Centered Sets

This is the great thing about blogging and surfing: I wouldn't have thought to post what I'm about to, except for discussions I've been involved in on other blogs.

I searched the VineyardUSA site for this material, and it wasn't there, so I hope I haven't broken any copyright laws by posting this here...

A Centered Set Movement

"In 1988 we (the Vineyard) had considered becoming a denomination with delineated boundaries defined by a constitution and by-laws. God had clearly said no. Now, in 1989, John (Wimber) attempted to explain why we had not gone in this direction. He lectured from his training as a sociologist and gave us the philosophical grid and language to understand what we were attempting to do. In the lecture John borrowed from what is called Social Set Theory which seeks to describe the dynamics between individuals in three basic kinds of groups (here called sets).

1. "Fuzzy sets describe groups that have no organizational center. A group of little league parents might perceive themselves as a group in that they have a common interest, but no core values define their existence.
   
   
2. "Centered sets describe groups that have joined together a common center articulated by core values. People in a centered set want to go the same place and generally agree on how they will get there and who will lead them. There is a lot of latitude for collegial disagreement on non-core issues and flexibility in forms.
   
   
3. "Bounded sets describe groups that not only have banded together around a common center, but that have also clearly defined rules about beliefs and practices. The number of people who can get in the group becomes narrower because the parameters are more defined.

"John explained that from the beginning he intended that the Vineyard be a centered set of like-minded churches. There was enough latitude in the system to allow for differences on what were considered to be peripheral doctrines, such as the mode of baptism. Anyone could be a Vineyard who could prescribe to the genetic code articulated earlier.

"John also taught that historically groups couldn't remain in centered sets forever because the rules that determine the insiders and outsiders will eventually have to be defined. His desire, however, was to keep the Vineyard a centered set movement for as long as he could.

"In order to evaluate trends and views emerging in the movement, he generally chose to let them alone until they could be studied biblically and examined for long-term fruit. In describing this philosophy he used the analogy of growing a bush. It is a temptation to trim a bush back too soon before a gardener knows what he has. This means letting the thing go for awhile, thus having to endure a period when the bush looks messy and untrimmed. Then, when the course the branches are taking is clear, that which is unwanted is trimmed back. This allows for more growth in the rest of the plant."

I think the "centered set" idea is (does this even need to be said?) totally applicable to the postmodern, re-structuring, or house church movement. And in the metaphor of the "messy bush" that Wimber alluded to, it's OKAY if it's a little wild and woolly for a while (in some people's eyes, anyway). Change is messy -- whether inside or outside the established church.