8/01/2010

A little more "Total Church" from their introduction pg. 18


I like this list of possible adjustments that might turn up as we pursue some Biblical re-thinking about the "success" of our local church.

Being both gospel-centered and community-centered might mean:
-seeing church as an identity instead of a responsibility to be juggled along with other commitments
-celebrating ordinary life as the context in which the word of God is proclaimed with "God-talk" as a normal   feature of everyday conversation
-running fewer evangelistic events, youth clubs, and social projects and spending more time sharing our lives with unbelievers
-starting new congregations instead of growing existing ones
-preparing bible talks with other people instead of just studying alone at a desk
-adopting a 24-7 approach to mission and pastoral care instead of starting ministry programs
-switching the emphasis from bible teaching to bible learning and action
-spending more time with people on the margins of society
-learning to disciple one another-and to be discipled-day by day
-having churches that are messy instead of churches that are trying to pretend
  We have called this book Total Church.  Church is not a meeting you attend or a place you enter. It is an identity that is ours in Christ. It is an identity that shapes the whole of life so that life and mission become "total church."

Here is a link to info on the book "Total Church"
http://www.amazon.com/Total-Church-Radical-Reshaping-Community/dp/1844741915