Pentecostal Discussions

Theology & Film - Podcast Lectures 4 & 5

Well… the theology and film podcast lectures have certainly been an interesting ride so far. To start with, we looked at the medium of film quite broadly and discussed how a theologian might go about reviewing film.  Now, in these latest lectures, we begin to look at some of the more specific issues raised by particular films or groups of films.

In lecture four, Dr Shane Clifton discusses Christ films and the cultural influences which have impacted the way in which Christ has been portrayed. Following this, lecture five presents Shane, together with Dreu Harrison, engaging in discussion surrounding the Nietzschean influence on contemporary culture and subsequently on modern and postmodern film. In this discussion they focus specifically on the 1957 classic, The Seventh Seal.

In addition to these podcast  lectures there are also film reviews available for you listening pleasure. All of the above lectures and reviews can be found here. Enjoy!

Absent Concerns 3: Three Kinds of Men?

“There are three kinds of people in the world” is how Lewis begins his short essay “Three Kinds of Men”. There aren’t, of course, only three kinds of people, though there are (I would suggest) three kinds of “Men” (humans). There are many different kinds of people, depending on how we count, what sorts of criteria we use to categorize ourselves. Jeff Crabtree has a funny little song categorizing people as jelly beans – yellow and black and white…. We become aware through it that all the standard depictions of race which are in fact nothing to do with colour at all. In the midst of this diversity (and our nervous defence of the necessity of diversity, in case we should infringe upon someone’s individual right to define themselves). Lewis insists (as Christians around the world do) that from a God’s eye view, we are all individually loved but recognizably grouped as one of “three kind of Men”. Indeed the story of redemption is in part the story of release from the life of the herd, the realization of true individuality. On the other hand, it is not a release from our common nature – our oneness remains with us forever, our humanness an unmistakable part of who we shall always be even in our heavenly state. Like God himself – one and multiple – so does humanity come into the kingdom of heaven.

Initial Evidence

by David Parker

Either side of Pentecost similar Spirit activity occurs, for example, Zechariah the priest prophecies (Lk 1:67) as does Agabus (Acts 11:27), and the 12 (new leaders in Israel: Lk 22:30) ^[1] heal and exorcise (Lk 9:1) as does Philip (Acts 8:7). Such duplication raises the question as to what distinction Pentecost introduces. My contention is that prior to Pentecost, periodic and ethnocentric salvation-historically significant individuals (eg. Zechariah the priest) are Spirit inspired for specific tasks, whereas post-Pentecost the Spirit is universalized (eg. Cornelius and Philip’s daughters). This is best expressed in Peter’s polemic citing Joel’s prophecy, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh…and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18). “All flesh” is unpacked as, all genders (“sons and daughters” 2:17), all ages (“young men… old men” 2:17), and all status (“my slaves” 2:18). If we add the promise of 2:39 and understand “those who are far away” as a reference to Gentiles (cf. Acts 22:21; Eph 2:13, 17), ^[2] then a further democratization includes all nations or ethnicities.

Christianity and Politics - Kevin Rudd

by Shane Clifton - Citing Kevin Rudd

On the weekend, Mark Hutchinson and I attended the Australian Christian Heritage Forum at parliament house in Canberra.  It was a fascinating experience, gathering with prominant historians, politicians, church leaders and Christian professionals for the sake of reflecting on the extent to which Christianity has contributed to Australian society.  The point was not simply to contemplate a lost past, but to consider our "heritage" - what was described as useful history; that dimension of our history that will shape the values and direction of our future.

Mark and I will post some reflections on the forum later, but for now i thought it might be fun to get some response to the paper presented by Kevin Rudd, Christianity, the Australian Labor Party and current challenges in Australian politics, available at thee following address: http://www.kevinrudd.com/_dbase_upl/060807%20National%20Forum.pdf.   Note this is a partisan paper - and i am not personally advocating a political party.  But his comments are stimulating, particularly his comments on the relation between church and state, so i have set that out below (for full paper, follow the link above).

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 6)

by Deborah Taggart

Conclusion

Having examined some of the major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the EM church, what now? We can rejoice in its strengths: the variety and experimentation, the intentional engaging with culture, the emphasis on building community, the culture of self-critiquing, and the space allowed for mystery within an integrated, holistic faith that leads to personal and social transformation. We can embrace the opportunities that our current setting presents: the cultural change around us and the newness and adjustability of the EM movement.

 

But what about the weaknesses? What do we do with a movement without clear definition and direction, which is prone to unfair stereotyping, false dichotomies and exclusivity? If we pause to put this in historical perspective, we can then acknowledge that the church has never been perfect in practice (as a quick glance through Paul’s letters to the Corinthians might remind us) or theology (as we can see in the disagreements between Paul and Peter in Galatians).

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 5)

by Deborah Taggart

Threats

While many aspects of the EM church’s environment offer opportunities, there are also threats to be overcome on the journey to healthy, sustainable development.

