Marsha Lynn
6th December 2006, 10:34 PM (22:34)
This was an Amazon.com recommendation based on my high rating of The Search to Belong by Joseph R. Myers and my interest in his not-yet-available title Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect. I wasn't sure what I was getting. The author is behind a movement (Church Multiplication Associates) that apparently generates loosely-connected "house" churches, but there's some good stuff here even for those of us who stick with brick-and-mortar church buildings in a denominational structure.
The primary concept I took away from this book is the idea that the church is a living organism. It reproduces by cell division, passing on the essential DNA one cell at a time and, like most reproduction, requires intimate relationships in order to do so. Like cells, each follower of Christ contains all of the DNA that defines the organism as a whole. The author introduces a rather contrived set of terms to match the DNA symbolism - Divine truth, Nurturing relationships, and Apostolic mission. As we carry our DNA out into the world and form intimate relationships with people who are searching for spiritual truth but disillusioned by organized religion, we're contagious and can start an epidemic.
This book was published in 2005 and is so current that it will show its age more quickly than most, taking examples from recent movies and current events. But it has some good things to say.
A few snippets:
From the introduction: If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section. That is where lost people are found, and if you make them put their cigarette out to hear the message they will be thinking about only one thing: "When can I get another cigarette?"
What we draw them with is what we draw them to. If they come expecting to be entertained, we had better entertain them if we want to keep them coming back every week.
Church planting is a great spiritual romance that involves intimacy, courting, and reproduction. Many experts have reduced it to demographic research, strategic planning, job descriptions, and organizational flow charts. How romantic!
The primary concept I took away from this book is the idea that the church is a living organism. It reproduces by cell division, passing on the essential DNA one cell at a time and, like most reproduction, requires intimate relationships in order to do so. Like cells, each follower of Christ contains all of the DNA that defines the organism as a whole. The author introduces a rather contrived set of terms to match the DNA symbolism - Divine truth, Nurturing relationships, and Apostolic mission. As we carry our DNA out into the world and form intimate relationships with people who are searching for spiritual truth but disillusioned by organized religion, we're contagious and can start an epidemic.
This book was published in 2005 and is so current that it will show its age more quickly than most, taking examples from recent movies and current events. But it has some good things to say.
A few snippets:
From the introduction: If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section. That is where lost people are found, and if you make them put their cigarette out to hear the message they will be thinking about only one thing: "When can I get another cigarette?"
What we draw them with is what we draw them to. If they come expecting to be entertained, we had better entertain them if we want to keep them coming back every week.
Church planting is a great spiritual romance that involves intimacy, courting, and reproduction. Many experts have reduced it to demographic research, strategic planning, job descriptions, and organizational flow charts. How romantic!