Do we Consume the Kingdom?

I work for an institution - the church. I am fully aware of the pitfalls of reliance on an edifice to capture the Spirit and provide a place to witness to the emerging kingdom of God. But, I also want to consider the idea of Christian community being forged, as opposed to consumed.
Consuming is our way of life. We are a people and culture who undeniably consume without even knowing it. If we say we don't, we are simply fooling ourselves. So, self awareness is a key to kingdom living and a pursuit of a community that does not fool itself into a "false unity that does not allow for the inclusion of strangers and outcasts".

I am struck by remembering a question posed by Brian McLaren at a lecture at Princeton Theological Seminary a couple of years ago. Someone asked if there was hope for the mainline Protestant denominations and McLaren skillfully answered, "I don't think so". There is hope, in his estimation, but a lot of empty church doors needed to be shut in order to commit to the Spirit's movement despite sweet locations, supported by endowments and empty pews. Collaboration between the mobility of emergence and location of the mainline could potentially be the way to capture the Spirit in an edifice.

This would certainly take setting important doctrine aside, like Robes vs. Black Turtlenecks or Candles vs. Candlabras or Organs vs. Pan Flutes. These are riduculous examples, but I think they represent their equally ridiculous empty dogmas. The church should be where God's Spirit emerges, even if that is graciously within the confines of the local church building on a Sunday morning.

I remain in the church and am usually frustrated by it's crazy dysfunction. I often daydream about a utopian place where we all get along and don't give a crap about performance, PNC's, organizational strucutre, etc. But, I remain and will witness to the Spirit when I see it and I do quite regularly. The structure is broken, but there is a faithfulness that none of us bring and none of us own. God's faithfulness demands that I retain a bit of my pie in the sky outlook for the church. The movement could be simply brushed aside as theoretical, but I trust its reality.

I remain committed because it takes belief in something that cannot be seen...

Children's Ministry

Hi There,
I work with kids, adults, families and friends in ministry to children. There are many considerations when working with kids. Safety, environment, family systems, theology, pedagogy, activity, fun, etc. The list goes on. I am hoping to engage people who work with kids in discussion, collaboration and the sharing of ideas as we work together for God's Kingdom. Please feel free to post your thoughts and ideas in a mutually respective way. Look for new posts coming soon.
David