I knew Jude many years ago when we were both in the same congregation. It was funny how the evening before in the restaurant I'd noticed her and her husband and thought: "Gee, that woman looks like Jude, but it couldn't be!" But it was, so it was great to catch up on many years of story.
The Conference has brought together about 150 leaders and their teams from churches of all sizes & denominations across the world. I think there were about a dozen nationalities there today. It is being hosted by Network Church, Philadelphia Campus and St. Thomas Church, Crookes here in Sheffield.
It focuses on developing healthy Missional Communities - which are grounded in "Covenant" and "Kingdom." Out of authentic Covenant identity and community comes a commitment to the King, and therefore the Kingdom of God.
"Taking the Father's purposes to all creation." This means taking discipleship, family and belonging seriously as well as missional engagement.
"Taking the Father's purposes to all creation." This means taking discipleship, family and belonging seriously as well as missional engagement.
The conference consists of daily teaching, worship, seminar sessions, consultation time, ministry and is shared between the two campuses. Days one and four include input from both churches and their shared values and principles. Day two will look at Philadelphia’s practical outworking of these values as a Network Church, whilst Day Three will focus on Crookes as a Transitional Church.
One thing that struck me on day one - and it wasn't the technical stuff about how they do things, though that is interesting too.
It was the passionate emphasis on heartfelt worship and prayer. As Rich Robinson said first up before a time of worship: "We focus on worship rather than big plans because we can't do it in our own strength." The small and sensitive band led straight into "Oh come led us adore Him." One hundred and fifty voices and pairs of hands raised in praise. It didn't feel like a concert or a 'song' time.
The starting point is the greatness and glory of God. It is the transforming encounter with the powerful and present Spirit of Jesus that motivates a hunger for obedience and discipleship, which in turn opens the heart and ears to the question: "What is this great God saying to me - and how do I respond?"
This becomes the foundation for mission and then action and lastly all those questions about doing church better that we tend to put first where they don't belong.
This becomes the foundation for mission and then action and lastly all those questions about doing church better that we tend to put first where they don't belong.
We've learnt that ecclesiology comes after missiology... but actually doxology comes first - and then: "teaching them to obey all I have commanded you..."
Much of the missional/emergent conversation has been about doing church better, or rescuing dying congregations or about doing more community engagement, or better witnessing, or getting young people into church or engaging in multi-cultural dialogue or finding more apostles, prophets and evangelists, or finding more relevant forms of worship-service, or saving the planet ....
But what would it look like to start with an encounter with the God who is really present, and powerful and glorious? What would it look like if we expected to hear the voice of God and see the acts of God in our midst? What would it look like to genuinely disciple converts so they grew in Christ and in the knowledge of the Faith? What if we expected lives to be transformed miraculously and for worship to become less scripted, less platform-driven, because we wouldn't know beforehand what God might do, what testimony might be shared, what grace received or word spoken?
One of the cool guys I met was Matt Broughton, who in his early twenties, with friends, has planted a uni students' church near Sheffield University and has stories to tell about young adults coming to the Lord and seeing the direction of their lives changed. "We're getting up to 200 people, we'll be looking fo a new place to meet soon! It would be great if we could use the old cathedral, next door!" He is being mentored and trained as part of the growing number of missional communities that form what is becoming a movement. What would it look like for us to release guys in their early twenties, unordained to do that?
