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Last week I was at annual national leaders conference for my denomination, and I posted some thoughts about the benefits of being in a denomination.
I came to this time with other vineyard pastors with the stir in the blog world caused by Tony Jones, and his post on Lonnie Frisbee and the vineyard.
I’m not going to post/respond to what seemed like an indolent villification designed to attract comments (other than of course, that being a response in itself). Jason Coker provided one of the more thoughtful responses I’ve seen, and I would point you to his post here.
But the discussions did make me think about the ups and downs of the VIneyard movement, and my own 22 years involved with it, with my own ebb and flow.
So coming to our national conference with that in mind, it was timely to have Caleb Maskell, in a main conference session, a trained church historian (Princeton University) and vineyard church planter, reviewing our own history, and asking if there was ‘any move left in our movement’?
His review was encouragingly and necessarily critical, exploring some of what has given rise to the more painful transitions of the vineyard, and it was hopeful, in that it asked us to consider what would be required for us to be more than a renewal movement of the past, and located that within a traditioned and scriptured possibility. Caleb also exhorted us to undertake the necessary reflection and work, and thinking theologically, that such a possibility would take.
I was reminded again, and grateful at that point for how Todd Hunter and Vineyard, back in 1999, had stimulated that questioning process for me, that led to the theological exploration, and emerging church journey I have been on since then.
The new Society of Vineyard Scholars meeting this month, seems to offer a recapitulation of those earlier initiatives, but perhaps this time with our movement more ready to undertake the reflection that Caleb ha pointed us to.
Our national director, John Mumford (twitter link here), the night before Caleb spoke, had ably reminded us of 10 values/practices and distinctives of what made many of join and stay part of the Vineyard, that was exciting to hear again, as the re-telling of your most important values always are.
So with those values still in mind, then hearing Caleb’s challenge/call to our movement, my thoughts immediately turned to how those 10 distinctives might be run against some of the necessary theological questions of evangelicalism/emerging culture that the emerging church conversation has raised over the last 10 years?
So over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to do a few things here. I’m going to review Caleb’s analysis of vineyard decline, and possibilities in more detail, outline those 10 values John Mumford provided us with, and then run those 10 things against my best understanding of some of the theological questions that have arisen for evangelicalism in the past 10 years.
I hope that results in a re-articulation of those 10 values, and offers in some small way the beginnings of a response to Caleb’s challenge to us, of what might be need to move from renewal to being an ongoing movement.
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The Vineyard Anti-Slavery Task Force with the Vineyard Community of Churches has announced the creation of Justice Response, a resource website meant to empower people and churches to join the fight against modern-day slavery. Click on the link and take a look!
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In his deeply impactful, and somewhat controversial book, Revelation as History, Wolfhart Pannenberg insists that a ”true” revelation of God, as distinguished from a specific theophany or even a “word” – verbal or visionary - is most deeply grasped in an indirect manner through an interaction with and analysis of history. As one trained in the craft of history, this is an exciting and captiviating trajectory of thought. Moreso though, I think this thesis finds an abiding endurance in the post-modern milieu, particularly because Pannenberg did not limit the self-revelation of God to the history of Israel, a stance not that far from the apostle Paul, who can be seen supporting this idea in the initial chapters of Romans – if God is the one, true God then He is God of all. Thus, in Pannenberg we see that all of history becomes theotokos - God-bearer. Even though there are issues with Pannenberg’s thesis, in reflecting on it, I find find it thought-provoking…so let me provoke you wit some thoughts.
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This next week I’m at my denominations annual conference.
Meantime Steve Hamilton who has guest posted here several times in the past, with lots of great interactions with many of you, is going to be posting some more pieces over the coming week.
So I’ll be away but there will be plenty of great new materials by Steve for you to read and interact with this week.
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So I left home at 5:15 am yesterday, travelled by taxi, tube, two trains and another taxi and arrived bang on time for speaking at the Leicester Diocesan conference.
I gave my presentation on ‘The transformative possibilities and challenges for worship in contemporary culture?’, and it seemed to be well received and prompted some great questions afterwards.
It was recorded for sound and video. My notes and powerpoint are on the Clergy Conference web site, and the Diocese will have the talk online here from 25th january.
I got to meet Jules Gomez, who was teaching on worship at the conference, and is a lecturer in biblical theology at my alma mater, London School of Theology.
What a great guy, aside from his profound teaching abilities.
It was great to catch up briefly with Maggi Dawn, too long since I last spoke with her.
Another highlight was the mindmap/visual mapping that was being made through the conference of all the speakers and conversations. I took some photos of the mappings of my presentation, one of them is above.
Then lunch, and some time with pioneer mission people including Martin Poole, who leads www.beyondchurch.co.uk. It was great to meet him, and I came away with admiration for all he is doing in Brighton.
Also meeting so many other wonderful people at the event, including Stuart Burns and Mike Harrison, who invited me in the first place.
Then I made my train from Alfreton to Nottingham with seconds to spare, which turned out to be fortuitous, in that on my train to London from Nottingham, I bumped into Steve Hollinghurst, who I have been trying to meet up for over the last year or so. So that was a great way to pass the two hour trip back to London.
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So today I’m travelling at 5:15 am to get to Leicester ,for an invitation to speak a the Leicester Diocesan Conference, where I am told, there will be 180 Anglican priests.
