It’s now Day Two for the Forge Grassroots Mission Festival in Melbourne. Somewhere around 350 to 400 people have gathered from around Australia to catch up with each other and keep the cutting edge of the missional church movement sharp.
Al Hirsch was in full swing on Thursday, providing a bonus day of input for Forge interns and other interested visitors, talking through his book, The Forgotten Ways. Inspired by the early New Testament church experience, and that of the persecuted churches in China, Al talked about hallmarks of strong vital missional movements. Al spent a fair amount of time in the morning setting the scene for why the church needs to get its act together as incarnational and missional (being sent beyond itself). The afternoon was focused on developing common values, beliefs and practices expressed in practical ways.
Al reflected on the dangers of hierarchical approaches to church expressed in high views of ordination, and attempts to reproduce the Old Testament temple approach to worship. At the same time he expressed concern that ‘house church’ models were limited because they lacked the broadness of community found in the extended household models of the New Testament.
Al has spent the last year in the United States, on a speaking tour and working with leaders there. It was interesting to note his concern about the tendency of some emerging church leaders to lose a sense of confidence in the gospel. Moving past faith into doubt, Al suggested, would put the brakes on any sense of healthy movement. I’m not sure I agree with Al here. Yes, when we stop standing for anything positive we often stop looking beyond ourselves. But there is a season for reassessing and deconstructing before redeveloping expressions of faith that can be held with integrity and passion.
More to Come
It’s not too late to turn up at the Forge conference – at 488 Swanston Street, Carlton, Melbourne. I’ll be taking workshops in the afternoon on ‘post liturgical, post charismatic, post alt worship’, working with Cheryl Lawrie in the basement car park of the Uniting Church Centre, 380 Little Collins Street, 1.30 – 4.30 pm, Saturday and Sunday. Cheryl and team have set up a ‘sacred space’ art installation with a focus on life in the city. In the same space Adrian Greenwood and the Praxis team have set up a cafe and exhibit focusing on ending sex traffic.