 

Common Threats to Church Plants

Firstly, as most EM churches are new churches starting from scratch, they will face many of the same threats as any other church planting team. George Lings and Stuart Murray^[1] identify some of the issues that are often unexpectedly troublesome: the pressure of keeping motivation alive; the attrition of weekly setting-up; ceaseless creativity in worship; a constant multifaceted learning curve; a widening agenda as the church matured; and a misunderstanding by surrounding churches.

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 4)

by Deborah Taggart

 

Opportunities

Not only are there strengths and weaknesses within the EM movement itself, but there are also outside factors which can help us examine its potential.

 

Cultural Change

Many people see the EM church poised to reach several of the needs and orientations that people now have due to cultural change in Western society. Michael Moynagh^[1] lists various key changes, such as:

• the fading out of churches – churches that pop up ‘outside of the box’ can attract people’s attention;
• the urban struggle for time and money – churches can revise what expectations are placed on their congregations and how they find and use their financial and human resources;
• hyper choice (personalised consumerism) – people are looking for churches that meet them on a personal level and share their values (this would also need to be challenged, as an encounter with Christ and his church should challenge some of our values, not simply cater to all our personal preferences);
• spiritual spending – people’s consumer choices are often towards ‘products’ in which they hope to find “identity, acceptance, belonging, connection to the whole and meaning”^[2] – all of which the church and faith in Jesus can supply. Another inroad for EM churches is their emphasis on social justice – the secular world is becoming increasingly sympathetic to ‘good causes’, and they are more likely to connect with churches who want to ‘make poverty history’ than with those who are only pointing their fingers at “litmus test issues as homosexuality and abortion”^[3];
• experience economy (shopping, eating, and activities are geared toward not just another boring consumption, but creating atmosphere and memories – ‘an experience’) – there is an opportunity to create churches that don’t just have ‘services’ comprised of standard segments, but instead where rich experiences can be created, where the synergy of creativity, atmosphere, community, transformation, service and symbolic actions combine to help people enter into an experience of God’s Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven”[4];
• liquid lives (people live flexibly with transitions, ages, expectations and life choices) – times, demographics and expectations can be remixed into a surprising ‘church cocktail’; and,
• relational recreation (people’s relationship-building is shaped by their choices of leisure and consumption) – so church groups can gather and evangelise enjoyably, centred around relationships and shared leisure preferences, rather than having to approach people with whom they have little in common.

 

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 3)

by Deborah Taggart

 

Weaknesses

Having discussed the main strengths of the EM movement, we now turn to examine some of its weaknesses and how they may be overcome.

Lack of Clear Definition and Direction

The newness of the EM church and the nature of its reaction against ‘5 steps to church success’ and ‘one-size-fits-all’ models has meant that many EM churches are hesitant to define themselves or lock themselves into a certain method, description or category. While this can be helpful and allow a church to move forward rather than stagnate; it can also be counterproductive to have a lack of direction. As Kim Hammond admits, “my fear for the emerging church is that it defines itself by what it isn’t”^[1]. Alan Roxburgh points out, “in too many ways, it is still reacting to the immediate past of the church in the West, and no movement of reaction brings real innovation”^[2]. It is all too easy for many EM churches to identify the flaws of other church models and practices, but their real fruit will show as they continue to move from simply protesting about problems to creating and implementing positive solutions.

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 2)

by Deborah Taggart

Strengths
Variety and Experimentation
Firstly, a major strength of the emerging missional church is their willingness to be flexible with culture and experiment with something new, all part of what Sweet identifies as “our continuing struggle, as followers of Christ in a changing culture, to live out the meaning of the incarnation”^[1]. This flexibility and experimentation leads to a wide variety of EM churches (hence the definition problems discussed earlier), so Moynagh writes of an Anglican church in Halifax, England, that has started a Monday Lunch Box (communion and lunch service, attracting people who don’t go to church on a Sunday, and are asking to be baptised) and also of Saddleback church in California where they have a video café service (offering a choice of worship styles, smaller crowds, and videotaped sermon)^[2]. Although these churches differ in structure and style, both have decided to move beyond the traditional forms of church to create a worship gathering that will resound with local people. Variety in types of church is important not only contextually, but also culturally – moving away from one-size-fits-all church models is an important step towards reaching out to the growing numbers of people who, wearying of the standardisation that came with modernity, are looking for personalisation^[3].

The Emerging Missional Church: A SWOT Analysis (Part 1)

Last year (on the way to a babysitting gig) I was introduced to the movement known as the emerging or missional church (let's just call it the EM church from hereon in). Hearing just a few examples of what it can be like had me salivating; this was the kind of thing I had been dreaming about creating in my church-to-be. 'You mean to tell me there are other people out there who have these kind of crazy unusual random ideas about doing church differently?! Like really differently??!' So Shane suggested I do an independent guided study....which means a whole subject's credit for reading and writing about the things I dream about, plus an excuse to go on a research trip to Melbourne! As you can guess, I did it! So what follows is my essay, broken into a five part series. Part 1 deals with the (lack of) definition, parts 2 and 3 look inside the EM church, examining its strengths and weaknesses; parts 4 and 5 look at its environment, noting opportunities and threats; and part 6 is a conclusion which I may have to rewrite depending on how much you and all your comments enlarge me! So, read and comment away on part one...