Charis-Missional:
A Primer
The
emerging/missional converastion has taken many twists and turns
over the past several yarss, with many people from a wide variety
of backgrounds tossing ideas back and forth, and discovering the
fruit of cross-pollinating with other "streams" in the
Body of Christ.
During
this season, many of us recognized that there was a growing number
of people in the conversation who came from Pentecostal or Charismatic
backgrounds; initially, this didn't register much on my radar, but
as time went on, I began to realize that many of these people were
Post-Charismatic (tired of hype and hoopla) in their "culture",
but didn't want to be considered Ex-Charismatic (rejecting the use
of spiritual gifts, etx.) in their practice of their faith, either.
After
the creation of the Post-Charismatic
website (later removed in light of a publishing arrangement with
Kingsway Communications), it became even clearer that there are
a LARGE number of post-charismatics who are wanting to open dialogue
in the larger context of the emerging/missinoal conversation about
the role of the Holy Spirit in the advancing Kingdom.
On
one hand, this may be considered a no-brainer, as no-one in the
emerging/missional conversation is advocating a reduction of the
Trinity to a Duality of Father and Son only. But at the same time,
while the converastion rightly seeks a more rubust understanding
of a Trinitarian theology and praxis, it is equally important that
we examine how the Spirit works in, through, and among us as the
Body.
This
collection of articles was originally published via Bill Dahl's
Porpoise Diving Life, but the three authors who created the original
content -- myself, Brother Maynard, and Emerging Grace -- also chose
to replicate the articles on each of our own blogs. (Being the designer-wannabe
of the bunch, I felt compelled to create graphics as well).
I hope
that these articles will provide a primer on discussing all things
Charis-Missional (including Brother Maynard's concern that we not
create a charis-missional ghetto by even suggesting such a term).
Enjoy!
|
