-128) It is time to recognize these two ‘thrusts’ as two arms of the same body. “The greater the collaboration, the greater the potential. The more aggressive the partnership, the more expansive the movement becomes.” (136) Herein lies the power of the AND. The “sodalic/modalic balance” (150) in each church will be unique depending on things like gifting, calling, capacity and variables.
Church gatherings are a popular target of church critics. “If we want people to find meaning in our church gatherings, we must help them gather for purposes and people outside the gatherings.” (176) Such a focus would certainly be a shock for the consumers in our congregations. Missional communities would be a natural outcome of such gatherings.
To help bring a perspective to this ‘gathered AND scattered’ thesis it is suggested that we seriously consider the legacy that we are leaving and how we plan to ‘finish well’.
henrydirksen.blogspot.com
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Search for God and Guinness.
Book Review.
Mansfield, Stephen. The Search for God and Guinness. A biography of the beer that changed the world. Thomas Nelson. 2009.
Comment. Henry.
This is indeed an unusual title for a biography. As the story develops it becomes quite apparent that the mixture of ‘beer and God’ is really what this story is all about. Wealth can be used to do much good. That is certainly a scriptural concept and the Guinness story illustrates this well. It hasn’t happened yet but I will probably have to follow my reading of this book with a sampling of Guinness for myself. This is a fascinating read.
When the author heard a Presbyterian minister give a brief account of Arthur Guinness’s call from God to make a drink that would be good for the men of Ireland, he was immediately motivated to make the Guinness story the topic of this biography.
The history of beer goes back as far as the civilization of man. Throughout that history beer has been a part of religious communities. Because of the water pollution in many countries beer became the drink of choice.
Much of the research for this book took place in Dublin, Ireland. The legacy of Guinness the brewer to the city of Dublin is compared to the legacy of Christopher Wren the architect to the city of London. Arthur Guinness “understood his success as forming a kind of mandate, a kind of calling to a purpose of God beyond just himself and his family to the broader good he could do in the world”. (59) He established his brewery on a four acre site at St. James’s Gate, Dublin. The yeast he used was reusable and is still used today. It was given the nickname “God-is-good”. (73) Only two second generation family members, Arthur Guinness II and Benjamin Lee Guinness (who was knighted), carried on the business in good and bad times. It was Benjamin that was responsible for the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The restoration was completed in 1865. From 1837 to 1887 the Guinness sales increased thirty-fold. When Edward Guinness was at the helm of the organization he made Guinness a public trading company and this resulted in rapid expansion and prosperity.
A thrilling part of the Guinness story is how much good was done with its wealth. “Guinness the beer is magnificent, yes, but it is the Guinness culture that for nearly two centuries changed the lives of Guinness workers, transformed poverty in Dublin, and inspired other companies to understand that care for their employees was their most important work. It was the Guinness culture of faith and kindness and generosity that moved men to seek out ways to serve their fellow men, to mend what the harshness of life had torn.” (122) John Lumsden, a young doctor hired by Guinness became the driving force behind the social reforms supported by Guinness funds. He was knighted by King George V.
There were three groups represented in the Guinness family. First there were the brewers, then the bankers, and then there were the “Guinnesses for God” (156) (missionaries and ministers). All three groups however were very much “connected with God”. (159)
Henry Grattan Guinness the grandson of Arthur became a famous preacher. He was compared with D. L. Moody and George Whitefield. He was a mentor to the likes of Thomas Barnado and J. Hudson Taylor. He established Harley House and College which trained missionaries for China. He became a speaker and author of international fame. Some historians consider the missionaries and ministers of the Guinness family more influential than the brewers and bankers.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, Guinness had become the largest, most productive, most prosperous beer producer in history. Set-backs happened because of WW1 and the Irish struggle for independence. Prohibition in the U.S. was another serious blow to the business. When Guinness leadership decided to go into an advertizing market (it had up to this point counted on the product to sell itself) great growth happened. John Gilroy developed the advertizing, e.g. “the Guinness Book of Records”. (241)
Edward Cecil expressed the Guinness legacy and wisdom as follows: “we must invest in those who serve us if we expect them to serve us well”. (260)
www.henrydirksen.blogspot.com
Mansfield, Stephen. The Search for God and Guinness. A biography of the beer that changed the world. Thomas Nelson. 2009.
