Time to enter the fray

TPFKA"TC"

I will enter the conversation carefully simply pointing you to the ongoing conversation about "The People Formerly Known as the Congregation" and its follow-up posts from across the blogosphere. If you have not read through this conversation, please do so as I think it is highly informative and helpful to the ongoing desires to bring the church to its true purposes.

"Leaving Oz" and "The People Formerly Known as the Audience" are forewords to the actual post of the polemic "The People Formerly Known as the Congregation". Leaving Oz relates to the church and TPFKA"TA" is really directed at the media, but since so much of the church is media driven, I thought it helpful in its commentary. TPFKA"TC" is a polemic designed to pull people to the poles for the purpose of conversation, and it has definitely driven conversation, just see the comments and the addendums to the original post by the author. "The Underlying Issues" lays out a very convincing case for the changes the church has experienced and what kinds of things will need to be addressed in order to make sense of the ongoing revamping of the church, emerging or otherwise. TCCTBKAM is about where some in the church see the revamping of the church as needing to go. In essence it reminds the church of the original "mission" of the church. TPFKA"TP" speaks to my own setting for certain and to conversations that are happening in other areas. In fact I heard some clergy discussing their recent ventures over to Loma Linda (Seventh Day Adventist territory) to hear Rev. Fred Craddock for a seminar. They were expecting a lot of "how-to" for preaching and got a lesson in time management. One of the salient points they took home was that the pastor ought to be "Conspicuous by his/her absence". In other words, don't try to be everything to the congregation, or to fill their holes, but instead allow you to be you, and the congregation and God to grow in the congregation by filling the needs of the people with the people.

Leaving Oz

The People Formerly Known as the Audience

The People Formerly Known as the Congregation

The Underlying Issues

The Community Coming to Be Known as Missional

The People Formerly Known as the Pastor


Blessings,
David