Mike King

Missional Theology

I'm sitting in class with two dozen, mostly friends and associates, studying Missional Church Theology.  Our instructors are Dr. John Franke from Biblical Seminary and Dr. Alan Roxburgh from Allelon and the Allelon Training Center.  We are launching an ATC in Kansas City through Jacob's Well.  This is some amazing content and wonderful dialogue about what it means to cooperate with the Mission of God.

The reality is that being Missional is first and foremost about God.  This is not the Churches Mission, it is God's Mission missio dei.  John Franke dealt with the most important question for those hoping to embrace a missional way of life, a missional church.  The question is, "Who is God?"  We focused on the Trinity and entered into a discussion on the Eastern view that God is social not solitary.  God is love and God is radical sociality.  The Trinity - God is one by virtue of their interdependent sociality.  Alan states that it is essential to start with the "Who is God?" question instead of the common mistake of hyper-focusing first and almost exclusively on ecclesiology.

This conversation is compatible with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's three questions (in order of priority): Who is Jesus Christ?; Where is Jesus Christ?; What then shall we do?  Bonhoeffer says the "How question" (the important question for many fearful that this conversation is a "slippery slope") is a question of doubt, a question of idolatry.

NTS Partners with...

NTS Partners with National Evangelical Youth Ministry Camp
to Explore Youth Spiritual Formation

Nazarene Theological Seminary will offer a special course this summer on youth spirituality and spiritual formation in conjunction with YouthFront, a nationally recognized evangelical youth ministry training organization. The class focuses on youth spiritual formation within experiential environments such as camps, retreats and short-term missions. It will be taught by Dean Blevins, NTS Professor of Christian Education, and by Mike King, President of YouthFront, and author of the popular Presence Centered Youth Ministry (InterVarsity Press).

This one-week intensive course will meet June 23-27, 2008 at YouthFront South Camp, located just south of the Kansas City area. This week is designed for youth ministers seeking professional development opportunities to "break away" for a short time of intensive study and spiritual renewal. The course will continue with online discussion to coach youth pastors and camp directors as they design spiritual formation strategies for their local ministry.

Dr. Blevins notes that the course includes exposure to one of the premier camps that integrate spiritual formation and recreation ministries. An experiential course by design, the class will include times of focused study as well as direct participation in specific formational practices, and the opportunity to interact with youth attending the camp.

Course enrollment includes a $250 fee designed to cover room and board while at the camp so that participants can experience the full context of this form of ministry. For more information on enrolling in this course (inquiring enrollment/admissions requirements), log on to www.nts.edu or contact the NTS Admissions Office at 800.831.3011, ext. 5452 or at enroll@nts.edu.

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Pilgrimage

I had one of those wonderful mornings where a lot of things I love doing all lined up harmonically.  I arose early to wonderful weather.  It is Friday.  I traveled to YouthFront Camp South.  I taught and hosted Dr. Hardy's class on Pilgrimage and Formation.  We met in the new Prayer Chapel.  I shared the role that Pilgrimage has played in my personal life, family life, YouthFront life and Jacob's Well life.  I hope the rest of the weekend goes as well.

Here is the Reading List for this class for those interested in this subject.

Course Reading

Cousineau, Phil. The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred. Conari Press, 1998. ISBN-10: 1573245097 / ISBN-13: 9781573245098

George, Christian. Sacred Travels: Recovering the Ancient Practice of Pilgrimage. InterVarsity Press, 2006. ISBN-10: 0830835024 / ISBN-13: 9780830835027

Sheldrake, Philip. Living Between Worlds: Place and Journey in Celtic Spirituality. Cowley Publications, 1995. ISBN-10: 1561011037 / ISBN-13: 9781561011032

Tylenda, Joseph N., SJ. A Pilgrim’s Journey: The Autobiography of Ignatius of Loyola (revised edition). Ignatius Press, 2001. ISBN-10: 0898708109 / ISBN-13: 9780898708103

Wuthnow, Robert. After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s. University of California Press, 1998. ISBN-10: 0520222288 / ISBN-13: 9780520222281

GENERAL STUDIES OF PILGRIMAGE:

Bartholomew, Craig & Hughes, Fred (Eds.), Explorations in a Christian Theology of Pilgrimage. Aldershot, England/Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2004.