Comment. Henry.
This is indeed an unusual title for a biography. As the story develops it becomes quite apparent that the mixture of ‘beer and God’ is really what this story is all about. Wealth can be used to do much good. That is certainly a scriptural concept and the Guinness story illustrates this well. It hasn’t happened yet but I will probably have to follow my reading of this book with a sampling of Guinness for myself. This is a fascinating read.
When the author heard a Presbyterian minister give a brief account of Arthur Guinness’s call from God to make a drink that would be good for the men of Ireland, he was immediately motivated to make the Guinness story the topic of this biography.
The history of beer goes back as far as the civilization of man. Throughout that history beer has been a part of religious communities. Because of the water pollution in many countries beer became the drink of choice.
Much of the research for this book took place in Dublin, Ireland. The legacy of Guinness the brewer to the city of Dublin is compared to the legacy of Christopher Wren the architect to the city of London. Arthur Guinness “understood his success as forming a kind of mandate, a kind of calling to a purpose of God beyond just himself and his family to the broader good he could do in the world”. (59) He established his brewery on a four acre site at St. James’s Gate, Dublin. The yeast he used was reusable and is still used today. It was given the nickname “God-is-good”. (73) Only two second generation family members, Arthur Guinness II and Benjamin Lee Guinness (who was knighted), carried on the business in good and bad times. It was Benjamin that was responsible for the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The restoration was completed in 1865. From 1837 to 1887 the Guinness sales increased thirty-fold. When Edward Guinness was at the helm of the organization he made Guinness a public trading company and this resulted in rapid expansion and prosperity.
A thrilling part of the Guinness story is how much good was done with its wealth. “Guinness the beer is magnificent, yes, but it is the Guinness culture that for nearly two centuries changed the lives of Guinness workers, transformed poverty in Dublin, and inspired other companies to understand that care for their employees was their most important work. It was the Guinness culture of faith and kindness and generosity that moved men to seek out ways to serve their fellow men, to mend what the harshness of life had torn.” (122) John Lumsden, a young doctor hired by Guinness became the driving force behind the social reforms supported by Guinness funds. He was knighted by King George V.
There were three groups represented in the Guinness family. First there were the brewers, then the bankers, and then there were the “Guinnesses for God” (156) (missionaries and ministers). All three groups however were very much “connected with God”. (159)
Henry Grattan Guinness the grandson of Arthur became a famous preacher. He was compared with D. L. Moody and George Whitefield. He was a mentor to the likes of Thomas Barnado and J. Hudson Taylor. He established Harley House and College which trained missionaries for China. He became a speaker and author of international fame. Some historians consider the missionaries and ministers of the Guinness family more influential than the brewers and bankers.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, Guinness had become the largest, most productive, most prosperous beer producer in history. Set-backs happened because of WW1 and the Irish struggle for independence. Prohibition in the U.S. was another serious blow to the business. When Guinness leadership decided to go into an advertizing market (it had up to this point counted on the product to sell itself) great growth happened. John Gilroy developed the advertizing, e.g. “the Guinness Book of Records”. (241)
Edward Cecil expressed the Guinness legacy and wisdom as follows: “we must invest in those who serve us if we expect them to serve us well”. (260)
www.henrydirksen.blogspot.com
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Transformational Architecture.
Book Review.
Martoia Ron. Transformation Architecture. Reshaping our lives as narrative. Zondervan. 2008.
R.M.- a transformational architect. His passion is helping people and the organisms they serve to design, build, and experience revolutionary change.
Comment. Henry
It has been said about the church’s mandate to the world that ‘the methods must change but the message never changes’. Ron comes very close to suggesting that even the message may have to go through some form of change. “Our understandings surely do” (217) change. His goal in this book is to help us do a better job of connecting with people about spiritual things. He focuses on God’s story, beginning with Genesis one not Genesis three (the fall). This is God’s narrative which needs to impact man’s (our) narrative. Ron uses the architecture metaphor to help us understand how we are designed and how we can more effectively connect with how others (our pre-Christian friends) by understanding how they are designed.
