Welcome back from Holy Week, we had a meaningful week of worship, reflection, and celebration. Some reflections from our week, does our society care about death and resurrection? I have been pondering this question for a long time, why the big deal about Christmas (Incarnation) and minimal focus upon Easter (Resurrection)? All of this was floating around while Shenk's thin, dangerous little book prodded me on.
1) Reflect on Shenk's statement (p. 6), "We must concede that political freedom is not a correlate of spiritual vigor." I discussed this issue at length with my daughter and wife. Persecution appears to be a stimulus for missional eccelesiology.
2) What do you think of Luther's 7 characteristics of an ideal church (p. 36)?
3) Intriguing statement about transcendence by Berger, explain this phenomenon (p. 40).
4) One of my favorite maxims is noted, "The church exists by mission, just as a fire exists by burning" (Brunner, p. 87). How does one keep the fire going?
5) [Ponderings: "I have been reflecting on the 20th century. I was born in 1949, I don't feel that old, but in looking at one-half century of life in America. I wonder, where are we headed? My synopsis is that Christendom was at war with itself and lost; both sides lost in each war. German social conformed ideology, financial unrest, and political regret from previous wars were in conflict with British ideology of individualism in social contract ideology, colonialism, and triumphalism. Individualism won and community (socialism/Leninist-Marxist communism) lost; China, India, and Islam present new challenges to American political/economic individualism/triumphalism. Today, America is the world's third largest mission field, Britain & Germany (Europe) are post-Christian, postmodern."]
Respond to the statement about the crowning achievement of the Enlightenment Movement being the "autonomous self" in modern cultural development (p. 95). How does this perspective influence the church and community of faith we are striving to form in 2007?
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