Ngatiawa Community, a contemplative monastery of Urban Vision was featured last month in the Anglican publication Taonga. Justin Duckworth [pictured below] has a Youth For Christ past as well as a Baptist background but felt that the Baptists already had lots of good works going. The Anglicans, however, needed some encouragement. Thus the decision to “add value” to the Anglicans by aligning with them.
Nice thinking. Read the article. It’s also another good example of next generation ministry that prefers NOT to plant new churches [see my last post] but still maintain a contemplative life and active ministry among the urban poor through Kingdom-minded intentional communities.
Best time to visit the monastery is at PassionFest, Feb 24-26. We will probably return in time for the festival.
wow powerful story! thanks for sharing. encouraging to see that there is a third way when “wise older heads in the established church” expect and embrace “brashness and impatience” from the young.
brashness and impatience in spades. nice to hear from you Avery. Thought of you this morning. Peace to all in Hong Kong
I want to add one more observation. Elohim is nothing if not an original thinker – always making things new.
The most important thing is not whether we agree about what church is or should be, or about how new groups of disciples are planted, how we worship, or any of that practical stuff.
Instead it’s whether we are living the way Jesus lived. He always listened to the Father and watched what he did. He said only what he heard his Father say, he only did what he saw the Father do.
We will do well if we follow the Master’s example in this. Watch, listen, and obey. Isn’t that why the Spirit of Christ has come to live in our hearts?
There will be many different expressions of church/ekklesia as he leads and guides.
We should not be afraid of the differences, we should be afraid of our propensity to each say our way is right and the others somehow not quite right.
Not only should we expect variety in obedience, we are called to be one body despite the variety. Let’s celebrate the differences!
(This might be of interest – http://jesus.scilla.org.uk/2011/11/valley-of-dry-bones-index.html )
Whoopsie – my last comment was supposed to go on the previous blog post – the one about 9 reasons not to plant a church.
I can copy it there, but I’ll have to ask you, Andrew, to remove it from this post.
I do apologise!
Awesome and very encouraging
very nice article and also a good looking photograph..happy new year.