Pioneering @ CMS

Some of you maybe aware that we are exploring a merger of sacred:space (@ Christchurch Woking) and HolyGround  ( @ Trinity Methodists) and creating a new FX -  Fresh Expression of Church 


So I was looking at the CMS Pioneer website to get some inspiration and found a few things  which might be of  interest to others.    

PIONEER HUB -   This supported by  and South Central Regional Training
Partnership  RTP  which includes our own Guildford Diocese

As part of the Pioneer Hub they are creating a  Community of Practice  and meet locally for informal conversations (typically in coffee shops around the country)  Coming to a starbucks near you.....!

Have  a look at the brochure - It is all about what has already happened  but gives you an idea   This look like just what we need to support our new FX venture!    You can also read about Chrissie Lacey's involvement   She did a Pioneer Witness about ScAT, Woking. I took a picture of her preaching from a bath at Christchurch one Sunday evening service - I think it was about soaking prayer but I can't really remember - but it was nonetheless very pioneering!

There is also a regular Pioneer blog.  For example here's one about Jonny Baker's  trip to Seoul, Korea a place I know well.   You quickly learn the biblical imperative to 'eat what is set before you'

I noticed an OPEN DAY on TUES 12 NOV:  Conversations on Pioneering: Research and Reflections   costing £15 at CMS, Oxford. Looks like some very good content. Anyone interested in attending?   I am..... Maybe we could go together ?

There is also a PIONEER OPEN DAY  on Tuesday 26 Nov 2013   (Also Tuesday 11 Feb 2014  Tuesday 13 May 2014) You can download the flyer here  By the way it seems that most things happen on a Tuesday with CMS pioneers.

MacChurch ? make that i-Church

 I posted a tweet: ‎10 Things Churches Can Learn from Apple Stores | http://t.co/1dqk08e2 #MacChurch or should it be iChurch 

The blog   was based on  an article about the success of Apple Stores, but the blogger had re-interpreted the principles in the church context, which were for me the fascinating bits...

10 Things You Can Learn From the Apple Store, by Guy Kawasaki.
My friend, Carmine Gallo, has written a book called The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty. The Apple Store is the most profitable retailer in America, generating an average of $5,600 per square foot and attracting more than 20,000 visitors a week.

 

 a cynical friend responded on Facebook 

22 May at 20:33 · · 2

Mike Burke



 1. Make your church twice as expensive as all others 

2. Make your Church totally incompatible with other brands. 
3. When someone complains about the sermon, tell them they they must be the cause of the problems because everything is perfect from our end. 
4. Assemble all the parts cheaply & dangerously elsewhere & then sell it here as something valuale & beautiful. 
5. Embue all your users with a smugness & brand superiority. 
6. Rubbish all alternative versions of church. 
7. Re-invent what you are doing every 18 months so that people feel ashamed about using the obsolete model. 
8. Wear a pollo neck jumper & eat sushi. 
9. Don't challenge the genuis of the brand, this really is the only show in town. 
10.....need I say more,... I'm just a hypocrite - I would happily buy Apple products if I could afford them. Please disregard all of the above!

 

 For some reason this made me think of the I'm a Christ Follower clip on YouTube,a parody of the MAc vs PC adverts, There is a series of 7 in all) 

 I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody) Part 01

"Cast your net on the other side"

Cast your Net on the Other Side 

My painting 'Cast your Net on the other side' is based on one by Daniel Bonnell from a book of his paintings and meditations, called The Road Home: a Journey in Art and Music  (with Garth Hewitt)

I painted my version during the  'Casting the Net' Conference in Lahore. It was run by DAWN Pakistan, The Drug and Aids Workers Network, which I helped to found in the 1990s.    It was wonderful to engage again with people running drug programmes in Pakistan (see the poster designed by Aamir)

DAWN Conference poster

It was  a great conference with about 30 participants and lots happening over just 2 days.  It was particularly good to see projects that had been running for decades, alongside new emerging drug programmes. It a sign of life....

As part of the programme we looked at 4 fishing/boat stories, which are all part of    
DiscipleSHIP

1. CALL to DiscipleSHIP   (forming)

Matthew 4:17-22; Mark 1:14-20     

2. COST of DiscipleSHIP   (storming) 

Matthew 8:23-27;  Mark 4:35-41   

3. CATCH  from DiscipleSHIP  (norming)   

Luke 5:1-11  

4.   (re) COMMISIONED to DiscipleSHIP   (performing + mourning) 

John 21:1-13   

Study Questions:  these framed the discussions

A. Read and engage with the story. What struck you? (maybe relate to your own experience)

B. What are some discipleship principles that come out in the passage. List (and report back) 

Cast Your Net Again - Daniel Bonnell 

The work in Pakistan is going on.  They too are learning to cast the net on the other side. .... leading to all sorts of new experiments. 
You can hear more from Aamir about some of the surprising results in a CMS Audio-Mission Podcast:  Focus on Pakistan

What is a fresh expression ?

What is a Fresh Expression of Church?  a nice video trip to the Middle Ages to find out (from the Fresh Expressions website)

A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.