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Announcing a new meeting for Indianapolis Emergent Cohort!

What: Discuss possible new church plant in Carmel

When: Sunday, April 6, 6:00 PM

Where: Click the link below to find out!

Who should come: Are you tired of church as it is? Do you want your voice to be heard in the decision-making process? Then come join our discussion to "protest" status quo religion and take the risk of being an agent of change in your world and community.

Why: A great time to meet new friends, share a pizza, enjoy a snack and drink, as well as, find encouragement for positive change in the midst of a troubled world.

Meeting Description: We live in a very fragmented, broken, and often ego- and ethno-centric society. The Christian church has not been immune to this fragmentation, brokeness, and "us-them" barriers to peace, unity, justice, and true Christ-likeness. Come help us explore and trace the historical and cultural sources of division, hate, war, poverty, lack of connectedness, etc. Let's take a new look at the BIG picture and our place in it by reading the Bible again with new perspectives informed by history, personal experience, reason, and tradition. Let's learn how to quiet ourselves and listen for God's voice through creation, scriptures, and each other in community, without fear of compromising intellectual honesty and true spirituality. Your input is important!

Learn more here:
http://indieallies.me...

Some questions, if you would be so kind as to tolerate the curious:
Who would be the pastor of this new church? Is it connected to any denomination or church planting agency? Or is it entirely grassroots and without connection or funding? Who is "backing" it or initiating it? Just wondering....

how are you going to move past ethno-centricity in your church?

Some questions, if you would be so kind as to tolerate the curious:
Who would be the pastor of this new church? Is it connected to any denomination or church planting agency? Or is it entirely grassroots and without connection or funding? Who is "backing" it or initiating it? Just wondering....

Great questions! Sorry I had not been back to see them until this morning. The cool thing about this discussion that has continued for the last couple of weeks and is moving forward, is that we are not even considering who would be in what roles at this point. Most of us in this conversation (not speaking at all for everybody in this cohort) are so fed up with the traditional ways of thinking and doing "church" that sometimes even the term "pastor" brings up wounds and bitter feelings from the past reeking with spiritual abuse and "apostolic" authoritarianism. Anyway, this has been exclusively a grassroots discussion without funding or denominational backing. I probably should not have even referred to it as a "church plant" since that concept also has been too frequently associated with agendas for marketing and expanding existing institutions and organizations calling themselves churches.

how are you going to move past ethno-centricity in your church?

Hello Maurice! I have no idea at this point. Please join our discussion and bring us your ideas and experiences! I do have some past family history that has seemed to be able to bridge ethnic divides in the inner city for the good of social integration, imporved lifestyles, and social justice. But these have primarily been political and humanitarian. Sometimes I think more soical justice happens through "secular" organizations and institutions than through the church. What do you think?

i'll see if i can make the meeting. as it is, i'll be returning from a horror/sci-fi convention that weekend. but i may be able to make it.

as far as social justice, i'd have to disagree. i think the church has often been at the forefront of social justice issues. i firmly believe that God is a God of justice and when the church has been silent or absent or even lagging behind on issues, His mission of justice continues to get worked out through "secular" organizations. (i'm "quoting" secular also, because i'm not a big believer in this divide between secular and sacred.)

if social justice isn't being worked out, that's a failure of us as the individual pieces that make up the church. (of course, i've recently been doing a lot of research on the role of the church in the civil rights movement, so your mileage may vary on my opinions).

if your interest is in inner city ministry and ethnic divides, i was wondering why you'd plant out in carmel (nothing against carmel, mind you, it's just not the first place i'd think of for the kind of diversity you'd hope to plant in the midst of - though it certainly brings me out of my comfort zone to go out there. )

After working in social work for the past two years (I'm now taking a break for an indefinite period of time), I'd have to agree with Marcus. Secular and government "service providers" are a ham-handed and impersonal solution to problems that are deeply personal. The "client-provider" system is emotionally cold and unable do much more than treat the symptoms; it can do nothing to reach the deep roots of the challenges we face.

I believe the church is key to creating communities of people who love one another genuinely and naturally across the borders that divide us, whatever they may be: class, gender, race, politics, even our own sinfulness.

However, I think it may be jumping the gun to immediately that ethnic differences will be immediately debilitating to a new church. As a visiting friend noted to me on Sunday, our church at The Crossing is small but incredibly diverse. It, however, has the distinct advantage of being located in the inner city (16th and Delaware). I believe simply by welcoming all who come and providing for needs both spiritual (the worship service), physical (the meal), and social (our friendship and conversation), it is only natural that people will be attracted the outpouring of God's love for them, no matter what their race or class. As we get to know people as individuals, we learn how we can love them in more specific, practical ways like tutoring, better housing, employment assistance, medical care, etc.

As Marcus points out, Carmel is a very different community. The needs will be different. And yes, there are more white people there. If a church body there is not as diverse as it is here downtown, I would in no way consider an indictment of their ministry. Perhaps it is not their church that is ethno-centric, but the community in which they live. Does this mean there can be no churches in Carmel that show genuine Christian love or genuinely pursue social justice?

The key, I believe, is in cooperation. I believe that it is evident that this is sorely lacking the greater Indianapolis area. The church is a body, and every local gathering is a part of that body. If the arms do not move in unison with the feet, how can the body keep its balance?

Obviously, there are many ways that Christians in affluent areas such as Carmel could creatively channel their resources to partner with less wealthy congregations in the inner city. And I hope and pray that occurs in a spirit of love and authentic generosity.

The more neglected question, I believe, is how can we in the inner city, in turn, be a blessing to our brothers and sisters in the suburbs? I believe that if we pursue the answer to this question as well as to the above, we will be blessed with the empowerment and reconciliation we desire.

on the plus side, i think i can make your meeting this weekend.