So it’s been (rightly) pointed out a few times in the last year or so that we shouldn’t be so quick to want to “get back to the early church” because they were immature and had their share of problems just like we do — after all, nobody’s perfect. The thing is, I can’t recall anyone actually saying we need to “get back” and do everything like the early church did, at least not in the past ten years. So is this response levied too broadly against at who wants to consider one or two practices of the early church, or are people actually saying we need to behave like they did and I’ve been missing it? Isn’t there a lot of positive lessons to be learned from the early church’s practice?

Great point:

What percentage of folks in your church are “introverts”? Do you ever hear anything that reflects sensitivities for introverts? How “extroverted” is your church and even your “style” of spirituality/Christian living?

from Scot McKnight, Introverts in a Church for Extroverts on Adam McHugh’s book Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture

An odd thing around the dinner table this evening. We got onto the subject of the 23^rd Psalm, and we began to quote it from memory — my wife, my kids, and I. Can you believe they all began to laugh at me when I started using words like “restoreth” and “yea” and “thy”? I can’t help it if I learned the Psalm that long ago, can I? Can anyone else relate?

We’ve been having rotten weather all summer…. far too cool for the season. Many days feel a lot more like September or October than July or August. The icing on the cake was the beautiful full moon last night… a perfectly orange harvest moon, in fact. *sigh*

I suppose it almost goes without saying that I’ve been distracted by Rick Meigs’ accident, watching for updates and praying. Rick is a good friend and an important man in the missional conversation — I hope you’ll watch for updates at the previous link and pray with us for him.

I am glad that I had written the post to start my new Sunday series earlier or I probably wouldn’t have gotten to it. Perhaps I can highlight that one now for a little discussion?

Just listening to the radio and heard someone on the panel use the phrase “Evangelical Christianism.” “That’s interesting,” I thought. “Christianism” — as opposed to Christianity. Maybe he’s got something, even if it’s unintentional… is there a group of people more committed to Christianity than they are to Christ? I’d have to say yes.

Is it nice to think you know everything, or a terrible burden to think you have to?

On this day in 4977 B.C. the universe was created, according to German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler, considered a founder of modern science. Kepler’s 17^th-century estimate was later estimated by scientists in the 20^th century to be off by about 13.7 billion years. So, remember my timeline project? I kept finding online resources dating creation at 4004 BC, until I found BibleDiagrams.com, which has an extensive set of charts — very well done.

The upshot of the church’s focus on developing relationships with new members is that “the socialization process was so effective that most churches could cut people off from their previous relationships within two years, replacing the old ties with a new ‘family.’”

“The missional church, as you might guess, has an allergic reaction to the reach-and-assimilate social reengineering of people.”

He is Risen Indeed!

The biblical record often observes that when the people of God mistakenly think they are God’s only or primary concern, they become callous to the very people God is wooing. This attitude reflects poorly on God and earns his judgment. Jesus’ beef with the Pharisees focused precisely on their failure on this point. They misrepresented his Father while claiming to be his representatives on earth. The church that claims to be the people of God must submit itself to the role of participating in the mission of God in the world. The very notion that the church can be successful apart from an improved world reflects a disconnect from God’s mission and even raises the question of whether or not people who think this way are even recognized by God as his people.
— Reggie McNeal,
Missional Renaissance, p.37