Coleman, Simon & Elsner, John, Pilgrimage: Past and Present in the World Religions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.

Eade, John & Sallnow, Michael J. (Eds.). Contesting the Sacred: The Anthropology of Christian Pilgrimage. University of Illinois Press, 2000.

Morinis, Alan (Ed.). Sacred Journeys: The Anthropology of Pilgrimage. Greenwood Press, 1992.

Turner, Victor & Turner, Edith, Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture: Anthropological Perspectives. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.

CLASSIC PILGRIMAGE STORIES:

Bunyan, John, The Pilgrim’s Progress (W.R. Owens, Ed., Oxford World’s Classics). New York: Oxford University Press, 1961/2003.

Chaucer, Geoffrey, The Canterbury Tales (Nevill Coghill, trans., Penguin Classics). New York: Penguin Group, 1951/2003.

Pentkovsky, Aleksei (Ed.), The Pilgrim’s Tale (T. Allan Smith, trans., Classics of Western Spirituality). New York: Paulist Press, 1999.

STUDIES OF SACRED PLACE/SPACE:

Norris, Kathleen, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. New York: Mariner/Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

Lane, Belden C. Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality (expanded edition). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. (original edition, 1988)

Lewis, Steven. Landscape as Sacred Space: Metaphors for the Spiritual Journey. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2005.

Sheldrake, Philip, Spaces for the Sacred: Place, Memory, and Identity. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

An intriguing conversation

I had the fortune to have lunch followed by an hour of discussion with Dr. Jurgens Hendriks who is the Chair of the Department of Practical Theology and Missiology at the University of Stellenbosch South Africa.  He is also the Executive Director of The Network for African Coongregational Theology.  Our lunch started out as a casual conversation but I questioned him into a dialogue on his Theory of organizational, social, political and ecclesial systems.  Here is my reconstruction of his theories which are absolutely fascinating (this discussion started out particularly in the context of Africa but evolved into a much more encompassing world view focus).

System One – Survival – At this level the main focus is survival.  This is called Misery Existence in Africa.  One third of Africans are stuck in system one.  They live on less than $1 per day.  The goal is surviving one more day.  It is easy to be judgmental on those who are stuck in system one until you understand the reality of their basic struggle for life.  System One provides the breeding ground for genocide.

 

System Two – Has to do with sustenance living.  This is usually an agriculture based lifestyle and involves a precarious balance of life maintenance.  For Africans this involves a dependence on the gods (witch doctor, religious person, sacrifices, etc.) to maintain the balance of nature, healthy crops, etc.

 

System Three – At this level you have the organization of people groups for the purpose of defending their way of life.  The development of tribes, gangs, armies, etc. and involves the survival of the fittest.  This is seen in history – Ghengis Khan, Sparta, organizing in order to rule by absolute power.  This system is very prominent throughout African states and even within states.  It is also the prominent system or organization throughout the Arab world with the Imans heading the organizations.

    

System Four – Because absolute power corrupts absolutely (in system three organizations and systems), System Four focuses on JUSTICE.  You can’t trust a single leader so you develop values, principles, accountability and ethics.  It was at this point that we began to discuss how churches and theological, ecclesial movements fit into these theoretical system levels.  At this level Dogma and Systematic Theology is instituted.  We went on a parenthetical trail – The Absolute power of the Monarchies (system three entities were replaced by the Democracies of Nation States).  The Absolute power of Rome and the Papacy (a system three entity, led to the Reformation and the Dogma of Reformation Theology – system four).  Germany, a system four dynamic slipped back to a system three level through the rise of Hitler’s Absolute Power.

