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RETHINKING THE CHURCH
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Most of us remember learning the hand activities that went
along with the rhyme . . .
here is the door
here is the steeple
open the doors
and see all the people
What does hand church teach us about church?
Click to the next slide to see what others said.
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1. There is an assumption regarding what a church should
look like (steeple)
2. You have to go into the building in order to see the
people.
3. People are not the church . . . they are only inside of the
church.
4. Church is a building.
Check out the video WHAT IS THE CHURCH? on the
Message Resource page before moving on.
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1. As we prepare to introduce our ministry vision for
Renew Community Church I want to give us some of the
why behind the what.
2. We talk about church in ways that make us loose focus.
Check out the examples on the next slide.
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I am going to church tomorrow
We refer to the church as a building
Church was awesome this morning
We refer to church as an event.
What type of church is it?
We refer to the church as a system of doctrines and
traditions
Can you think of any? Leave a post with your input!
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1. As we prepare to introduce our ministry vision for
Renew Community Church I want to give us some of the
why behind the what.
2. We talk about church in ways that make us loose focus.
3. The major shifts in our culture are forcing us to re-
examine the churchs identity, purpose, and practices.
Watch the POST-CHRISTENDOM PANEL video at the
Message Resources page before moving on.
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the culture that emerges . . .
1) as the Christian faith loses coherence within a society
that has been definitively shaped by the Christian story
and
2) as the institutions that have been developed to express
Christian convictions decline in influence.
Stuart Murray
Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World
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These seven shifts indicate the post-Christendom nature
of our strange new world.
1. From the centre to margins
In Christendom the Christian story and the churches
were central, but in post-Christendom these aremarginal.
2. From majority to minority:
In Christendom Christians comprised the (often
overwhelming) majority, but in post-Christendom we are
a minority.
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6. From maintenance to mission
In Christendom the emphasis was on maintaining asupposedly Christian status quo, but in post-
Christendom it is on mission within a contested
environment.
7. From institution to movement:In Christendom churches operated mainly in institutional
mode, but in post Christendom we must become again
a Christian movement.
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1. Jesus told his disciples that he would build his church
(Matthew 16:18)
2. The apostles understood the Great Commission to be
about planting churches.
Acts 15:36, 40-41
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go backand visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached
the word of the Lord and see how they are doing."
40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the
brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through
Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
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We will use the following definition as a framework for this
series and will be developing one phrase each week.
people created in the image of God
responding in faith to his provision
under his rule
serving his purposes
in meaningful community with him and others
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Spend some time thinking about how you use the
word church and how you have though of it.1. Make an effort to only use it to refer to Gods
people.
2. What has church meant to you? Has it been
a place to go to, an activity to participate in,
or a community of people to be part of?
Reflect on the shift to post-Christendom.
1. Do you see evidence of this in your own social
network?2. What do you think is required for the
community of Gods people to faithfully
respond to this shift?