Last Class Lecture

I have to admit one of my favorite lectures was actually the last one. I have been a part of the pentecostal and charismatic faith background for about 6 years now, but I was raised in the Presbyterian background. When I first started to go to a charismatic university and made my way into pentecostal circles and churches I jumped right in and never really heard very much background history about how the roots of Pentecostalism. So I really enjoyed hearing all about William Seymour and others in the Pentecostal movement in this last lecture!

Emerging Churches Book Review

Emerging Churches

Chapter 1:

In their book Emerging Churches, Bolger and Gibbs emphasize the need for a change in what church looks like, that they need to be culturally relevant in order for them to be fulfilling their purpose. They show that the younger generations are no longer following the religious traditions of their parents and that’s mostly because it doesn’t draw them in and isn’t relevant to them the way it is to their parents. Bolger and Gibbs also reveal the cultural similarities and differences between the US and the UK and what churches in these countries are facing given their current cultural state where very few people are going to church anymore.

Chapter 2:

In this chapter the authors define emerging churches as “missional communities arising from within postmodern culture and consisting of followers of Jesus who are seeking to be faithful in their place and time” (pg. 28). They emphasize in this chapter that the church the way it is currently (in Western cultures anyway) is relevant to the modern time period, whereas, our societies are moving head on into the post-modern time period and as a result the churches are losing the post-modern generation of believers. They discuss whether or not it is possible to have a church that will draw in both generations and time periods of believers.

Chapter 3:

Here the authors talk about how the nature of the church is shifting from having some type of methodology, with the expectation that it look a certain way, and how instead, the church must come back to being about living like Jesus and giving glory to him while being a sign of the Kingdom to all those around them. As a result, emerging churches, by definition, “embrace the Gospel of the kingdom as revealed in Mark 1:15-16” (pg. 54). Also, the authors contend that emerging church communities are rooted to “follow the pattern set by Jesus” and thus heavily emphasize servanthood and forgiveness (pg. 59, 61).

Chapter 4:

The Modernist churches that currently exist foster division, as they are doing nothing to challenge the many evident dualisms. Meanwhile, emerging churches hold fast to the idea that all of life and everything a person does should be sacred and that people/the church need to move out of the compartmentalized mindset that some things are “secular” and other things are “sacred.” I really appreciate this aspect of the emerging churches - I have found that the church tradition I come from is really embracing this as well and I am in agreement with it. The authors also talk about the shift in worship between churches that are attempting to modernly appropriate by making a contemporary and traditional service, and instead replacing that with doing worship that is indigenous of the culture that is in the church’s immediate surroundings (pg. 77).

Chapter 5:

Emerging churches highly emphasize community in their definition of being a church. This type of “community” is said to be “centered around principles drawn from the story of Jesus” and thus strives to be about love, recreation, connectedness, etc. Further, the goal is that the church would be defined as a family unit comprised of relationships as opposed to an institution where people go to meetings and events. In order to get to this point, a big shift must take place, and the deeply rooted notion that a service or a building must be involved in order for something to be considered church needs to be addressed! Emerging churches has embraced small groups, or a network of small groups in order to cultivate this family life and connectedness.

Chapter 6:

Emerging churches are largely focused around the concept of inclusion of outsiders which is directly based on the practices of Jesus in this manner. In doing this, emerging churches see that outsiders and those who are different both clarify and define the boundaries of their faith (119). Church then should be a place where others feel safe to be around and to be a part of (to dwell) in what is going on despite being an “outsider.” Another emphasis of the emerging church is their focus on apologetics being on just straight living the lifestyle of and embodying the “Truth” rather than talking about the truth and confronting people with it verbally.

Chapter 7:

This chapter talks about the hospitality embraced by emerging churches in serving the stranger – those outside of their community along with serving those in their community. This style of living is rooted in Jesus and the kingdom which means living lives of “justice” while also not “preferring one over another” (136). Those in the emerging church look to “serve others as a part of a holistic way of life” and as a result they do not engage in social programs or activities but instead live a life of hospitality – a socially engaged way of life (144).

