I’ll probably talk a lot about this in the upcoming weeks and months. It’s something I’ve been working on for a while, with the goal of understanding what is going on in the church today, which is of course a complicated question. (See here and here for the sparks that started my fire.)
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brad/futuristguy said:
Michael – by using Webber’s book on *The Younger Evangelicals* I believe you’re starting from a far better footing than most who attempt such a taxonomy of “streams” or “layers” or whatever on the contemporary emerging-missional scene. That’s because it’s about paradigms, not merely about methods and models.
Hopefully, I’ll have free time to interact with your findings as they unfold, but just wanted to note for the time being that I’m enthused with what you’ve done so far, and look forward to seeing more! You go, bro!
brad/futuristguy said:
You may also find a lot of help from Webber’s book, *The Church in the World* or *The Secular Saint* (both out of print). These present his perspective on historical movements within the Western church and how their theological approaches to church and culture lead to three basic relationships or stances: opposition (ana-baptist), tension (Luther), and transformation (Calvin). Webber also suggests a fourth stance that he believes is more theological and culturologically balanced.
I think when you start adding this factor of whether particular groups are about isolating from, co-existing with, or controlling over society, it starts some reconfiguring in your chart. Add in Neo-Calvinists, dominion theology, “Seven Mountains” and New Apostolic Reformation, and some of the seeming missional movements seem to be about something else, methinks. Like cultural control. Anyway, more thoughts …
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Michael DeFazio said:
Thanks for your thoughts, brad! I had posted this long ago and it didn’t seem to resonate so I had moved on. I may re-visit and post through some of this if I have time in the coming weeks (first kid due in June so it might be a while!). But I’ll definitely check out those resources and learn more about the movements you mention.
Another one of the things this kind of conversation often lacks is an understanding of early evangelicalism (before the fundamentalist period). Anyhow, thanks again and I hope you’ll stop by again from time to time!
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pastorhizekiel said:
Dear Brethern,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus. Let me introduce myself. I am pastor hizekiel from the agrecultural land of pakistan and I am serving the field of Lord Jesus.
Before going to share the work of me for the Lord I want to tell that I accepted Jesus Christ as personal savior in 1989 did my pastrol training in 1998-2000 to date I have 13 rural areas to share the Gospel of Lord Jesus . in this field after having my call I am serving with my wife in the following areas:
1- Chilldren ministry(Sunday school)
2- Yuoth ministry
3- Women ministry
4- Evenglism
5- Pastor work
6- Church planting
7- Biblical meterial distributer
8- Home churches
9- Bible semenars
Today I have visited your website its really wonderful work. I offer myself to translate the Biblical articals, Commentries, studies and recording work in Urdu and Punjabi .We don’t have regular fund to run our Ministry. We do translation work to run our Ministry. I request kindly start work with us.
May God Bless You.
In Jesus,
Pastor Hizekiel
Pakistan.
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