Brian McLaren
Here, from my notes, is the gist of Brian McLaren's March 9 presentation at The Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.
In this time of extraordinary change, the Episcopal Church has
ADVANTAGES
~ A Via Media Mindset (many never surrendered to modern reductionism)
~ A Celtic Mindset (vestiges of non-Roman Christianity, non-imperial expression of faith)
~ A Diverse Mindset (space to differ)
~ A Liturgical Mindset (space to experience God, portal & exercises for experience of God)
DISADVANTAGES
~ An Upper Class Mindset (elitist, civilized, uniform, colonial)
~ An Institutional Mindset (centralized, controlled, change-resistant, risk-aversive)
~ A Christendom Mindset (people ought to come to US)
~ A Bi-Polar Mindset (Liberal vs. Conservative, etc.)
In order to overcome the disadvantages and leverage the advantages, the Episcopal Church needs
~ A "Bring Them In" spirit
~ A "Let's Experiment" spirit
~ A "We're Beginning Again" spirit
~ A "Transcend & Include" spirit
~ The Holy Spirit
There is no cosmetic or surgical solution to our problems.
We need a radically new/bold understanding of the Gospel.
The Gospel is NOT about self-enhancement. It is about "God so loved the world."
The church does not have a message of the kingdom of God, the message has a church to deliver it.
It is not about getting people into heaven, but getting heaven into people – getting the heavenly will done on earth.
What kind of example are YOU?
Would you rather be motivated by desperate necessity or surging creativity?
What would it take for you to be excited about inviting your friends to church?
Our work is forming disciples as agents of the kingdom of God.
Plant new congregations: new ones innovate, old ones imitate.
Find out what "Anglimergent" means…
We need to stop being worried about being Episcopalians and start worrying about people who've written off Christianity as they know it.
The Baptismal Covenant (BCP) is our strategic plan:
~ We believe the story! (Apostles' Creed)
~ We will practice what the story tells us.
~ We will embrace a personal spirituality.
~ We will share the good news liberally.
~ We will work for peace and justice.
We need to abandon civil religion, which blesses and validates the state, and embrace prophetic religion, which may confront the state. Dr. King had it right, the church should not be either the servant or the master of the state. It should be the conscience (and imagination) of the state.
We need to avoid sub-contracting our conscience.
We need to stop making "The Church" the issue and make "Jesus Christ" the gift we offer.
RDP+
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