THE PRACTICING CHURCH
  • Our Story
    • Parish
    • Beliefs
    • Values
    • Team
  • Welcome
    • Connect to Community
    • What's Poppin
  • Renewal
  • Media
    • Blog
    • Listen
  • Give
  • Contact

The Blog

The Practicing church

Finding The Church On The Ground

9/21/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Matt McLean
I am so excited to introduce you to my friend Paul Sparks. Paul is co-founder of Parish Collective and co-author with Tim Soerens and Dwight Friesen of The New Parish. I first met Paul when I participated in the Leadership and The New Parish Certificate with The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, which was transformational in giving me a new imagination for the church.  And since then, he has been an integral part of my formation as a pastor, leader, and artist in my neighborhood, always encouraging me along the journey.

Paul Sparks will be with us (The Practicing Church) this Sunday, September 24th for an important time for our community to envision and to dream about what it means for us to the church in our neighborhoods. And you will not want to miss this. It's going to be good!

See Paul believes that something invisible and yet revolutionary is happening in the church, if we have eyes to see it. In his article, Finding Church On The Ground, Paul refers to these radical shifts in the church.
                        __________________________________________________________________________

Take the United States, where I live, for example. Below the clamor of the political circus, something profound is happening on-the-ground. Researcher George Barna, who has been regarded as the most quoted person in Christianity, designates a movement within the church of twenty million by 2020 and growing exponentially.

Though perhaps premature, he calls this group "revolutionary" in the sense that their way of life uproots "established systems" and includes "a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure."

The Paradox Of The Parish Church
Here is the paradox of what Barna calls the quiet revolution:

"The media are oblivious to it. Scholars are clueless about it...Christian churches are only vaguely aware that something seems different, but they have little idea what it's all about."

Over the course of the last decade, my work with Parish Collective has taken me to over 800 towns, neighborhoods, and villages across the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, and Australia. Joining worship gatherings, sharing meals, and walking the main streets and public spaces I too have discovered this strange phenomenon.

In literally every neighborhood, the number of parish churches, missional communities, and small groups of friends weaving a fabric of love and care on-the-ground is growing exponentially. Yet, their work goes largely unnoticed. Even these groups themselves often have a perennial sense that they are on their own.


This article, Finding The Church On The Ground is too good to miss. Read it here.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    the practicing church

    We are a group of ordinary people with an extraordinary dream - to join God in the renewal of all things by engaging in practices that ground us in the love of God.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    May 2014

    Categories

    All
    Advent
    Angela Ferrara
    Beatitudes
    Black Lives Matter
    Carrie Cates
    Community
    Community Values
    Contemplative Spirituality
    Easter
    Epiphany
    Fire In My Bones
    Freedom In Constraint
    Good News
    Holy Spirit
    Hope
    Incarnation
    Inward Journey
    Jessica
    Jessica Ketola
    Justice
    Lament
    Lent
    Love
    Neighboring
    On Earth As It Is In Heaven
    Pentecost
    Radical Hospitality
    Reconciliation
    Rose Swetman
    Sabbath
    Sacred Ordinary
    Soul Force
    Soulful Living
    Story
    Summer In The Psalms
    The Dream
    The Practicing Church

    RSS Feed

Browse
Home
Our Story
Renewal
Media

Blog
Give
About
Our Story
Parish
​Beliefs
Values
Team
Connect
Welcome
Community
What's Poppin
Media
​
Blog
Podcast



Join the Conversation
Contact Us​
Picture
© 2015 The Practicing Church