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johnny
Bradford, church planter
wired-church.org
1)
planting a church in an emerging/postmodern culture, what do you
think are the key elements of a community of faith in an
emerging/postmodern culture?
i would say authenticity is
definitely a key element - discovering who God is calling you to
be as a community of faith rather than trying to be something
else, which may be good, but just not who you are. it took us
easily a year to break the 'hip new college-age service' mentality
and grow into who we are now, recognizing that 'emerging' isn't
another label but a way of being - questioning, learning,
growing, experiencing, never content to settle less. being
missional would be another key element - incarnating God's love
for humanity and creation, seeking to impact the community without
needing to get attention, credit, or a numbers boost. lastly, or
firstly, being Christ-centric - recognizing Jesus as not only
Savior, but as Master and Teacher - preaching the Gospel of
Jesus
(Hunter) that is truly transformational, an invitation to join in
building God's kingdom now.
2)
what do you see as
the four (because three is too traditional) to differences between
the community of faith you are serving, and those churches in your
area?
i
feel many of the differences i would identify are possibly only perceived
differences, but on the whole we value: a relational approach
rather than programmic; genuine lived-out community rather
than a weekly one hour pit-stop crammed into an overly hectic
lifestyle; questions rather than pat answers; realness rather than
hype.
3)
is the community you serve connected with a denomination? if
"yes," what do you see as the benefits and problems with
that relationship, and if "no," what do you believe are
the benefits and problems without being connected?
yes. the benefits would be the
'umbrella protection' afforded by being a part of something
bigger, the financial resources available for church plants,
and the structure of having a 'coach' to mentor you through the
initial stages of the journey. the problems, for us, would be the
possibility of being constricted by the structures and processes
involved in planting through a denomination, the reliance on many
other factors (often slowing the process), the business-model
approach still very much dictating the process of planting.
4)
what would you say are the two hardest things connected to
planting an emerging/postmodern community of faith?
patience would be my personal number
one. many planters are pioneers, we want to just do it, get our
hands dirty and go for it. unfortunately, there can often be many
factors and people that hinder the momentum (many times for good
reason...) and it can be hard to simply wait. added to that is the
many seasons and transitions that we seem to go through in terms
of people coming/going/committing. participation would be the
second - the paradigm shift from church as entertainer and vendor
of religious goods toward church as a missional community can be a
tough one. from experience it would seem that ownership plays a
large part in participation - once people see and embrace the
vision for the church, they want to be a part of making that
happen. that is a beautiful thing!
5) how
does your community of faith develop connections with those
outside the community? by teaching people to not compartmentalize
their faith, but to live out kingdom values daily within their
everyday contexts has helped people to develop relationships
organically. practically, as a church, we volunteer time at a
local homeless shelter for single moms. like another church
planter mentioned, if we say we are missional but do not have an
_expression of this as a church, we need to seriously rethink why
we use the word. also, personally i play rugby with a bunch of
unruly raggamuffins...
6)
what do you believe are the key elements in an emerging/postmodern
worship service?
we've struggled with this one for
more than a year now. the key elements for us currently would be:
food - we share a potluck meal every week as part of our worship
gathering; relationship - we value the time to simply catch up and
share with one another around the table; music - we incorporate
various styles at different points throughout the night, one
exciting approach is offering percussion instruments for
anyone to use as we worship through music; message - experimenting
with dialogue, an open discussion format, straight-up teaching,
and small group discussions; service - encouraging people to help
with general tear down, set-up, preparation, and being available
for others.
7)
what two key areas of advise would you give to a person looking to
plant a community of faith in your area, or any area?
the first: don't take it personally.
this works from many angles - it's not 'your' church, but on
the other hand, be prepared to run with the vision you believe God
gave to you - and don't feel rejected when people move on or don't
seem to get it. the second: perseverance. be prepared to struggle,
to go through hard times, to not get lazy in the good times, to
keep focused on the goal: Jesus.
closing
thoughts:
are we building the kingdom or our own
little enterprises?
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