Philosophical Secularism vs. Political Secularism

Posted on January 11, 2008

In an interesting session at the Pew Foundation’s Conference on religion and public life, professor Wilfred McClay addresses the role of secularism in the U.S. He notes that we possess a unique blend of secularism and religion. He clarifies the difference between philosophical secuarlism and political secularism by expoloring the notion that “If you know only your own religion, you don’t even know your own religion.”

He comments: Also, there’s a problem with the word “secularism.” It means so many different things. [But] the distinction I want to make is between philosophical secularism, which is secularism as a kind of godless system of the world, a system of beliefs about ultimate things, and secularism in a political sense: that is, secularism as recognizing politics as an autonomous sphere, one that’s not subject to ecclesiastical governance, to the governance of a church or religion or the church’s expression of that religion. A secular political order may be one in which religious practice or religious exercise, as we say, can flourish.

Read the rest.

Coaching

Posted on January 10, 2008

I am currently reading Coaching 101 by Bob Logan & Sherilyn Carlton. It offers very practical advice on how to coach church planters effectively, including various coaching scenarios and helpful examples. The advice is so simple it almost dismissable, until you realize how these basic approaches to coaching are essential:

  1. Coaching is less about being an expert and more about being a support.
  2. Coaching is asking good questions, not providing great answers.
  3. When asking questions, invite, summarize, get the planter to go beyond initial answers, clarify what you think they are saying.
  4. Celebrate good stuff, press for clarity on obstacles, clarify where the planter wants to go, obtain a commitment for follow through.

How to Grow a Missional Church

Posted on January 9, 2008

Here are four helpful ways to keep an Organic (or any church) on mission, taken from Neil Cole and expanded upon by yours truly.

Practice of Prayer

Don’t rely on your cultural exegesis, persuasive personality, strong leadership, or big vision. Rely on God for growth. Pray for the harvest and for laborers to join the harvest. As one our launch team members pointed out, Jesus tells the 70 disciples he sent on mission to already begin praying for more missional disciples, more organic kingdom laborers in the harvest. Consider having launch team members host regular prayer meetings, rotating from house to house, neighborhood to neighborhood, to contextualize prayer and mission.

Pockets of People

In Jesus’ sending of the 12 and 70 (Luke 9&10), he sent them to houses and with very little (no food, extra clothes, money). The disciples were forced to rely on God and the would-be community of faith to grow the kingdom. Look for people who are connected in your communities and spend time with them, have dinners and parties in their homes, get on board with giving the kingdom away. Identify pockets of people in coffeeshops, clubs, restaurants, etc and spend time there. Avoid heavy-handed leadership and cultivate leadership early on. Cole notes that some of these folks may be unrepentant sinners, but that “bad people make good soil.”

Power of Presence

Expect God to do powerful things. Cole says that “Where you go, the King goes, and where the King goes, people bow” (OC, 177). Exercise faith as you live missionally.

Person of Peace

Look for people who come to Christ to be people of peace, people who lead to new relational and cultural networks through which we can spread the gospel to make our communities and cities better places to live. Whether they have a good or bad reputation, God wants to bless them with salvation and multiply his grace through them. Jesus delivered a demoniac and sent him to ten cities to spread the gospel.