Our spiritual conversations and our spiritual lives are the result of interplay of “context, biblical text, and human text”. (19) The context of our present culture is one of quantum change that requires a relevant response from Christians (Christianity). Values surrounding relational, reality, action and shalom have changed in a world that is no longer a Newtonian world but a quantum world. Information that does not result in change is of little value. Churches are not exempt from this challenge. “We are living in the beginnings of a second axial age.” (47) The first one took place around 800 to 200 B.C.
Evangelicals have followed the game rules of the modern world and “reduced the Bible to a set of propositional principles”. (61) The result is fundamentalism. This destroys the valid narrative of God’s story. “The essence of the Christian story is that of selfless service, love, compassion, and care. Coercion, control, and power are not part of this equation.” (70)
The ‘human text’ is best represented by what is commonly described as “the American dream world”. (74) The author calls it “the Gerbil Wheel Tale”. (79)
To effectively enter into God’s story (narrative) will require a transformation (Transformational Architecture).
We begin with Genesis one through “story teller’s eyes and with story listener’s ears”, (93) not with a scientific approach. The impact and importance of our being made in the image of God, “image dei” (108), cannot be over emphasized. This needs to be the starting point of our spiritual conversations not the fall, judgment, etc. of Genesis three. Our uniqueness in creation was motivated by God’s love and it is still part of each human.
God can be viewed in three ways, (“1P, 2P, 3P”- (115) the God within- first person which is man in God’s image-image dei, the God without- transcendent and “other” (109), and the God of creation. It is important to maintain a balance of these three views.
Sharing the gospel (good news) should be more about conversation than conquest, more about relationship than a rational debate (making a sale). “We choose the stories that define ourselves.” (157) God’s story has the capacity to reshape the brokenness and distortion of our lives. “Being made ‘image dei’ is God’s architectural design that drives our desire for the very things God provided in the Garden of Eden.” (177) The America dream is an example of how we try to accomplish that on our own. We want life to have purpose, meaning, and hope. This should be the starting point of our spiritual conversations with a commitment to demonstrate unconditional love. We can progress with that conversation on the assumption that there is a yearning to “believe, belong, and become” (198).
www.henrydirksen.blogspot.com
Martoia Ron. Transformation Architecture. Reshaping our lives as narrative. Zondervan. 2008.
R.M.- a transformational architect. His passion is helping people and the organisms they serve to design, build, and experience revolutionary change.
Comment. Henry
It has been said about the church’s mandate to the world that ‘the methods must change but the message never changes’. Ron comes very close to suggesting that even the message may have to go through some form of change. “Our understandings surely do” (217) change. His goal in this book is to help us do a better job of connecting with people about spiritual things. He focuses on God’s story, beginning with Genesis one not Genesis three (the fall). This is God’s narrative which needs to impact man’s (our) narrative. Ron uses the architecture metaphor to help us understand how we are designed and how we can more effectively connect with how others (our pre-Christian friends) by understanding how they are designed.
Our spiritual conversations and our spiritual lives are the result of interplay of “context, biblical text, and human text”. (19) The context of our present culture is one of quantum change that requires a relevant response from Christians (Christianity). Values surrounding relational, reality, action and shalom have changed in a world that is no longer a Newtonian world but a quantum world. Information that does not result in change is of little value. Churches are not exempt from this challenge. “We are living in the beginnings of a second axial age.” (47) The first one took place around 800 to 200 B.C.
Evangelicals have followed the game rules of the modern world and “reduced the Bible to a set of propositional principles”. (61) The result is fundamentalism. This destroys the valid narrative of God’s story. “The essence of the Christian story is that of selfless service, love, compassion, and care. Coercion, control, and power are not part of this equation.” (70)
The ‘human text’ is best represented by what is commonly described as “the American dream world”. (74) The author calls it “the Gerbil Wheel Tale”. (79)
To effectively enter into God’s story (narrative) will require a transformation (Transformational Architecture).
We begin with Genesis one through “story teller’s eyes and with story listener’s ears”, (93) not with a scientific approach. The impact and importance of our being made in the image of God, “image dei” (108), cannot be over emphasized. This needs to be the starting point of our spiritual conversations not the fall, judgment, etc. of Genesis three. Our uniqueness in creation was motivated by God’s love and it is still part of each human.
God can be viewed in three ways, (“1P, 2P, 3P”- (115) the God within- first person which is man in God’s image-image dei, the God without- transcendent and “other” (109), and the God of creation. It is important to maintain a balance of these three views.
