Posted 92 days ago
Seattle Stop, Drop and Roll
By Jonathan Neufeld, Seattle Mennonite Church
One of my favorite Anabaptist teachers is the British church planter and theologian Stuart Murray. He is fond of reminding empire-building Christians that the kingdom of God “cannot be separated from the church, but neither can it be confined to the church, for God is at work throughout all creation to advance his rule of love” and shalom. When conference attendees gathered at “The Church has left the Building” two years ago, we were sent out into various communities to look for ways that the kingdom was breaking in, quite separate from the church. The question which accompanied our walking was “How is God’s shalom Spirit at work in this community, and how might followers of Jesus come alongside what God is already doing?” Conference attendees returned to the gathered community with long lists of the good news they had witnessed.
As part of The New Conspirators conference, we will again be headed into the streets and neighborhoods of Seattle with an eye for God’s movement in those places. On our field trips, we will be invited to assess and inquire about the physical, economic, spiritual, and social dynamics of a neighborhood. What is the history of the neighborhood? What cultures are present? What are the resources of the area? What gifts and assets is God using to realize shalom? What challenges are facing the neighborhood? These types of questions can help conference attendees begin to imagine how a church plant, ministry, or community development effort can be a necessary and helpful contribution to the fabric of a neighborhood. I will be leading a group to Lake City, in northeast Seattle, where I live and work, and I look forward to learning from the many observations that fresh eyes will bring.
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