 

System Five – The pushback is that system four can become so bureaucratic that system five overcomes this by singing with Frank Sinatra I Did It My Way.  This is the Corporate Model.  Commodification takes place.  The focus is on what works for the largest group possible.  This is how the USA largely operates while Europe is mired down in bureaucracy.  This is also the system operating in the Mega-church model.  Willow Creek, Saddleback and others accomplish much but this system can be brutal for relationships.  This level is about production and results.

 

System Six – By this stage of the conversation are focus was now almost entirely on ecclesial issues.  At this stage is where the cell church is emerging.  This is also the level where the emerging church conversation originates.  The focus is pushing back on level five abuses of relationship and community.  At this level equality and diversity is valued.  Egalitarianism is important.

 

System Seven – The computer world, technology and new models of system thinking and interaction, by this time we were late for our next meeting so we didn’t really get to flesh out the characteristics of this level

    

or

System Eight – Transcending denominationalism, nationalism – a global connectivity, an ecological focus and global issue focus, internationalism.

I tried to write down my thoughts about this conversation so don't hold it against Dr. Hendriks if I did an incomplete job of remembering.  Dr. Hendriks has promised to send me more info on these theories.  This was a mind expanding conversation for me, one which I am not able to really capture in this summary

Oh Crap... this isn't good news!

Higher Education: A Pain to the Brain?

Believe it or not, if you age beyond 70 years and had more education throughout your life, your brain will experience a steeper decline. Participants in a new study, all more than 70 years old, were tested up to four times between 1993 and 2000 on their ability to recall 10 common words read aloud to them. Those with more education were found to have greater memory loss over the years, according to a new study detailed in the current issue of the journal, Research on Aging. (LiveScience, January 12)

From The Journal of Student Ministries

The Course Description for teaching my first Seminary class...

I'm pretty stoked about teaching this class at NTS.

CED 790 Missional Leadership and Discipleship Course Prospectus (Dean Blevins and Mike King)

Course Description: An investigation into the life of the missional church and its practices, with specific attention to formative process that occur in the midst of cultural engagement.

Course Narrative: Hearkening to the works of Leslie Newbingen, Darrel Guder and Brian McClaren, new churches emerge that take seriously the missional mandate of God. How do contemporary churches discern and engender life engaged in missional practice? What formative processes guide congregations whose task remains transformative engagement of local communities? This course explores contextual and organic ecclesial practices, dispositions, and communal structures to answer these questions.

Richard Hays in KC

Earle Lectures in Biblical Literature is featuring Dr. Richard B. Hays, Ivey Professor of New Testament, Duke University.  Dr Hays will speak at 10:00 AM on Thursday and Friday at NTS.  "Richard B. Hays is internationally recognized for his work on the letters of Paul and on New Testament ethics. His scholarly work has bridged the disciplines of biblical criticism and literary studies, exploring the innovative ways in which early Christian writers interpreted Israel’s Scripture. His book The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation was selected by Christianity Today as one of the 100 most important religious books of the twentieth century. Professor Hays has lectured widely in North America, Great Britain, Europe, Israel, and Australia. An ordained United Methodist minister, he has preached in settings ranging from rural Oklahoma churches to London’s Westminster Abbey. Professor Hays has chaired the Pauline Epistles Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, as well as the Seminar on New Testament Ethics in the Society for New Testament Studies. He convened the Consultation on Teaching the Bible in the Twenty-First Century and was co-convenor of the Scripture Project, a research initiative sponsored by the Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton."

The Moral Vision of the New Testament is a brilliant work.  I haven't heard Dr. Hays speak but I am looking forward to setting under his teaching the next two days.  Come on over...

Latin or Hebrew?

I have been thinking about taking Latin for some time but lately, for several reasons, I am wondering if I should switch to Hebrew...

The Options:

Go with Latin because of my interest in Christian History and Thought...

Go with Hebrew because of my passion for the land of the Bible and for my interest in rethinking New Testament narrative from a First-Century, Second-Temple context...

Go with neither because I have a hard enough time with the English language...

Most likely:

I can always use tools like this to learn a few cool Latin phrases to sprinkle in my language repertoire - so I will go with Hebrew...

This is my choice Pro tempore!