Theory & Practice
18 Oct 2007
One key theme I explored with the MA students this past week at George Fox, has been something I have posted about here before, of ‘blue print ecclesiology’.
We experience something about church that isn’t working, so we think, read, talk, discuss, idealise, blog and suggest endlessly what church should be, and give our new dream forms of chuch names, and categorise them, and then get stuck in them ever taking form as a concrete reality.
Anyhow, Brett Jordan (who has a most interesting blog, trust me, visit and you’ll see what I mean), sent me this qoute which I thought captured the essence of what I have been trying to teach, much more succinctly.
“Vision with no action = daydream.
Action with no vision = nightmare.”
Jim Sorensen
Tagged: Ecclesiology
3 comments
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Comment by Jonathan Brink
8.39 pm on 18 Oct 2007
Here’s a great quote from a friend of mine name Jim.
In theory, practice and theory are the same.
In practice they are not.
Comment by Jason
10.18 pm on 18 Oct 2007
very good :-)
Comment by Peter Carino
4.36 pm on 23 Oct 2007
Jason, this is my biggest challenge with those you who want to reinvent church. I am all for changing forms in response to the context within which the church is formed. I have seen a lot of idealizing of what church “should” be or “could” be but very little of what people are actually doing. My church is currently going through a shift in both philosophy and form. We’ve spent the past two years talking developing/seeking God for a new philosophy and are only now getting to talk about practice. I like what Doug Pagitt said about this when they were forming and talking about Solomon’s Porch. In their discussions on what practices they would incorporate as a church they had the ground rule that people could only suggest practices for the community that they were already doing themselves. It’s easy to blog and pontificate and vision cast blah blah blah. There are very few, IMO, who actually doing something. I like how St. Benedict talks about the need for action and reflection and that there is nothing to reflect upon until we’ve done something. Most of the blogs that I’ve come across contain reflection on what others have experiences under the leadership of what someone else was doing. IF we have a foundation of acting and reflecting/changing then we are more likely to be able to create a form of church that is dynamic and adaptable. This is what we are attempting to become in my church.
Pete
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