There is a truism in the world of fitness… ‘fit for what?’

The question is simple but hugely important.  Fitness is completely subjective.  Being fit to run a marathon doesn’t make you fit to play rugby.

Fitness is built on repetition of specific exercises to build up your capability to do these more efficiently.  So, my training to run 13 miles included long runs, but also sprints to improve the way your body uses oxygen.  But I didn’t lift heavy weights.

Fitness needs a goal.  Something to be fit for.  You can’t get fit without taking part fully.  And you don’t jump right in and run a marathon.  You start slowly.

I often wonder what church is fit for?

To be fit for a purpose the church needs to practice spiritual exercises.

What would those be?

What would a ‘fit’ church look like?

How would it help people to build up their spiritual fitness?

Who would the coaches be?

On Sunday I was wondering about that little conversation Jesus has with Peter where he ask him three times “Do you love me?”.

Each time Peter says “yes, of course I do!” and after each reply Jesus says something odd.

Feed my lambs.  Look after my sheep.  Feed my sheep.

Odd.

I wondered aloud about the progression.  Are the lambs the spiritual babies?  Do the sheep, the more mature followers, also need guiding and protecting?  What should the sheep be fed so that they remain healthy and strong?

Is Jesus asking Peter to ensure that the conditions for growth are in place?  Is He asking Peter to make sure that the new church takes its members seriously, that they make sure people can grow in faith and that they are supported to do so?

What does that kind of growth look like?  And are we anywhere close to it in our churches?

Are there certain features or practices that make church ‘church’?

Recently I’ve heard people say things like ‘That’s church for them’ and ‘They don’t do the sacraments so they’re not a proper church’.

So, what makes a church a church?  And I don’t mean the building…

Following up on my only two choices post, I thought it would be worth posting the video Jonathan mentioned in his comment:

Two choices… inward or outward.

Which are you choosing and how is it working out for your church?

(HT Johnny Laird and Jonathan Blundell for the video)

Yesterday thePROJECT became a reality, a meeting In The Flesh.  It was a great day with some brilliant speakers, inspiring worship and superb music.

ThePROJECT has grown from conversations between those who travel south from Scotland to Greenbelt Festival each year.  I’ve been to Greenbelt fairly often over the years, although not for a while, but it has always struck me how many people I know when I get there.  The same thought struck others and they got together and decided that Scotland could have it’s own event, inspired by Greenbelt, but not copying it.

Yesterday was a step in that direction.  A city based event in a church, a pub and a theatre.

So… thePROJECT3… the next step… Why not come along for the ride?

Tonight, for reasons I’m still not entirely sure of, I was invited to sit on a panel for a discussion of ‘The Emerging Church’ at International Christian College.  If you read yesterday’s post you’ll probably realise that i was pretty nervous about it for a number of reasons.

If you missed it, my article on Emerging Church is in the newly published OneKirk Journal (along with an interview with Scott Rennie and some amazing words written by Roddy Hamilton).

However, back to tonight.  It went pretty well I thought, despite me outing myself as never having been an ‘Evangelical’ which I guess was one of the inevitabilities of taking part.  Oh well.  Never mind.  I think my ‘outsider in terms of the evangelical church but maybe more insider in terms of emerging church’ position added a wider perspective to the debate.

I enjoyed the discussion but there were some things that I wanted to pick up on and perhaps save others having the same problems.

The first is that we always need to be pretty clear which emerging church we’re talking about.  This evening’s discussion grew out of the visit of Brian McLaren last year and the students wanted a forum to discuss some of their unanswered questions.  I saw the value of this but I’m not sure I see the point of only discussing what McLaren thinks the emerging church is, no matter how much fun that might be.

I don’t buy that McLaren is leading this emergence on his own.  I’m concerned that if we focus all of the discussion on what Brain thinks we miss the very real question about why stuff is emerging from ALL kinds of churches.  What is driving this experimentation?  What is it that people are dissatisfied with?  I think McLaren has a go at answering some of those questions, but he’s not the only voice in the discussion.

The second is that, believe it or not, this ain’t America.  The drivers for the Emerging Church in America are its particular political, social, cultural and spiritual context… none of which are the same here in Scotland, despite the very obvious homogenisation of western culture.  The evangelical context in America has a social and political dimension that is not replicated here in the UK where the ‘religious right’ doesn’t have the same influence in the political or social agenda.

I think we need to be more deliberate about finding out what’s happening here and who, if anyone, is writing about it.  That’s one of my hopes for Emerging Scotland, that people will share their stories and begin to chronicle the emerging church here in Scotland.

The third is that, even though it’s a crowd pleaser, cheap stereotypes about liberals sitting round candles isn’t an accurate representation of any of the Emerging Church.   Please don’t make fun of people who are trying honestly and earnestly to seek God’s will and to worship Him in ways that make more sense to them than whatever they have found in a denominational church setting.

So, overall, a good night I think.  It was filmed but I don’t know if or where that might appear…

This week on the Something Beautiful Podcast we chat with BWG* Eric Bryant, author of the book Peppermint-Filled Piatas: Breaking Through Tolerance and Embracing Love, stand-up comedian, speaker, and a pastor on staff with Mosaic in Los Angeles.

from his blog ::

We live in a diverse world filled with unprecedented opportunity. There is a call to move past the barriers that stand between us and those who may be different. Eric Michael Bryant has seen tolerance shown to those who are different than us — racially, religiously, sexually, politically, economically — and believes there must be more. After all, Jesus didn’t just tolerate people; he embraced them all with love.

Using lighthearted humor, engaging personal stories, and a “party theology,” Bryant shows us how to love our neighbors and fulfill the vision Jesus had for the church from the beginning.

Whether that is through building relationships with the help of bounce houses, stand up comedy, or piñatas, followers of Christ will be inspired to actively engage the world around them.

Eric shares about his time growing up in the buckle of the Bible belt, some of his ministry experiences in Seattle and LA as well as the lessons he’s learned about tolerance and love along the way.

(*see the book for more info)

Adele Sakler (part 2)

If you missed part 2 of Adele Sakler’s (Existential Punk) story then have a listen!