Chapter 8:

The worship of emerging churches is vastly different from modernist churches mainly because those who attend are not passive recipients of the worship, but instead are participants/contributors. The goal then in these churches is that there not be focus primarily up in front, but would be a place where people feel at home. This is different from my church tradition as what is going on in front is where much of the focus is as they are leading the group in worship. However, there is the emphasis that each person freely worship God having personal communion with him – taking personal responsibility for their worship which is an aspect of the emergent church (pg. 160).

Chapter 9:

The emerging church tradition holds to the creativity that each person possess, emphasizing that people should cultivate and use this part of them as it is a way of worshipping God! This creativity can be expressed in a number of different ways whether through giving a gift, painting or creating art, etc. By drawing out this aspect of themselves and embracing this, it gives “worshippers the opportunity to embrace aspects of God’s character they normally would not acknowledge” (178). Not only that, but they are also able to express God’s creativity as all are made in His image.

11/30/09 Class

In class on Monday we talked about the Christian Reformed church, touching a bit more on Calvin which was apparently a continuation from the last class period. The we went on to learn about the role the Puritans played in the progression of the church - what their mentality was in thinking that they must do certain things in order to win back the favor of God. We also talked about the Anabaptists, a special sect that was separate from the Protestants and the Catholics and whom both of those other sets of Christians actually persecuted. They emphasized that baptism should be coupled with a public confession of faith, so there should be no infant or child baptisms. Lastly we touched on the myths related to America and American's being "a chosen people" who had a covenant with God that is comparable to the covenant God had with Israel. Very interesting comparisons were presented Monday regarding this issue!

Class on 11/18/09

In class on Wednesday we talked a little bit more about Catholocism and then moved right into the New Monasticism movement. Watching the documentary on Shane Claiborne and "The Simple Way" ministry was really interesting. I had heard a little bit about it, but to hear him talk about the lifestyle of community he and his friends are trying to cultivate is really unique and something I wish we saw more of within the Christian culture. I agree with much of the way they are choosing to live, but I have to admit that it would be difficult to "unlearn" the way of independent life we have been taught as American's and to do everything out of community, including having a community purse. Wow! But this does seem to look very much like what I imagine the early church would have been like. We also talked about the rise of Lutheranism, the life of Martin Luther and how "Protestants" percolated. As silly as this sounds, and considering how long I have been a Christian this really is ridiculous, but I finally had the epiphany about the fact that we are called protestants because it started out of protest of the Roman Catholic church!

Class on 11/16/09

In class on Monday we discussed about the rise of Catholicism around the world. Honestly I was really hoping we would talk more about what Catholics believe and how that compares to Protestants, etc. But it was still really interesting to hear about the different continents, like Africa, Asia and South America and how Catholicism made its way to those parts and how it grew. I thought it was particularly interesting to hear that 50% of the world's population of Catholics are in South America alone. That just shows that almost the entire continent's population must be Catholic. I can attest to the fact of the high prominence of Catholicism in South America first hand - I used to be a missionary in Paraguay, central South America and found this fact to be true. There was quite a bit more idolatry involved with it even than there seems to be in the United States. I wonder how it differs even in Africa and Asia...

The Mestizo/a Community of the Spirit: A Postmodern Latino/a Ecclesiology

The Mestizo/a Community of the Spirit: A Postmodern Latino/a Ecclesiology

Chapter 1:

In the first chapter Garcia-Johnson discusses the differences between practical theology and traditional theology. He contends that practical theology is more ecclesial, action driven and contextually based and that there needs to be a linking together of faith with action especially among the Latin American poor communities who desperately need to know God’s love. He suggests that there needs to be a paradigm shift when people theologize by making coupling the Gospel with action, and action which is contextually relevant to the culture it is in – which in many Latin American cultures this is manifest in the effort of giving “voice to the voiceless” (pg.17) and creating an introduction of a new type of lifestyle for the poor.

