The Goings on and Work of Sam Mahlstadt

The title displays N.D. Wilson’s approach to theology and creation. In the book, Wilson often employs a lyrical writing style, which matches his wide-eyed content. He debates the rigid approach to past philosophers with his childlike awe of the world around him. Clearly, Wilson is well-versed in philosophy and mythology, but easily pushes it to the side in preference of the artistry found in creation, making a case for a Master Artist. Part theology, part apologetics and part  observation of the mysterious world in which we inhabit, everything from ants to storms get analyzed and discussed in relation to God.

I loved how the writing seemed to gracefully dance its way through serious topics such as evil and death. Wilson created a balance with the child-like awe found in the book, as he wove in the realities we all face in this life, and the hardships that cannot be ignored. He dealt with the beauty of creation as eloquently as the reality of heaven and hell, and the process one takes in making the decision on which they will enter. I will recommend this book to friends, and have already thought of several people who need to read it. My copy will undoubtedly travel my social network as I encourage those who love the art of writing to read this book.

In case you are new here, I am part of a team that is planting a church in Winston-Salem, NC. We are brand new, just wrapped up our second week. We are proud to be a part of the ARC organization, which we feel has the vision and leadership to be one of the major influences on the growth of the modern Church – internationally.

Okay, on with it. I came across this article by Jon Tyson, who is a pastor in New York City. The concept is the city parish model, which is basically a network of smaller life groups forming community churches, joining together to have major impact in their city. This seems very different to me than what many churches are doing right now. I would venture to say the city parish model is far less popular than a multi-site strategy. Back to the article:

Two things stood out to me.

1. This would take a network of like-minded pastors to pull off

2. If successfully done, would revolutionize the way we plant churches.

To me, the difference between this model and the multi-site strategy is that each neighborhood has it’s own independent church that functions in the context of that area, not merely modeled after the church’s first successful campus. Of course, I have limited knowledge on the city parish model and the multi-site strategy, unlike The Multi-Site Master.

So, there are my thoughts. For you pastors out there, what do you think? For those of you who don’t go to church, I would really love your thoughts on the issue.

It is official! One Church has launched its corporate gatherings, and the first one is complete. Our prayer is that our weekly gatherings would not end at 11:30 on Sunday, but would continue through meditation, prayer, conversation and small group engagement throughout the week, all over the city.

Here is a quick tour of what you would have seen on Sunday once you pulled into the parking lot. Of course, there was much more going on than these few pictures can reveal, but you will have to come meet with us if you want to see the rest.

Next week I will give a photo tour from the lobby to the auditorium.

from the parking lot…

have kids? here is what you would have seen…

then you would make a right, and see this beautiful lady to assist you with your children…

if you have elementary school-aged children, they would go into the theater on the left, and toddlers follow the path to the right

not a great picture, but you get the idea. Toddlers have a good time, lots of fun.

You have probably heard the term “Emergent” to describe faith communities in both a positive and negative way. I personally hate the term. I don’t hate the folks who use the term to categorize themselves, but I do hate that we feel a need to categorize ourselves.

Boundaries make people feel comfortable. When you start removing boundaries, or simply ignore their existence, people get nervous. I like what Rob Bell (who many call Emergent with a smile, and many call Emergent with a scowl ) said about the term. I don’t have a direct quote, but it went a little like this: “I am not comfortable being called Emergent, but I am comfortable being called emerging. We have not arrived.”

It seems like I have said this countless times since we started building a church. We have not arrived. I don’t know the best way to preach, or teach, or facilitate community. I don’t know the best translation of the Bible, and I often question how we interact with Scripture. But I am searching and studying, because we have not arrived.

The team I am a part of that is creating a new church in Winston-Salem, NC has run into this several times. For instance, these two questions were asked on our Facebook page:

Are you a bible preaching/ believing Church? Or a part of the Emergent Culture?

I guess I didn’t realize you had to be one or the other…

I was startled not too long ago by a couple stats.

1. 27 million people live in slavery right now. (that’s more than at the peak of the trans-Atlantic slave trade!)

2. Over 1 million children are sold into slavery every year.

There are more, equally brutal statistics, but these two were enough for me. As a new and forming church, we made the decision that we had to respond to this reality. Jesus said that he came to set the captive free, and we want to move toward the fulfillment of that ambition. So we have developed the mission of One Church around this effort.

In order to jump start the mission, we are gearing up for an awesome local event happening on 9/9/09. We will be hosting a screening of the documentary “Not For Sale” in a downtown Winston-Salem coffee shop called Krankies.

You can find out some more details at http://stopslaveryhere.com.

On Twitter, you can keep updated by following @stopithere

On Facebook, you can become a fan by clicking here.

If you live in the Triad, come out and hang with us. If not, please pray that this event would be a moment that would start a local movement as we stand as a community of abolitionists.

And now for something to make your eyes feel good: