andi's perspective

BUSINESS 2.0

Business is changing as it adapts to the not yet unfolded implications of what it means to be a global "knowledge economy".

• Ceil complexity!
• Reduce busyness, increase productivity!
• Outsource everything but genius!

This is just a few of the new imperatives that are being preached by the new breed of entrepreneurs and high-end business consultants (like Sullivan or Schefren).

I like the title of a book i devoured on my trip back from the US: "The 4-Hour Workweek". Sounds like a fair balance between keeping the cash going and freeing up time for the kingdom, does it?

PRAYER

"Deconstruction is Prayer".

I like that phrase as it provokingly points to the truth that prayer is not words, but an attitude of living life as an expression of trust. Throwing our lives to His feet literally demanding His trustworthiness is what i think honors the One who wants to be tested. Remember: "Israel" means "Who fights with God".

The phrase above is taken from Depone's blog who offers a thorough discussion on Caputo's book "What Would Jesus Deconstruct?"

HOW FAR OUT AM I?

Came across this helpful categorization of emerging church types. Here is the long version, andrew's last years' post on it (yep, i am slow), and Mike even allows you to cast your vote here. In this typology i am clearly a Revisionist, full of questions and the desire to break free from a heritage of a dreary know-it-all, have-it-all mentality. 

Being a "revisionist", sometimes i am not sure as to how far out from kingdom mainstream i already am...

It is those days where i should get excited about a new miracle report, or where i should get worried about  someone "diluting sound teaching by too worldly preaching". I can still feel those "shoulds" from a time past, but really i am (mostly) not touched by it anymore.

At those moments i feel like having entered the third stage of a once happy relationship (that with what we call "church"): first you love, then you hate (which is still fighting for the love you once had), and finally you slide into indifference (you start forgetting that once there was a love relationship).

The miracle in all of this is that, yes, deep down i have a very consistent belly witness that in the end i am not off track, that this is my way of persistently pushing into the yet unknown, that in the end HE Himself wants to be questioned, wants to be loved, hated and, yea, forgotten by me if necessary to teach me something real along this journey.

HE is worth it all. Isn't HE?

GOOD TEACHER

Here is another great resource i came across while in the States:

For the price of getting up at 5 am and creeping downtown in high-traffic Atlanta, i had the opportunity of sitting through a "Wednesday Morning Men's Fellowship" with Ken Boa, a well-read scholar, prolific author, and truly gifted teacher who'd probably be completely unknown where it not for some of his friends who help a bit in marketing him.

I was amazed at this fellowship of about 80 mostly tie & suit dressed business men attentively listening and honestly interacting with Ken. This bible study has been running since 18 years by now and has birthed many good friendships i've been told. Easy to believe.

Very impressive. Very rabbinical. Very heart-warming.

I heard him on the subject of "power" and learnt a good deal from it in a rather brief time. Very recommended!

You can follow all his weekly talks here (and use vlc for asx files).

VERY WONDERFUL

First time to America and looking for the culture shock. Finally found: Sunday morning Don and I went mega-churching.

The First Baptist Church Woodstock seating 7500 butts in "Johnny Dome" with its super conservative look'n & feel seemed just right. Over the last 20 years FBCW has experienced remarkable growth from a membership of 200 to 13.000, with all success entirely attributed to the authenticity and ingenuity of charismatic pastor Johnny whom his people are eager to confess "is our shepherd and we are his sheep" (quoting, not joking).

Now, against my own expectations my first emotional reactions were nearly entirely positive! Nice people and a neat organisation with lots of invaluable social service functions, an elaborate missions centre with a solid adopt-a-people-group scheme, and a building that stands in reasonable relation to the general property dimensions here. From a purely sociological perspective the social functions of this massive religious firm can hardly be other than considered valuable and market-appropriate.

My second impression had to cope (hard) with the all too highly acclaimed super pastor Johnny and the hard-core tract-style evangelistic sermon he preached that day: "Do you know you have eternal life and go to heaven when you die?" (not joking either). After some deep breaths i managed to settle my emotions, enjoy the communication expertise of "Mr. Genuine" and reflect on this "grand" narrative of evangelicalism that was so elaborately presented to me. A dualistic and heavily reductionist worldview like that built on the "belonging to the community of the saved" concept - how should that ever encourage an incarnational world-embracing lifestyle modelled after the One who is  so wordily confessed here??

The really hard part however came when after Service we joined Sunday School (= adult bible teaching). Afer some debate the ushers picked a (again not joking, but quoting) "very wonderful" small group for us and helpfully guided us through the maze of break-out rooms. With "small groups" here counting up to 120 people we were lucky to be in a group of 20 total. A promising announcement of interactive and facilitated Bible conversation followed 45 minutes of uninterrupted monologue (of neither communicative nor theological excellence). My emotional mildness starting leaving me slowly. A gender-separated prayer circle followed and hope resurfaced that finally the interactive part was to come - soon to learn that while everybody was expected to share some decent personal problem or praise, the group leader handled the prayer requests full circle. A side glance told me that this was the very pattern for the womens' group as well.

If you set a pattern, you multiply a pattern. If Johnny is your pattern, you mutliply many small-scale (but inevitably far from excellent) Johnny's doing the one-man thing, preaching reductionist theology, enjoying their rich social environment and feeling dangerously safe in their beliefs.
Keeping the near supernatural mildness i enjoyed in my emotions during this exposure to churchianity, i would conclude that if you seek social services, go to Woodstock; if you want to follow Jesus, go a (large) step further.
About mega-churches an ambiguity remains.

US - FR CONNECTION

Here is a great resource for those with a burning heart for the kingdom in France:  CCFOF is a global network and resource focus point for France.

They mobilize and connect prayer for France and bring the spiritual needs of the country to the attention of US donors.

Channelling kingdom resources strategically - i am all for it.

Bless u, Dave!

GOING SOUTHERN

Over to Atlanta, Georgia, to talk research. Besides hanging at Washington airport for 6 hours after missing my connection down to Atlanta by 10 minutes all worked out great.
It's a huge pleasure to stay with Scott and Dena and lay out emRG strategy and priority with the team. Meetings went well and we'll blog on this soon over at emRG.
For all the work, food and fun i've not seen much of the city so far - other than restaurants and shopping centres. Meetings are over however and Paul and me plan to do the tourist thing tomorrow.

Greetings from the "southern" world and its very enjoyable 20°C. !

THE RECOVERY CONVERSATION

"The recovery of the narrative of the Bible  will be as critical as the recovery of the church. Indeed it may not be possible to recast the church in missional mode without euqipping the church to understand and live the story of the Bible."

Pursuing the quest of "the Bible & Misison in the new europe" Martin Robinson with these words invites you to pencil in next years Eurochurch conference from 15 to 17 April 2008 near Lisbon.

I can absolutely recommend you to join this intellectually stimulating high-quality conversation, especially if you are more on the thinking side of things or are looking for great company of open minds among leaders in church & missions.

And - do not hold their webpage against them. Not all that is gold glitters...

"GOOD" BUSINESS

I keep being asked about my last post. I admit it does sound pretty black'n white. And blackn' white is usually neither helpful nor true.

Of course only "good business" (as i said) is "good". So, i am not talking "business as usual" which all too often turns into a money obsessed enslaved and enslaving treadmill, driven by greed, injustice and fear of death. Which is obviously exactly were "we world" need the good news of an overruling (good) kingdom!

Having said this, i guess it would be fair to acknowledge (as i did) that there is a lot of "good" in church & missions today as well. I am lucky enough to be attached to some streams of this reality keeping me alive..

I guess, in the end the problem remains the age old struggle between what is "good" and what is "bad" within myself. Nothing new, but well.. you keep coming back to the basics. Just with a new freshness this time. 

I am sure u know what i mean.