Chapter 2:

Garcia-Johnson begins chapter two by explaining further how since the method of Latino methodology is practically based, the theology also is practical based looking at religious practices of the people. He details the history behind Latino theology, how it has its roots in liberation theology and then goes into the different people who played a pivotal role in thrusting the socio-theological development including the founders, builders and shapers. He also stands along with Robert Schreiter’s point of view saying that Latino theology has “Been developing out of a modern perception of culture” (pg. 48). Ultimately, he emphasizes how diverse the Latino culture really is and as a result there needs to be a shift to a postmodern cultural Latino theology that addresses the fact that the Latino culture is very relational in nature to get past the diversity issue. The goal is that Latino theology would be transformational so that it is culturally relevant in witnessing about Jesus while by also including the Spirit of Jesus.

Chapter 3:

In chapter three Garcia-Johnson addresses Pentecost and the cross. He begins by talking about the role Pentecost played in shaping Christian experience and thought, about how it points to “cultural creation” because that is when multiracial communities were developed (81). He then moves on to cruciformity which he basically argues is the practical part of Pentecost or in other words, living out the Pentecost experience by conforming to Jesus crucified. Garcia-Johnson argues the importance of the cross in shaping Christian communities that they would be incarnational and revolutionary. He later goes on to argue that these two concepts of Pentecost and Cruciformity should go hand in hand as “cruciformity is living life subversively and domestically in culture” (95).

Chapter 4:

Garcia-Johnson arranges the last chapter of his book around a post-modern approach to Latino community in the future. He divides this concept into three theological and cultural categories: 1) Mestizaje – the point of intersection that deals with the identity of the Latino/a Christian community. 2)accompaniment – this element highly emphasizes the role of relationships among those in Latino communities, specifically in regards to identity and 3) manana eschatology – this element encompasses the Latino Christian community that is focused on what the Word says about the future of God while making it applicable to modern day context. It should be noted that this element is driven by the role of the Holy Spirit. The end resulting combination of these three categories which according to Garcia-Johnson is the goal, results in “the Latino ecclesiological version of Christian communities of the Spirit” (98).

Bishop Graham Cray

I found the lecture by Bishop Graham Cray to be really interesting. He touched on various different ways the church can be reshaped in order to be culturally relevant to the society it is in. He emphatically argued that the old way of doing church will no longer work as 97% of the population (in the UK) are not attending or having anything to do with church! In response, he suggests that the church take on new forms, creative - fresh expressions - that will reach people where they are since calling people to "come back to church" is no longer doable as the current generations don't even have a grid or any knowledge for what "church" even is. It is like the body of Christ is going to a people group in some far away jungle who have never  heard the name of Jesus or anything to do with Christianity and will have to hear everything about the Gospel in a new and unique way - starting from the very beginning. In some ways I think this is a really cool and unique opportunity that the church faces!

Lecture 11/9/09

Monday's lecture was a preparation for the lecture we would receive on Wednesday from Bishop Graham Cray. We learned all about how we now live in a network consumer type of society and as a result one of the main ways we can be missional is by trying to reach people through network connections instead of through traditional mediums. Most of the material covered was in relation to the things that are going on in the UK but I found them to be insightful and they got me thinking creatively about how I can be missional in my own context, network, culture! 

Lecture 11/4/09

Wednesday's lecture was really interesting historically. Before this class I was not very familiar with the history of Charlemagne or the role he played in shaping church history. The way that he brought Christianity forward as the main religion during the time is significant. As a result it seems many people were calling themselves "Christians" when in all reality they weren't believers. There was also a huge power struggle between church and state during this time period and the role Charlegmagne play in that was significant as well. We also watched a video - the Martin Luther video that covered this history on Cortez and the bringing of the Gospel to the America's and the role Cortez and these other Europeans played in advancing the Gospel (both good and bad). 