The topic I’ve been asked to input on is of ‘The transformative possibilities and challenges for worship in contemporary culture?’
Looking at the schedule, I see Maggi Dawn should be there, so I’m looking forward to this event and to hearing Maggie.
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I’ve been part of the association of vineyard churches for the past 22 years, more than half my life, and we have our annual national leaders conference next week, that I’m looking forward to. Over the past 22 years my enthusiasm for conferences has waxed and waned and I find myself in a different place this coming year.
One way I understand the cycles of my engagement with life and relationships is the ‘romance-disillusionment-joy’ motif. The first flush of excitement an engagement, that then leads to a period of where reality kicks in, and the honeymoon is over with the false understandings falling away, and then the rebuilding of relationship around better understandings, insight and growth, that leads to joy.
I’ve found there is no way around this process, no matter what we are engaged in and with, and as a church planter I think the same goes for involvement not just in church planting but in the relationship of being a church planter in a denomination. And I think that process is normal and healthy, the move from dependence to independence and into interdependence.
If the idea of being involved in a church as necessary for Christian identity and formation has been going the way of the dodo these past few decades in the UK, the relevance of denominations must be even more remote and unpromising. Yet I find myself 22 years later discovering the ‘joy’ of being in a denomination, and making a quick list of some of the immedaite benefits that I am re-discovering (and as I post this I am not romanticising denominations):
1. Shared beliefs & values: Having others who share the basics of what you think church is about, is excuse the pun, ‘invaluable’. Some of the most important values our community has, are the DNA of our denomination and movement.
2. Shared story and history: The vineyard movement is over 30 years old and interpretations of our history are much contested. But I;m finding the comfort of having my 22 years of memories to share with others who have been along similar roads. There is a comfort in reaching back over nearly 25 years of church planting experience around shared stories.
3. Shared Mission and action: Doing something things with others within our denomination comes quickly and easily. There is a short hand from your shared values and story that enables action around these values, that is easy to take for granted.
4. Accountability: Having a group of peers who will and have asked what I believe, and why I’m doing it, is a life saver. I’m talking about mutuality in accountability here, the asking of hard questions out of live and support, not control. I know my heart is deceitful above all things, and needs the questioning of people who are for me.
5. Training and Resources: I’ve been the beneficiary of some amazing resources over the years that only a denomination can put together and deliver.
Any other benefits to being in a denomination that you have experienced?
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A large and increasing part of what I do is public speaking.
Whether teaching in worship services, classes at seminaries, speaking at conferences, or training in small groups, I’m regulalry having to put stuff together and share it with other people, for varied reasons.
So I’m always on the lookout for resources that will help me in preparing, and presenting. And a cracker of a book just came into my life the other day.
I reckon this book, by Scott Berkun, ‘Confessions of a Public Speaker‘ has to be the most refreshing and inspiring book for public speaking that I have come across in a long time. I’ve found myself looking forward to reading it not only to become a better communicator, but just for the shear entertainment it provides.
Some books are about making your slides all zen and apple like (that leave me wishing I had the time and skills of a full time designer). Some are technical on the nature and dynamics of communication skills, and some are about the process of researching and distilling materials for presentation content.
Confessions of a Public Speaker is something different, with the inside and personal story of a great public speaker, that is entertaining, inspiring and stuffed full of tips of the nature of public speaking and what makes a great public speaker.
An inside view of what great public speaking look, feels and smells like, and anyone speaking in public should read it.
Any other resources you have found useful?
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Watching and reading the news from Haiti unfold, writing about anything else seems futile, and having anything meaningful to say seem a struggle in the face of such tragedy.
I listened to the Haitian Ambassador to the US say that the Lord gives and takes away, as he framed the work ahead for his country. Would I have that level of faith I wondered?
I’m sure like many, events like this where the poorest and the weakest are hurt so deeply, lead me to ask ‘why God?’ And where are You?
I’ve long noticed that I can maintain faith whilst bad things happen to others, as they are all the time, in the most appalling ways, for they are out of sight. Then when something happens to those I love, and faith is tested more, just because it’s happened to someone I know, and closer to me perhaps. Then when it happens to me, doubts rear their head the most.
This reveals the selfish nature of my doubts process. And then Haiti happens and the scale of suffering, overwhelms that process and self insulation.
So today I’m not going to try to offer an answer for my doubts, which would still be about me, for I am not the one suffering.
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Back on the 4th January in my review of last year I suggested I might move my blogging away from here at Deep Church and back into www.jasonclark.ws.
Firstly with facebook, twitter and the larger online life I have, having everything under the one site www.jasonclark.ws might be easier for me and make more sense.
Also with the publication of Deep Church, by Jim Belcher (which I think is a great book BTW, it’s mapping of a third way between traditional and emerging church, is where I find myself for sure), I’ve been asking myself what my focus is here?
And that leads me to think that I need to move out more broadly into areas other than theological musings on ecclesiology.
I’ve wanted for some time to write out of the 13 years experience of church planting, about the concrete experience of church planting, warts and all. I want to write more about the dynamic of mental health and healing in the Christian life. I also want to write more out my research about the possibilities for the renewal of Evangelicalism. I also want to write about the nature of pastoral ministry, of life as a full time pastor, what that has been like and what I have been learning.
So I’m still left wondering if that would work better under www.jasonclark.ws or here at Deep Church?
