No Fixed Abode: Deconstructing Church as a Family Experiment with Lessons from Piracy
Time: Fri 11:00AM
Venue: Oasis
Style: Speaking
Content Type: Where should God's people dwell?
Description: Three New Testament models are used to show how the people of God should dwell in first century cultures: 1) The Jesus Model: (disciples following a Rabbi, after Elijah-Elisha), 2) The Paul Model: ekklesia ‘church’ (from Greco-Roman Culture), and 3) The Peter Model: The Household Code (from Aristotle & Greco-Roman Culture).
If during the short epoch of Jesus and the Apostles, three models were needed to provide habitational spaces for the people of God, why have we insisted on using them for two millennia? Should we not look for and discover new forms in which to function?
Deconstructing church began as a family experiment. We focused on being the people of God rather than doing something or going somewhere called church. To create a structure for this experiment, we borrowed from the world of piracy. The Jolly Rogers became our faith symbol. Our deconstruction drove us to learn from the institution to benefit spiritually abused outside the institution. We were perceived as voices of mutiny, attempting to undermine existing authorities. We were lonely. Peace was rare. Hope for justice was our guide. Ultimately, like pirates, we began to reconstruct new ways to live and to discover what home really means.
Co-Creators in This Experience