Michael Jensen has a blog post about a book called “Total Church”. Sounds exactly the sort of thing we have been talking about here.

I am excited to read this as I am going to the UK tomorrow and have an appointment to meet with the author (Steve Timmis) while I am there.

Oh, thanks Phil. Having met Steve and Tim recently, I am really impressed by what they are doing as well as what they are talking about. I’d really like people in Sydney to give the book some serious thought (whatever my opinion’s worth!). My current church at St Ebbe’s in Oxford (led by Vaughan Roberts) used this book as their staff reading matter for the beginning of the year.

And it isn’t a hard read!

I’d really like people in Sydney to give the book some serious thought (whatever my opinion’s worth!).

always keen on your thoughts brother!

We have a meeting this Saturday arvo/evening weekend at my place where a couple who went and stayed at TCH will be sharing what they have been learning.

If you are interrested in coming please give me a PM for the details.

in addition we will be runnning a total church conference with one of the authors Steve Timmis on April 8. please consider coming if you are interested in kicking around the ideas.

[mod hat]
Thought this deserved it’s own thread!
[/mod hat]

Hey luke
happy for a new thread but this is actually part of the connect with community thread, can these last few post be left there ?

I think it makes sense with the link.

Hi Shane, I thought it would be good to give discussion about the book (and your conference by the looks of it) some more visibility in it’s own thread, rather than at the tail end of a long thread. Feel free to carry on the general discussion about connecting with the community in the other thread though, and/or discuss the book here.

Speaking of which, what is the general gist of the book that Michael has given such a ringing endorsement? :)

will reply in full later

suggests a radical reshaping of church around the gospel and community
key princples :
1. exploring the nature of what it means to be a gospel community or if you like gospel spirtuality
2. what it means to be a community of God;s peopel in mission
3. what it means to do mission as a community.

in practice
evangelism
social engagement
church planting
global partnerships
the nature of discipleship and training
how we care and serve in community
what gospel spirituality looks like
doing theology in community
apologetics that are relational and rational
looking after family
critiquing success

hope that helps

it maybe helpful to ask if anyone else had read the book and what they found helpful or unhelpful

Shane Rogerson - 14 February 2008 10:06 PM

it maybe helpful to ask if anyone else had read the book and what they found helpful or unhelpful

Has anyone else read the book?

What did you find helpful?

What did you find unhelpful?

rofl Geoff!

Geoff’s got skills!

now that he has so articulately asked the question…

has any one else read the book?

what did you find helpful?

what did you find unhelpful?

I’ve read the Introduction to Total Church. The authors identify themselves as Gospel-centric evangelicals, who are nevertheless very dissatisfied with the evangelical churches they have been part of (and have led). Their two major concerns are that -

1. There seems to be very little penetration into the surrounding population. There is little opportunity for non-Christians to hear the Word.

2. Most evangelical churches seem to lack genuine community amongst their members.

They suggest that churches must be 1. Gospel centered (both Word-centric and Mission-centric) and 2. Community centered. They have set up a house church network based on this model, called “Crowded House”. The book is their attempt to share what they’ve learned.

Rory is pondering this kind of stuff here

this blog particularly looking at evangelism in community contrast with stranger evangelism and friendship evangelism.

Craig summarises the 2 major concerns of the book well.

Are they concerns people share? I take it, since most of us are signed up to the idea of the mission more or less, that concern 1) is fairly uncontroversial.

But 2)?

Michael Jensen - 18 February 2008 09:36 AM

Are they concerns people share? I take it, since most of us are signed up to the idea of the mission more or less, that concern 1) is fairly uncontroversial.

But 2)?

Where do we define what genuine community is?

More specifically where is it in the scriptures?

One of the things I loved about Crowded House was the success at not making church about the building, or the service. You could never say “I’ll see you at church”, because you are the church. Under their definition (and I think the bibilical one) it would not make sense to say “I’ll see you at church”. Church is not an event. Awesome.