Sharing the gospel (good news) should be more about conversation than conquest, more about relationship than a rational debate (making a sale). “We choose the stories that define ourselves.” (157) God’s story has the capacity to reshape the brokenness and distortion of our lives. “Being made ‘image dei’ is God’s architectural design that drives our desire for the very things God provided in the Garden of Eden.” (177) The America dream is an example of how we try to accomplish that on our own. We want life to have purpose, meaning, and hope. This should be the starting point of our spiritual conversations with a commitment to demonstrate unconditional love. We can progress with that conversation on the assumption that there is a yearning to “believe, belong, and become” (198).
www.henrydirksen.blogspot.com
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Jesus, The Last Days.
Book Review.
Evans Craig A. Wright N.T. Jesus, The Final Days. What really happened. Westminster, John Knox Press. 2994.
C.E.- director of graduate program at Acadia Divinity College in Canada.
N.T.W.- Bishop of Durham in the Church of England.
Comment. Henry.
The contents of this book were first given as lectures in the ‘Symposium for Church and Academy’ at Crichton College. Critics of Christianity often focus on and seek to discredit, three crucial events of the Christian faith; the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The three essays that make up this book are an apologetic of these events.
The reality of Jesus’ death is a matter of obvious historical evidence. Four reasons are presented for Jesus’ death. Jesus anticipated his own death. There were Jewish and Roman implications of Jesus’ death. Mockery had a legitimate place in the process. Jesus’ final shout was a shout of death not the shout of a victorious Messiah. This created theological problems for Jews who were looking for a reigning Messiah and for Jesus’ followers.
Jews followed Scriptural commands when it came to proper burial procedures. Doubts concerning Jesus’ burial are addressed in terms of how these procedures were followed.
Some of the controversies surrounding Jesus’ resurrection arise out of the stories of eye witnesses in the gospels. Other doubts come as a result of the language that is used in the ancient world regarding resurrection. There were “early Christian distinctives on resurrection”. (81) Wright identifies “seven mutations/alterations” (84) of the Christian view of the Jewish understanding of resurrection. There is ample historical argument for the burial and resurrection of Jesus.
Those who would discredit the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus do so for personal reasons. The acceptance of these ‘facts’ comes with a need to make personal choices of acceptance or rejection. Rejection of the facts happened immediately after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and they have continued in various forms to this day. What really happened does matter.
Evans Craig A. Wright N.T. Jesus, The Final Days. What really happened. Westminster, John Knox Press. 2994.
C.E.- director of graduate program at Acadia Divinity College in Canada.
N.T.W.- Bishop of Durham in the Church of England.
Comment. Henry.
The contents of this book were first given as lectures in the ‘Symposium for Church and Academy’ at Crichton College. Critics of Christianity often focus on and seek to discredit, three crucial events of the Christian faith; the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The three essays that make up this book are an apologetic of these events.
The reality of Jesus’ death is a matter of obvious historical evidence. Four reasons are presented for Jesus’ death. Jesus anticipated his own death. There were Jewish and Roman implications of Jesus’ death. Mockery had a legitimate place in the process. Jesus’ final shout was a shout of death not the shout of a victorious Messiah. This created theological problems for Jews who were looking for a reigning Messiah and for Jesus’ followers.
Jews followed Scriptural commands when it came to proper burial procedures. Doubts concerning Jesus’ burial are addressed in terms of how these procedures were followed.
Some of the controversies surrounding Jesus’ resurrection arise out of the stories of eye witnesses in the gospels. Other doubts come as a result of the language that is used in the ancient world regarding resurrection. There were “early Christian distinctives on resurrection”. (81) Wright identifies “seven mutations/alterations” (84) of the Christian view of the Jewish understanding of resurrection. There is ample historical argument for the burial and resurrection of Jesus.
Those who would discredit the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus do so for personal reasons. The acceptance of these ‘facts’ comes with a need to make personal choices of acceptance or rejection. Rejection of the facts happened immediately after Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and they have continued in various forms to this day. What really happened does matter.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Living Gently In A Violent World
Book Review.
Hauerwas, Stanley. Vanier Jean. Living Gently In A Violent World. The prophetic witness of weakness. IVP Books. 2008
S.H.- professor of theological ethics at Duke Divinity School, Duke University.
