Forge Intensive Saturday - John Franke

I thought I'd post up my raw notes from the intensive ... totally unedited I'm afraid, so please excuse anything wrong, offensive or unintelligible.

John Franke. Emergent. Seeks to bring missional thinking to the teaching of theology.

To talk about being missional is critical to the heartbeat of God. God's very nature is missional, he doesn't not only have a mission.

Objectives:
- we could gain a better understanding of God and his purposes. (head)
- to have our hearts grow in passion for God's mission. to desire to participate in that. (heart)
- to become more reflect and intelligent about the ways in which we are going to participate. (hands)

What does it mean to say that God is missional?
- most fundamental way to do this is through the Trinity.
- God is triune.
- but what difference does that make?
- well what was God doing before creation? what was going on?
- Augustine and friends. Preparing for people asking these questions ...
- God was giving, receiving and sharing love. In the Trinity God was doing this, through the three persons. This was concrete, real activity that God has been engaged with forever. Well God is love - love is a verb, God has been doing love for all of eternity.
- in this action God is relational, not solitary. God is a relational being, this is show in this action of giving, receiving and sharing love within the Trinity.
- God is missional.
- God extends this love from within the Trinity outwards - a missional activity.
- Creation is a missional activity because it is about sharing this love beyond God. Inviting us into this relationship for all of eternity.
- He created humanity in his image, people of relationship (Adam and Eve). Eve was created out of the very being of Adam, to participate in deep intimate relationship.
- Pericorosis (sp?). The relationship within the Trinity, total interdependence. Humanity was created into this environment. In this way we image God. Giving, receiving and sharing love. Humans were told to be fruiful and multiply. God's love overflows into an activity which multiplies, extends, creates this relationship.
- What does it mean for humans are created in the image of God?
- Rationality? Unlike other created beings, humans have rational capacities. But that suggests that each individual has this and can manifest it for themselves. Very individualist ...
- Exercise of dominion over the created order? - as God does this. Again this assumption comes from the framework of individualism.
- These views are from a western theological framework which tries to understand the Trinity and has an individualist bent.
- As individuals can we really image God on our own? Outside of community? We have been created for an in community, as individuals for community. Without community is there the image of God ...
- Sin entered the equation. Where did it come from? Problematic.
- Flaw entered but God's missional concern goes on. Things are not left in the state of rebellion/foobar. Because of His character of mission, God will not leave things at that. So he enters into covenant (maybe first covenant is in the garden - picture of Christ extinguishing evil). Israel's covenant - I will make you a great nation to bring blessing to all nations of the earth. Jesus comes to fulfill God's mission - "It is finished." Covenantal Climax in Jesus death and resurrection.
- Jesus delivers a surprise when he sends us into the world to participate in the bringing about of the Kingdom of God (John 20). He inaugurates the KoG (the already) and calls us to participate in foreshadowing the fullness of the KoG (the not yet).
- What is this mission?
- to be the community that God intended. Not just hanging out, but being the type of community (interdependent as imaged by the Trinity) that God intended.
- what kind of community?
- identity - interdependence - we see something of God in interdependent communities.
- one that doesn't live to serve itself - this is a Christian community because it is inherently missional
- one that wants to promote the gospel (which is - in Jesus Christ God is reconciling himself to the world)
- a community that is intentional about understanding who it is in Jesus. a missional community that is based in Christ. Christocentric in it's activities. Phil 2:5-11 for more thinking. Emptying self of rights and privileges of God, gives up for the sake of sharing life with us - What are the implications of this for us in the Christian life? Jesus even experiences death for the sake of sharing life with us (mission - giving, receiving and sharing life). The end of these communities is the things that Jesus is on about. Christotelic.

- How does being a Christian community influence our engagement with other beliefs/religions/world views?
- Newbigin - We are exclusive in the sense of affirming the unique truth of the revelation of Jesus Christ. But not in the sense of denying the possibility of salvation for those outside the Christian faith. Inclusive in the sense of refusing to limit the saving grace of God to Christians. But not in the sense of viewing other religions as salvific. Pluralist in the sense of acknowledging the gracious work of God in all other beings. But not pluralist in the sense of denying the unique and decisive nature of God's work in Jesus Christ. (this quote is found in the foreword of a Generous Orthodoxy - Brian McLaren.)

- The Christian community is not just about its specific community. The Body of Christ is global, all who are seeking to be disciples of Christ. 1 Cor 12 - speaks of body with variety of gifts given by the Spirit, given so that none can say it doesn't need the other. This is true on a global scale as well as a local one. A church is at its best when it knows how to give and receive gifts from other churches generously. Jesus prays that all would be one. John 17?

- Our mission is to proclaim/promote/live out now the KoG that will be consummated in the final return of Jesus.

- Bosch. Mission is participation in the mission of God to reconcile the world, wagering on a future that present experience seems to belie.
- will we be fools for Christ?

Questions:
- so what does the community as imaged by the Trinity look like in our context?

Mission - giving, receiving and sharing love.

- The terms we use to describe God (Father, Son, Spirit, Light, etc) are metaphors to help us understand. Analogies that help us understand who God is. God is a father, but a father unlike any father we know. God is a king, but again unlike any king we've known. These metaphors are important, but a single metaphor does not dictate and dominate all others. God has given them all to us. There are feminine metaphors also. Even the label God is a metaphor for Yahweh. God is God - yes, but unlike any other God that we know.

- all other characteristics of God are only expressed in relation to something that is not God (Holiness, Wrath, etc). Love is fundamental because it is primary - expressed first within the Trinity.

Who do we worship? God ... Yahweh, we need to be more specific.

Books.
The Doors of the Sea. Where was God during the Tsumani?