Lecture 11/2/09

During class on Monday we covered significant history of the church as it spread throughout Africa and Asia. Much of what I heard during this lecture was new to me as I have never heard much about how Christianity began or even emerged throughout these regions. We learned about which countries have strong Christian presence and which still have only a minute % of people who profess to be being Christians. One thing that stuck out to me was the reality that even in the countries where there is a more significant amount of the population that is Christian, they still often face persecution. There is even  divisiveness and persecution amongst the different Christian sects in these regions (as I suppose there is as well here in the West when we get right down to it!) - Why can't we all just get along?! Ha!  :-)

Global Pentecostalism

Global Pentecostalism 

(I read 183 pages out of this book, though there were two chapters left, so you will not see those two included in this book review)

 

Chapter 1:

            The first chapter of this book deals with the history of the Pentecostal church movement. The authors cover the key figures including Parham and Seymour and the rise of Pentecostalism in the United States during the early 1900’s. They also emphasized that most Pentecostal churches don’t associate with a specific denomination, nor do they want to, but that there are several notable aspects of the Pentecostal church that distinguish them from most other mainline denominational churches. According to the authors, these include their worship, healings, neighborly love, and their belief in the Spirit world. This chapter also identifies five distinct types of Pentecostalism. Overall, Pentecostals are typically social activists and this is a significant point for the authors.

 

Chapter 2:

            Chapter two of this book is all about the social work of the Pentecostal church movement around the world. In fact, this is one area that appears to be of utmost importance to this group of believers. The authors show how Pentecostals are attempting to display holistic ministry that unites proselytizing with meeting the physical/social needs of the people. They engage in help that ranges from providing food and clothing, to offering counseling and education, medical assistance and policy changes that take a stand against injustices. One unique thing about what the Pentecostals are doing (according to the authors) is that they are “sensitive to their local needs and environments” so Pentecostal congregations around the world engage in unique social activities in order to elicit change and transformation in their own communities.

 

Chapter 3:

             In chapter three, the authors highlight the social outreach efforts of the Pentecostal church that are geared specifically toward children and youth in their communities world wide. Much like what was noted in the previous chapter, what is unique in this area is how Pentecostal from each country address the unique struggles of their children and have created programs and outreaches to meet these needs and to offer hope for a good future. The authors also touch on the Pentecostal churches world wide who have made a dramatic impact on the youth culture -whether through outreach programs or simply through the church itself being made up primarily of youth.

 

Chapter 4:

            Chapter four beings by outlining several different social outreaches of the Pentecostal church movement which strive to bring transformation in people’s lives primarily through some type of rehabilitation. In some cases this included drug and rehabilitation, in others it was a way out for those who have been sold into modern day slave trade and sex trade. In any case, the authors in this chapter emphasize Pentecostals’ strong belief about the intervention and power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the people. They also note that while some Pentecostals (specifically leadership) can be legalistic, however, there has emerged another group of them who are genuinely committed to bringing transformation in people’s lives by manifesting the same ministry of Jesus  (love and compassion) to the poor, outcast, children, etc.

 

Chapter 5:

            In this chapter the authors have gone through the various elements of Pentecostal worship. They start with addressing the physical buildings in which worship is held, and they note that there is such a wide variety from country to country that clearly the physical structure is of little importance since worship is an “internal experience” for Pentecostals. Next they talk about the musical aspect of worship and how the goal of it is to create an atmosphere where one can feel the Holy Spirit and often this is accomplished by following a specific song structure. They also noted how active Pentecostals are in their worship, dancing and moving around. Next they touch on the unique aspects of prayer, speaking in tongues and the use of other “gifts of the Spirit” that Pentecostals embrace. Prayer is frequent and often fervent, as is speaking in tongues. This chapter was pretty lengthy, and too long to go into detail about everything the authors touched on, but they also went into detail about how Pentecostals cast out demons, are slain in the spirit, and in some cases even see resurrections.  

 

Chapter 6:

            The authors talk about the correlation between religion/faith of believers and economics, specifically economic advancement at the start of this chapter. They include multiple examples of people who became Pentecostal believers and experienced an upward movement in an economic sense, where the connection is also made to living a disciplined and honest lifestyle as well. The authors also outline some of the commonly held beliefs within Pentecostalism, namely the way they look past social class or caste system, the “Prosperity Gospel,” and how they focus on the life of Jesus. 

