Steve Taylor (Emegent kiwi & 'out of bounds church' author) has just started a series of posts entitled emerging AD:missions should be well worth following knowing Steve! An early excerpt...
So, how did early Christianity, birthed into a pluralistic and multi-cultural world, become in the space of several centuries the dominant world religion? The answer, for Diogentes, is a lifestyle of influence. "They do not live in cities of their own; they do not use a peculiar form of speech; they do not follow an eccentric manner of life." Reading Diogentes, I am struck by the fact that residents are not alien.
Technorati Tags: Emerging Church: Mission
Very profound, dontcha think? We could really learn something from this.
Posted by: Existential Punk | 29/04/2006 at 09:41
I don't like this quote in some ways. I am a fan of not being a cloistered community. In THAT sense I don't want to be "alien". However, I hope that our community is alien in that it models a different ethic that is an ethic of the kingdom. Newbigin argues for this as the community that prompts the fundamental questions our culture needs to be asking. So, I think we ought to be alien, but not isolated. If the Church is not salty, then what good is it? Who wants to eat something that is the flavor of everything else?
Posted by: Matt | 29/04/2006 at 14:23
I agree in some ways Matt... I guess there is a difference between being alien from culture and being able to critique culture - to ask the fundamental questions - in other words the difference between being apart and being a part but seeking to be salt (what effect does salt have unless combined with the subsatnce to be purified/preserved? - kinda like yeast!?)... I look forward to seeing where Steve goes in this series.
Posted by: Mark Berry | 30/04/2006 at 00:21