The Quaker Prophet: Has Quakerism Had A Miscarriage

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Has Quakerism Had A Miscarriage

QUAKERISM STARTED OUT PREGNANT WITH LIFE AND RAPID FIRE MULTIPLE BIRTHS

WHERE DO WE STAND TODAY

HAS YOUR QUAKER MEETING MISCARRIED

ARE YOU PREGNANT

I HOPE YOUR NOT BARREN!

Continual Reproduction Starts Early

"the role of an organic evangelist isn’t to do all the evangelism, it is to train the new believers how to share their faith effectively, early and often"

ross rhode

Organic is a big word today. It has been since I was much younger. That is not designed to take away from the green movement. What does a green church look like? I'd love to answer that., but that's not for today.

BUT -- what does an organic meeting look like?

More and more we see terms like organic applied to the church. Organic is a big word today. It has been since I was much younger. What does an organic church look like? I don't mean to take away for the green movement. And - what does a green church look like? I'd love to answer that, but not today.

BUT --what does an organic church look like?

In our quote from Ross Rhode today, he speaks of "organic evangelists." He ties "organic" to words like reproduction.

Words that touch on organic as a metaphor.

"God takes continual reproduction, generation after generation seriously"
ross rhode

But what does organic mean. Flash words quickly get cut off from their roots. Flash words quickly take on a meaning of their own. I believe, in the process, flash words become meaningless. Useless. So what does "organic" mean?

/ôrˈganik/Adjective

or·gan·ic

1. Of, relating to, or derived from living matter: "organic soils".

2. Of, relating to, or denoting compounds containing carbon (other than simple binary compounds and salts) and chiefly or ultimately of biological origin.

Dictionary.com - Answers.com - Merriam-Webster - The Free Dictionary

or·gan·ic

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms.

2. Of, relating to, or affecting a bodily organ.

3. a. Of, marked by, or involving the use of fertilizers or pesticides that are strictly of animal or vegetable origin.

b. Raised or conducted without the use of drugs, hormones, or synthetic chemicals.

c. Serving organic food.

d. Simple, healthful, and close to nature.

4. a. Having properties associated with living organisms.

b. Resembling a living organism in organization or development; interconnected.

5. Constituting an integral part of a whole; fundamental.

6. Law Denoting or relating to the fundamental or constitutional laws and precepts of a government or an organization.

7. Chemistry Of or designating carbon compounds.

1. A substance, especially a fertilizer or pesticide, of animal or vegetable origin.

2. Chemistry An organic compound.

So, an organic church serves organic food: organic physical food or organic spiritual food? I'm confused. Well, not me but I can see how people could be.

Seriously, an organic evangelist means an evangelist consisting as an integral part of a whole. Now that makes good since. That sounds exactly like what Eph. 4:11 and the other "gifts" passages speak about.

If the church is growing (see organic metaphor), it sustains an organic cycle, a reproductive cycle. I like the metaphor of a pregnant church. The Church, at least until Christ returns, cycles again and again through its life cycle. It's built into the organism. It's life! Church alive.

Do the metaphors of growth, reproduction, and other organic figures make sense to you?

What is keeping us from having a movement of Vibrant Life? Could it be that Christendom has emphasized certain of these gifts, nearly ignored others, and doesn’t allow them to work together under the coordination of the Master Organic Farmer?
What would the Western Church look like if it took these gifts as seriously as we see the Early Church taking them?
Is your evangelist a birthing coach?

Ephesians 4:11 (New Living Translation):

¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

http://thejesusvirus.org/2010/12/27/infrastructure-gifts/

Though I have not yet read them, there are at least two books on organic church. Have any of you read them?

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Statement of Faith

God. We believe in one God existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has always been and will always be the only God. There were none before Him and shall be none after him. We also realize that many, if not all, of the characteristics and aspects of God's nature including His love, grace, righteousness, omnipotence, omniscience, holiness, and tri-unity are beyond human understanding except as He reveals them to us by the Spirit.

The Father. We believe that the Father created all things in heaven and on earth. He created human beings, as a special creation, out of a love for us and desires a personal relationship with each of us.

Jesus. We believe that Jesus Christ is wholly God and wholly man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. Further, He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven. In taking on the humanity of man and being tempted in all ways like us, He provided an example of the life in this world that is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit and personal direction of God.

Holy Spirit. We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convict men, making them aware of their sin, of their need for salvation, of the righteous judgment of their lives here on earth, and of the need for redemption of soul, mind, and body as well as the wholeness of the salvation available through Jesus. The Holy Spirit regenerates, guides, instructs, and empowers the believer for godly living, maturation in faith, and faithfulness in service.

Salvation. We believe that the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ provides the only way of redemption, justification, sanctification, and salvation for all who believe. Any who attach additional works of man as a requirement for salvation are false in that they infer Jesus' death is insufficient in and of itself to save and that human beings somehow have the capability to save themselves. Nevertheless by His saving grace He restores to us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to live the obedient and faithful lives for which we were individually, and as mankind, created.

Accepting the Sinner, Denouncing the Sin. We believe that God does not tempt anyone to sin, but that we, each one, are tempted when, by our own evil desire, we are dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death which is experienced in this life and, except for grace, in the life to come. We believe that no sin is too big for God to forgive except, as Christ declared, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as Christians we should be open and eager to share the good news of the Gospel of God’s grace with everyone regardless of their sin or affliction. Such declarations leading not to an incomplete, non-biblical faith, but rather to a granting of repentance, making Jesus Christ Lord of our lives during which, because of His great love, we strive towards holiness and turn away from our sinful ways into both inward and outward righteous as the Lord reveals.

The Quaker Prophet

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Has Quakerism Had A Miscarriage

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