Lecture 10/28/2009

We started learning about the Church after Constantine in class on Wednesday and in doing this we watched a film. One thing I found fascinating about the film was all the historical background that it gave. I have visited modern day Istanbul, Turkey and have been to the Sophia which is now a very famous mosque, and while I was there visiting it, I remember them telling us that it used to be a place of worship for Christians. Also, that underneath a lot of the Arabic words and islamic painting in the mosque there is actually old Christian paintings on the wall. I have always wondered what happened historically that place of worship like that one could end up being a Islamic Mosque. In this video they told all about the history of the Sophia and how it came to be, answering my long standing question when I didn't even expect to have it answered in this class!

10/26/2009

In class on Monday we talked more about the Church before Constantine. Then we split up into our groups and broke down into the Church worksheet categories how the Church before Constantine was defined. One thing I thought was interesting was how it was how what the nature of the church was, was more vague, more cut and dry perhaps - just to be people who live their lives with the witness of their faith and who share the Gospel with others. This seems to have been the period when there was the greatest shift between the laity and the role of the Bishop. I appreciated how the church during this time placed so much value on the martyrs during that time as well! 

Lecture 10/21/2009

I haven't ever heard much about what the church was like after the "Early Church" and before Constantine. During this time period 10% of the population were Christians which it is interesting to hear what a powerful force they were as the continued to multiply over the decades and centuries. It wasn't until halfway through this period that Christians finally began to use buildings to meet in for "church." Before that it was still in peoples' homes. The actual services during this time were still a mix between free/informal and formal with the role of some of the leadership beginning to take place. We will see even more of this shift in the next period I believe to where the formalities will emerge within the Church. 

God's Missionary People Book Review

Chapter 1:

Charles Van Engen asserts that the Church is fulfilling its purpose when it lives out its call to be a missionary people and the local church in particular should be missionaries within their specific environment. The local church across the world is still in the process of grasping the fact that church and mission are intertwined in function and purpose.

 

Chapter 2:

The nature of the church, it’s mission for being, and it’s relation to the world have all come into question, especially during the 19^th century as their interrelatedness have become evident. Missionary outreach has played a part in further forming them into becoming together an emerging missionary Church.

 

Chapter 3:

The Apostle Paul establishes three missional purposes for the Church in his letter to the Ephesians. First, the Church should seek  to be unified, characterized by oneness, all the parts functioning as part of the greater whole. Secondly, the Church’s mission should be to seek to achieve holiness as the body of Christ. Thirdly, the Church’s mission is to reach out to all people, the whole earth, calling and drawing people to God.

 

Chapter 4:

Throughout history we see that the Church has taken on various attributes that identify it as the Church. At one point there three marks of the church – pure preaching of the Gospel, pure administration of sacraments and exercise of church discipline. Later on, there were four missional attributes that made up the totality of the Church’s existence: Unity (unifying the body), Holiness (sanctifying the body), Catholicity (reconciling people) and Apostolicity (proclaiming the good news).

 

Chapter 5:

One of the main intentions of the church should be focused on upward and outward missional efforts. This includes finding the purpose of its existence in being a witness to the rest of the world. More specifically, in being present among the poor and oppressed. Also, that the church would “yearn” for numerical growth, adding in number, gathering and bringing in new believers.

Chapter 6:

The Church emerges in its missional nature encompassing the following four descriptions. Koinonia – the Church should be defined by its loving fellowship among its members. Kerygma – the confession of Jesus as Lord. Diakonia – the Church should minister to all who are in need. Martyria – the Church shall be witness to all, in every arena. 

Chapter 7:

The Church as the missionary people of God is to be extension of the kingdom of God, to spread the knowledge of God, and to be a sign of the coming of the kingdom of God. The Church will emerge as the Covenant community that is a branch of the kingdom of God, blessing the nations.

 

Chapter 8:

The mission of Jesus is a pattern for the Church in the world today . The Church will missionary congregations that minister out of Christ’s threefold ministry. Ministry to public, social and religious needs (Prophet). Ministry to private and spiritual matters (Priest). Ministry to organizational and political needs (King).

 

Chapter 9:

Local congregations should have a vision of their mission given the context in which they are serving. They should set goals as to what they want to accomplish/achieve missionally in their context and create plans to make them happen. Also, the Church is comprised of systems and subsystems within the congregation that helps it accomplish these things.