J.V.- founder of L’Arche, an international network of communities where people with or without intellectual disabilities experience life together as fellow human beings who share a mutuality of care and need.
Comment. Henry
It was through the writings of Henri Nouwen that I first heard about L’Arche. These communities demonstrate a level of care for needy people that is truly amazing. I think it takes special gifts to provide that care. Having said that, a read of a book like this is good for anyone who is serious about responding to the exhortation from scripture to be Christ-like, i.e. caring for the needy. To live gently in a violent world is a challenge for all of us.
Jean has lived with people with disabilities for over forty years. He began L’Arche and has seen it spread to communities in many countries. This organization began as a Roman Catholic community but is now very ecumenical. “In L’Arche we have always had to work at interreligious cooperation, and today we are confronted with many new realities.” (27)
“L’Arche embodies the patience that is absolutely crucial if we (the church) are to learn to be faithful people in our world.” (45) We live in a world that believes that safety can be achieved by violence. “Speed and placelessness” (51) are part of that violence. In total contrast to such a mindset we have the communities of L’Arche.
There is too much focus on global and not enough focus on catholic in our world. “Non-violence is a sign of hope that there is an alternative to war.” (55) L’Arche is an example of such non-violence. Referring to the mining practice of using canaries to warn miners of poisonous gases, “L’Arche may be the church’s canary”. (56) However L’Arche also needs the church.
Fear and weakness are walls that effectively divide humanity. People with disabilities have a greater need to be accepted than to be changed. Change is actually brought about through acceptance. Accepting weakness is part of understanding reality. “The politics of gentleness” (77) must be part of any attempt at administrating justice. It is the practice of gentleness that qualifies L’Arche as a dispenser of justice.
The fear that turns us in on ourselves will always result in a natural response of violence. Such violence happens when we refuse to acknowledge our woundedness and loneliness. Love overcomes fear. We must become people of peace. Jesus is our model and he also provides the resources to live a life of peace. “In Jesus, time has been redeemed for the practises of peace.” (105)
Hauerwas, Stanley. Vanier Jean. Living Gently In A Violent World. The prophetic witness of weakness. IVP Books. 2008
S.H.- professor of theological ethics at Duke Divinity School, Duke University.
J.V.- founder of L’Arche, an international network of communities where people with or without intellectual disabilities experience life together as fellow human beings who share a mutuality of care and need.
Comment. Henry
It was through the writings of Henri Nouwen that I first heard about L’Arche. These communities demonstrate a level of care for needy people that is truly amazing. I think it takes special gifts to provide that care. Having said that, a read of a book like this is good for anyone who is serious about responding to the exhortation from scripture to be Christ-like, i.e. caring for the needy. To live gently in a violent world is a challenge for all of us.
Jean has lived with people with disabilities for over forty years. He began L’Arche and has seen it spread to communities in many countries. This organization began as a Roman Catholic community but is now very ecumenical. “In L’Arche we have always had to work at interreligious cooperation, and today we are confronted with many new realities.” (27)
“L’Arche embodies the patience that is absolutely crucial if we (the church) are to learn to be faithful people in our world.” (45) We live in a world that believes that safety can be achieved by violence. “Speed and placelessness” (51) are part of that violence. In total contrast to such a mindset we have the communities of L’Arche.
There is too much focus on global and not enough focus on catholic in our world. “Non-violence is a sign of hope that there is an alternative to war.” (55) L’Arche is an example of such non-violence. Referring to the mining practice of using canaries to warn miners of poisonous gases, “L’Arche may be the church’s canary”. (56) However L’Arche also needs the church.
Fear and weakness are walls that effectively divide humanity. People with disabilities have a greater need to be accepted than to be changed. Change is actually brought about through acceptance. Accepting weakness is part of understanding reality. “The politics of gentleness” (77) must be part of any attempt at administrating justice. It is the practice of gentleness that qualifies L’Arche as a dispenser of justice.
The fear that turns us in on ourselves will always result in a natural response of violence. Such violence happens when we refuse to acknowledge our woundedness and loneliness. Love overcomes fear. We must become people of peace. Jesus is our model and he also provides the resources to live a life of peace. “In Jesus, time has been redeemed for the practises of peace.” (105)
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