Christology - Missiology - Ecclesiology

A statement that I have heard quite a bit is:
"Christology should inform our missiology which should inform our ecclesiology".
(it's probably someone in particular's quote but I have no idea of the originator of it - if anyone knows do let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!)

What?, you say. That is, what we know of Jesus and who he is and what we believe/know about him should inform how we live that message out/share that with others which in turn should inform the way we be/do church, the people of God.
Think about it for a while and I suspect that it will transform how you think about these things, and even more how you live them, like it has, and is even more at the moment, transforming mine.

I think often as Christians we separate all of these things our view of Jesus in one corner, our mission in another and our view of how church should be in another, or we certainly do it in a different order to this. I think often the way we do church (ecclesiology) comes first or at least second and especially informs how we do mission rather than the other way around.

I've been asking myself how would my life change if I really lived with these things informing each other in this order? What would look different?

I've had a number of conversations over the last couple of years about handling the amount of information and contactability that is "available" to us these days, if not pressed upon us .... including some conversations with people who may be reading this blog.
If that topic interests you, you may well be interested in this article about Bit Literacy (http://www.goodexperience.com/columns/04/0128.bitliteracy.html) which Dave put on his site and which I found quite interesting.

Reading a book at the moment by Sally Morgenthaler "Worship Evangelism" and loving thinking about the need to provide spaces where people can encounter God. It's helping me even more passionate than normal about our gatherings and our lives giving people opportunity to have an encounter with God - not just telling people about God.

Great blog entry

Here's a great blog entry by Justin about missional communities - don't agree with what he's saying but he raises questions that I wrestle with. You might like to have a look: Missional Communities blog entry

Spirituality Interest

Somethings been really bugging me lately - the way so many Christians think that people outside the church aren't interested in spirituality ... and I so disagree with that!
In my experience, people are so much more interested in spirituality than most people in the church give the impression of ... and are quite insulted by the implication that they are not interested in spirituality ... often they are more passionate about their search for meaning/God/an experience of the "Other" than we in the church & search for it in more genuine ways

A Predicament

Here's the situation a friend of mine found herself in.
One of her friends is involved in a political/activism group, that my friend also has an interest in, and was heading up some times on holistic health within that scene. My friend, naturally, was invited to take part. Along the way she discovered that one of the people involved/going was quite into spells and that kind of thing and wanted to do chant type stuff over everyone. Should she go?
Two opposed lines of thoughts:
Firstly, going opens you up to a range of spiritual influences.
Secondly, what better opportunity to be a presence of the kingdom!

What do you think?

Allegience

Almost out of nowhere I started thinking about the concept of allegience today. It was like a thought completely left of centre that just made alot of sense. Not sure if words can give it justice - but I'll try.
I thought about how in an army or when I think about things like ancient times - the concept of someone changing their allegience from one kingdom, one persons ways of doing things to another seems very real and natural. You need to de-program yourself from the ways of kingdom y because you now belong to kingdom x.
Struck me in a new way that is what it is like for us who are followers of Jesus - our allegience is a changed thing, and that it is about learning slowly but surely what that allegience to Jesus and the kingdom of God means.
All stuff I've even talked about heaps - but today a new level of hit my wholistic understanding.
And the key question - am I spelling allegience correctly?

Blogging Quiz

For those of you who are bloggers, you might like to take this blogging quiz - I enjoyed and came up with a score that indicated that I was a dediated blogger but that I still had a social life. That's about right!
Here is the url - I am still trying to work out how to put links in.
http://wannabe.catharsis.org/bin/quiz.cgi?quiz=one
Enjoy!

I have been conscious that I haven't written for awhile - but also conscious that I'm quite tired and while I have been thinking of plenty of things to write about they aren't quite coming at the time I could sit down and write.
One of the many things that I have pondered in the last week has been "what does it mean to be the presence of the kingdom of God in the world"?
I wonder what it means for you today?

Email Lists and Web Communication

One of my communities email list has had a sudden influx of emails about the bible and questions that the Old Testament raises about the character of God and that kind of thing - which has then prompted a discussion about the usage of the email list and about email/web communication - all good stuff actually.
One of the questions has been around the fact (?) that you don't have body language etc to mitigate and filter what you say in email/web communication. I have been thinking about that and the various forums in which I am part of web communities of sorts. In my experience, where you have some experience of the person, or knowledge of the person, then you read what is written in email or discussion through your knowledge of them - and that picture builds over time and interaction, however that interaction is. I do think that physical interaction is important but that is where the strength of the kind of email forum I am talking about comes in - it is one of many interactions possible within the given community, with plenty of other types of interaction possible.
Within all this I've been thinking about the difference in the way people view things like web communication and have blinkers on the types of communications they consider "normal" - even though the questions raised about web communication are perfectly valid and helpful too.
I have also been thinking about emotion, tone and freedom in such communication.
Just small issues!

In Adelaide - sightseeing and stuff of the like, having been with a Beach Mission team for a few days in Port Fairy ... lots of time to be prompted by things to blog about (now in an internet cafe):

First thing that has been prompting thought in me is the Parable of the Weeds - have a read of it. But the thing it made me think about is that it seems to be a kingdom principle to let both the good (the wheat) and the bad (the weeds) grow side by side so that in pulling out the weeds you don't kill the wheat that is there. I think so often I see weeds and want to get rid of them straight away and in doing so actually kill wheat along the way. What do you reckon? What thoughts does it prompt for you?

I've been reading a book called Mass Culture - different perspectives on Communion. Been thinking about whether this meal that Jesus instituted is for his followers and the role that it has for people who are not followers of Jesus What do you reckon?