 

Chapter 10:

Missionary congregations become such by the 10% committed members equipping and leading the other 90% of the church to grow in spiritual maturity so that together the entire church can corporately reach out with the gospel in its context and to the whole world. The focus of ministry should be outward and not inward focused within the church.

 

Chapter 11:

The role of leadership in the church is critical as these people are catalysts in mobilizing the others in the church in becoming missionary people of God.

Various leadership styles will be evident and must be adapted according to what type of leadership situations are calling for. Servant leadership should be strived after, following the model Jesus himself set.

 

Chapter 12:

The role of administration in the local church is also critical in cultivating a missional Church as they “facilitate the actual doing of congregational mission in the world” (pg 179).  This role should serve to focus the church’s ministry, bringing clarity of the goals and purposes of the church and leading the congregation into the practicality and do-ability of becoming missionary congregations.

 

Lecture 10/19/2009

In lecture on Monday we reviewed the elements that made up the Early Churches. In small groups we filled out the Church Worksheet as it relates to the Early Churches, establishing what their nature of the church was during that time, what new sacraments and liturgy they had instituted during this time period, how they uniquely operated in community together (which this part was especially interesting to me because they are such a strong model of how house churches operate and "live life" together). Also, we discussed how they were witnesses in their community, especially with the out breaking of the Holy Spirit, and the martyrdoms that were taking place. Lastly, we discussed how the Early Churches had a unique leadership structure and organization with the person who was the head of the household being the main leader over all those who were a part of the household community (even when this person was a woman). This lecture was useful in summarizing the information we learned about Early Churches in order to get the overall picture of what they looked like and how they operated.  

Lecture 10/14

Lecture on Wednesday was very informative about what the "church" was like during the earliest of days as found in Acts. The information about how the Christian communities were often comprised of households where basically everyone in the house were believers and that whoever was the head of the house was typically the spiritual head as well. One thing I learned from this class lecture that I had never heard before was the fact that it wasn't seen as necessary for Jews who converted and became Christians to be baptized and that only new believers who were not Jews needed to be baptized (even if they grew up in a Christian home). I thought this was profound because it brings back to light how the Jews really are God's chosen people and that they are set apart from Gentiles in some sense. 

Lecture 10/12/2009

Our discussion on and the breakdown of Jesus Kingdom and Church in lecture on Monday really helped me see the whole picture of what Jesus was doing during his 3 years of ministry as well as the perspective of his followers as they were challenged by Jesus to be a new Israel, acting as God's people. Our small group established what the Nature of the Church was, what some of the Liturgy and Sacraments were that they adhered to, the way they treated each other and interacted as community, how they served as witnesses in the community around them, and how they uniquely followed a new familial organization where also, leadership was established in God the Father as opposed to the patriarchal approach of the rest of their society. One of the most significant aspects about the "church" during this time, in my opinion, must have been their no longer having a nationalistic approach toward the government, king, other people, etc but instead approaching in love! 

Class 10/7/09

During lecture on Wednesday we covered how Jesus operated in Community, Worship, Mission and Leadership. The one thing that was most profound amidst covering that material was the way Jesus came in and challenged the paradigm that held Rome as the enemy, and instead asserted that Satan was their enemy thus, in order to be people of God, they no longer considered people their enemies but learned how to "love" instead and to acknowledge who their real enemy was. I also thought it was really interesting how Jesus established leadership and community around a family structure, placing God the Father as the "patriarch" as this would have been contrary (as the father would have been the patriarch) and at the same time, familiar to how the people were already living (highly familial). 

The Great Emergence - Book Report 1

The Great Emergence

By Phyllis Tickle

Chapter 1:

            In chapter 1, Tickle lays the foundational groundwork that provides her readers with the history leading up to the ensuing “Great Emergence.” She goes through significant “Great” events that have taken place, ironically, in 500-year increments over past centuries. In this list of “Great” events, Tickle covers the Great Schism, the Great Reformation, Gregory the Great and briefly about the Great Transformation. She emphasizes that the current state of Christianity is a by-product of 500-year periods in history.

