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Back in 1999 Cluetrain posted 95 theses about how the internet was changing business, you can download the book of them for free.
Michael Boylink has reworked them for churches, and congregations.
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buy in USA
buy in UK
The storm of comments and posts caused by Andrew Jones talking about girls in china planting churches, got me thinking about the role of women in the emerging church. Much of the debate on women in ministry descends into rhetoric about misogyny and if the bible is brought up, it is used to bash women over the head. When is the last time you heard a positive exposition of scripture for the role of women in the church in our culture.Now I’m one of those people who think women can lead, teach, preach, plant, do anything in leadership a man can. The modern church position on women, has a theological underpinning, that some of us may want to address. One of the best books which almost stands alone amongst other books about why people see “leadership as male” is ‘Why not women?: A Fresh Look at Scripture on Women in Missions, Ministry and Leadership ” by Loren Cunningham, David Joel Hamilton.
Another stronger themed book is, 10 Lies the Church Tells Women
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If your enjoying our image pilgrimage ,you might enjoy my church’s new web site for Cinema Trips .
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I’d like to introduce you all to Chris Curtis. Chris produces the film reviews for our Image Pilgrimage. Chris is an amazing writer, speaker and is engaged with postmodern culture full time with young people.
Today you can read his superb review of the Passion.
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Seems Brian Mclaren’s last emergent newsletter article on why the is “no postmodern church” caused a a storm of responses. He has done a follow up interview to explain himself and respond to people’s concerns. Text is below.
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Christianity Rediscovered, Vincent J. Donovan
Buy in UK
Buy in US
When many of us are now repeating the mantra of being missionaries in post christian countries, we can learn much from real missionaries about what being being missional really means, beyond candles, ambient music, and no sunday services ;-)This book has been on my shelf for a while, but I am now reading it for my research this term/semester. It is simply amazing. It is written by a Donovan, a man who spent 17 years a missionary, before returning to ministry in the USA.
Here is a qoute about youth, that I think applies to everyone today, page Xiii
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George Hemingway a member of my doctoral program cohort, posted this to my online learning group, and I though you might like to read it too.
——When we have three or four gathered together, a set liturgy is not necessary. When we have a few hundred, some kind of order in the corporate worship is needed or one has mayhem. So we have a presider. We have preachers. We have singers. We have deacons to take alms out to the poor. Paul saw the need for a division of labor while holding all the parts (members) in dynamic relationship. So it seems right in worship, that it be ordered in some ways, so as to avoid total confusion.
The early Church was Jewish, so it copied (lived) what it had always lived: the Synagogue rites of prayer, praise, readings of sacred texts, and their exegesis. Today, the liturgical churches continue this practice, as the Church has these 2000 years, in the first part of the Sunday gathering, that which the reformed tradition usually emulates. The technical term is “Synaxis” from the same Greek root as Synagogue.
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Now we have emerging church. With books and conferences and titles for things…heck our main site is called “emergent”.
Problem is “emerging church” can become the next sociological, cultural adaptation, that people hope will be the new magic wand, and fix.Just read some of the new books on doing emerging church and you’ll find one thing commonly missing from them, a section on “rethinking the gospel”. Seems the gospel is still the one thing we are afraid to rethink for our culture.
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Thanks to Jordan Cooper for heads up on 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web
Summary is here…
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“If ever you have felt a nagging sense of shame about your sexuality you have experienced the subtle power of the great Augustinewho held that the core of human badness was transmitted through sexual intercourse because it repeats the lust of Adam and Eve….” qoute from a great article on sex, Augustine and heresy. If you have ever wondered why the church had such a negative view of sex, this is good place to start.