Emergent Brethren

First, I hope that your journey through holy week is bringing you more fully into the Jesus story and deepening your hunger and thirst to pursue God’s justice and righteousness in the world. Blessings as you walk through these final days and the celebration of Easter.

Ah, Easter morning. How to help a congregation engage the story of the resurrection. Diana Butler Bass in her blog for Sojourners when she overheard someone ask the Rev. Daniel Corrigan if “he beleived in the resurrection?” He looked at the questioner and said firmly, without pause, “Yes. I believe in the resurrection. I’ve seen it too many times not to.”

I think that his answer requires us all to stop and think about what we believe, know, have experienced. It is easy to say Christ is Risen! but to have experienced or seen the fruits of resurrection in the world today is a different thing. If we cannot give testimony to the power of God, the presence of Jesus, by talking about where we continue to see and experience the newness of life that the resurrection story bears evidence to, we are telling a dead story that has no power to transform, make whole, and save God’s world. I think that people are waiting to be invited into their role and experience in that kind of living, ongoing story. May our Easter messages and worship services be ones that celebrate the power of God’s spirit to change and transform, to resurrect and make new, still today!

As I suggested in a previous post concerning small groups — a response to Kate Spire’s request for resources, I find myself wondering if we will soon see the re-emergence of Sunday School (or whatever you want to call it). Not so much in an effort to “grow” the church numerically, like Wendy McFadden suggests in the latest Messenger Editorial. But as a part of the disciple-making process.

Here’s why I am wondering about this re-emergence… the demands on our time are ever increasing and the small group model mostly expects that participants gather together a second time each week. One time being for worship and one time for small group… ofcourse this is in the more traditional church approach…not the house church approach. I believe that small groups facilitate spiritual growth and are vital for maturing Christ followers…however, I am finding that it often becomes hard to get people to give that extra time to gather together on another day/night each week. So, I am wondering if this will push us to bring back something like Sunday School in conjunction with worship. I should say here, that our church doesn’t do Sunday School but has cell groups that meet during the week. Others who have sunday school may re-visit it’s purpose and enhance it’s role in disciple-making.

Along with re-visiting Sunday School’s purpose or seeing it re-emerge as a part of the process of making disciples of Jesus, would be creating an outflow of sharing Christ’s love in the community and inviting others to join the journey of following Jesus and being his hands and feet in the world.

Any thoughts?…

While we are at this emergent definition phase, what about defining “emergent brethren”.

In many ways, I think, we (The Church of the Brethren -now) were emergent from the begining! Alexander Mack and his wife Anna and the other 6 — the original 8 – the original small group… were very emergent as they rejected their state church mentality and devoted themselves to studying the bible and devoted themselves to following Jesus first and foremost! The definitely stood at odds with the state church culture of the day…

I’ve been saying for some time now, that we need to get back to that emergent posture that rejects the USAmerican Christian model of church that is more of a social club and corporation than a mission arm of Jesus in the world. And in some ways for the Church of the Brethren it is a BIG jump and in other ways that counter culture force is one of the gifts we have to offer the world and the church, especially in USAmerica. For instance in serving the poor and marginalized… being peacemakers…living in the blessing (and curse) of community… working for justice for all God’s children. It is these very “core” values of the Church of the Brethren that make us emergent, I think. What about you? What do you think?

Last Sunday evening, our church (Central Church of the Brethren, in downtown Roanoke, VA) was broken into. This is the second time in 3 weeks. To date, the most signifcant loss is my old laptop, which had been given to the music department. It might work for another year, it might conk out tomorrow. The list of what is missing is minor, even somewhat amusing, but that’s another story…

Our congregation is discerning a transition to a “small group-missional church” model, where we intentionally reach out to the community around the church. We currently have three primary involvements that a “missional small group” could easily expand: a partnership with the local elementary school; the beginnings of a relationship with a “social-service” type ministry that reaches out to uninsured children; a willingness to allow the homeless are welcome to join us for our Wednesday evening meal (we generally have 2 or 3).

The recent break-ins have caused me to wonder what other ways our missional congregation will be broken into?

1. Will we continue to experience those who “break in and steal”? Probably. Will we let this be a motivation to retreat within our own walls (or retreat to the suburbs)? Knowing our congregation, I doubt it. But what of those pesky attitudes and stereotypes? Will we allow God to break into our own lives to redeem us from classism and racism? Pray that it would be so.

2. Will we allow God to “break into” our theology, learning to see how God is interested in all people—even preferentially interested in the poor, the widows, the aliens, all those on the “flip side” of global economics and political power. What do we need to learn from those whom affluence has passed by?

3. Will we allow God to “break into” the mentality that church is for “us”? Will our walls form the boundaries of a barrier between the church and the world? Or will the walls of the church provide the structure for authentic fellowship, for sharing our faith, for engaging our community, and for an opportunity for all people to experience the transforming grace of God?

It’s a risky venture, to be sure. But these are some of the risks of grace.

Hello All,
I need a reccomendation pretty fast of what you think is the best training tool for use in training small group leaders and creating a small group ministry for the chuch on the brethren. I know there are tons out there, I just was curious what people were using and to what degree of success. Thanks so much!!