 

Chapter 2:

            Events of the past have led up to the current “Great Emergence,” have set it into motion and have shaped it into what it is. The analogy of a cable (and how each part of a cable functions as part of religion and Christianity) is used to describe the process of how one of these “Great” events in religion evolves. It’s the idea that when two parts of the cable are both broken down at the same time a fateful event takes place (every 500 or so) years.

 

Chapter 3:

            One key time periods in history that has led up to the Great Emergence is the Great Reformation in the 1500’s, which established that Scripture alone is the authority for the Christian faith. As a result, the Reformation caused literacy rates to go up as it challenged people to read the Word for themselves. Tickle goes through all the historical happenings during this time including the rise of Protestantism and a the Catholic Counter-Reformation that brought about the Jesuits, seminary establishment, etc.

 

Chapter 4:

            Freud, Darwin and their colleagues introduced new thought that challenged traditionally held Christian beliefs thereby contributing to this ensuing Great Emergence. The creation of communication tools also contributed because through these means of communication new and radical “heretical” thoughts were introduced and circulated.

 

Chapter 5

            Einstein and Heisenberg then emerged with scientific discoveries along with the idea that no absolute truth exists but only “truth relative to the perceiver” which contradicted Christian thought. The introduction of Pentecostalism brought shifts away from “traditional” views of Christianity and the role of the Holy Spirit. Then came Marx who pushed that government is Absolute and all other authority should be eliminated. There was rise to feminism, shift in traditional family structure, pastoral care being found from the internet, and scripture getting pushed to the background of life.

 

Chapter 6

            The Church has gone from four traditional and unique quadrants of belief to being merged together into where new ideas of Church are arising that stem from the center of the quadrants, drawing elements from all four of the traditional quadrants. Yet there remains a remnant of traditionalists who maintain stability amidst the transition of faith taking place.

 

Chapter 7

            As in past times of upheaval the question of where authority lies is again hanging in the balance. Tools for defining what is Truth have emerged. Yet believers are still split where some maintain that scripture is ultimate authority and others refuse to put God “in a box” and hold also to revelation of the Holy Spirit in the present. Belief within the Great Emergence movement ultimately is moving toward the thought that authority lies in Scripture and also in Community. 

Lecture 10/5/2009

I found Monday's lecture very interesting and informative. What stuck out to me most was the way Jesus related to people on a level that was normal, typical, and natural to them, and at the same time, taking his agenda of proclaiming the Kingdom of God and introducing it in a way that would have been counterintuitive for the people. I love how Jesus showed love to people (even in the way he - and his message - was inclusive of those who were marginalized outcasts) showing that all are welcome in the Kingdom of God! I also thought all the information about the Temple, Synagogue and home was really interesting as I didn't realize that when the people lived far from the Temple, they would go to Synagogue instead and only make the journey to the Temple for significant occasions and that sacrifices could not be made at the Synagogue - only at the Temple!

Lecture 9/30/2009

In class on Wednesday we discussed more in depth about the class assignments. Then we split up into groups of 4 and each shared about our church backgrounds - from early on in our faith up until our present affiliation. I was especially surprised by the fact that several of us had similar stories; grew up in traditional church backgrounds like Presbyterian and Lutheran and through a series of life transitions were exposed to charismatic, even Pentecostal church backgrounds. It seems to me that the generations before us - starting with my parents age, it was more common for them to grow up and stick with the same denomination their whole lives whereas the proceeding generations (myself included) have been exposed to been committed at one point or another to the spectrum of christian denominations. 

Lecture 9/28/2009

I found today's class discussion to be incredibly relevant and thought provoking. It is apparent that cultural differences are becoming more and more prominent throughout communities across the United States. As a result, I agree as Professor Bolger said, that it is necessary for the church to be culturally relevant in their unique community and society in order for them to effectively reach people with the Gospel. I can especially connect with the idea that we as the body of Christ should be encouraging and challenging new believers and existing believers to go from being pacifists to being incarnational with their faith and in their communities.