Church planting has been on my mind quite a bit these days. In the course of thinking through the hows, whens, whys and wheres I ran across this Christianity Today interview with AMiA bishop Todd Hunter. Todd’s ministry has been on my radar screen most of my life. Having been heavily influenced by The Vineyard, Todd’s ministry in The Vineyard, especially as a church planter, was well known to me. Through my work with Alpha USA I had the chance to work with Todd and get to know him. He has blessed me more than he’ll ever know.
Here’s the interview:
TH: Anybody today who wants to be a seeker and follow God in the way of Jesus is going to want a religion to practice. I’m wondering if Anglicanism and other streams grounded in spiritual practices aren’t going to be used by God in a way they have not been used since frontier America and Wesley.
America is going to become increasingly secular and hostile to the church. But what will build the bridge to whatever authentic Christianity emerges next is going to be a serious practiced Christianity. I think there’s going to be a revival of religion.
CT: You will be planting churches in some pretty unchurched places. How Anglican will those churches look?
TH: We’re going to engineer these churches backwards from missional and pastoral concerns. They will be Anglican in theology and Anglican in polity, but they may not look Anglican.
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So that’s your angle?
I like the idea of someone being transformed by the Spirit as they continue to recite the creeds and confession. It becomes ingrained in the person. (All the more reason to add back in the words, “and there is no health in us.”) This also shows the importance of right practice because in Hunter’s thinking, right practice will lead to right thinking.
Most importantly to note is that all of this is wrapped around and preceded by the relationship between the believer and non-believer.
There are many things I like about this article, especially since I come in contact more with people who a church or other Christians have disappointed than outright atheists of those who have no experience in Christianity. Increasingly, I meet those who reject Christianity in favor of “spirituality” that they can separate from church. What I like most is the “coffee” follow-ups at not-too-regular intervals. Love Alpha, but the last Alpha I attended, there were so many in the group that there was no time for everyone to participate in the small group discussion. One on one has a distinct advantage of hearing specifics and exchanging/engaging in a comfortable setting. Perhaps this should be a new ministry?