Hello, and welcome to my website. You’re probably at this page because you attended the Transform18: Sparking a movement conference, and were at my workshop: Considering the place of the church in the community.
Below are links to my posts covering the main topics from the workshop:
Communication and The Incarnation
One thing every church should consider but usually doesn’t.
The best communication ever: God with us.
The Christian, not-Christian comparison survey
A survey of more than 1000 New Zealanders showing how they perceive the church and Christians.
How ‘something is different now’ – the New Zealand reality
What will the church look like in 100 years?
Ideas that help us understand why ‘something is different now’
5 ideas that shape church and society engagement.
Reflection Questions
- When you think about the relationship between church and society in New Zealand, what comes to mind? (Confidence? Tension? Indifference? Changed? Positive? Negative?…)
- Have you had concerns or worries about the place of the church in New Zealand? Do you see the current context as an opportunity or a threat?
- Can you recall any societal changes in your lifetime that have been a definite steer away from church defined practice? For example, Sunday trading. What do you think are some good outcomes from these changes? What do you think are some bad outcomes from these changes?
- “The establishment of common ground in terms of shared understanding.” (Mission = Communication) What does this mean for you, your local church, the organisation you are part of?
- In the ‘Christian/not-Christian comparison survey (NZ), Where is the common ground? What is your reaction to this information? What might this mean for your personally? How could this information help your local church? How could this information help [your organisation, denomination, movement etc]?
- Have you wondered about the difference between ‘Christian Affiliation’ (as defined in the census), and ‘Church Attendance’ (as a way to indicate commitment to following Jesus)? Might there be a better indicator or measurement of ‘the church’ than church attendance or affiliation?
- Does your understanding of the mission of the church consider the effects of ideas such as secularisation and post-Christendom? Do you feel these ideas are helpful in describing the context we are living our Christian faith within?
- Considering the mission of the church as a form of communication, with the church being a ‘sender’ of messages, and those not part of the church being ‘receivers’ of those messages, what might be ‘received’ from the church you are part of (locally and nationally)? How does your church listen (become ‘receiver’) to those not part of it?
- Thinking of the church you are part of (local and/or denomination/movement), are there things in your church tradition that might be hindering church/society relationships and engagement? Are there traditions that have faded that might improve church/society relationships if revived?
- What are the good things about Christianity being marginal and a minority in New Zealand? Reflect on the expressions of church we read of in the New Testament – what are the similarities with your local church? What are the differences?
- If “something is different now” in terms of church and society relationship, might our priorities as ‘the church’ also be different? Might our expressions of ‘the church’ (local and nationally) need to be different to the dominant 20th century way of being church? How might we as the church best engage with society in this time? What are your hopes for the future church in New Zealand?
- If your local church isn’t currently described as a “dynamic, revolutionary, social, and spiritual movement”, how could it become known as one?
