Wednesday, April 22
McManus on the three spaces of Paul…
Erwin McManus began this conference on ‘The Art of Movements’ yesterday afternoon here in Orlando…He’s a great teacher… We entered into the story of Acts 17…Paul at Mars Hill…He spoke about how Paul was on a journey between spaces…a journey church planters need to make. The spaces were, in his estimation…
A space ‘where everyone is like us’, “Paul went to the synagogue”…
Why did he go to the synagogue? And not the city? Because he went wherever he knew…(we do the same thing, ‘we go where we know’)
The only reason we reach people like us is that we, deep down, only want people who look like us…
2nd space…”places of everyday engagement”…”Paul went to the marketplace”
We need to plant churches and love people who are not connected to me…you can’t tell me that people are not open to talking about God in the 2nd space. There are people searching everywhere…
3rd space that Paul inhabited in Acts 17…the space you can’t go unless you’re invited…”Then they took him”
Erwin said, “A few years ago…I felt like chucking this church thing. Not Jesus, just the church” He spoke about how he was being called a heretic…he had death threats…“It’d just be easier to move away…”
He’s come to the point of knowing that…”I would choose the disdain of all Christendom to help you come and know Jesus…”
He looked at the two people who are converted in Acts 17…Dionysius and Damaris and taught:
“The moment you create a space for Dionysus, you will lose your space with the first space people…”
So my question…
So…is it possible for a church to engage all three spaces at one time?
Mark Nelson at 10:18 AM 4comments
4 Comments
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at 8:18 PM
ragamuffinminister said... If you're church is healthy and all in it have the same common goal, then it seems logical to do so. Individually you may lose your space with some (and then gain it back and lose it again and gain it back). BUT, a diverse group with gifts and talents all across the spectrum and varying personalities could certainly do a myriad of things.
I don't really know, but I tend to think (and maybe want to believe) that the church can do all 3. Just not every individual doing all 3 all the time. Still chewing...-
at 12:16 AM
Mark Nelson said...
ideally...I'd like to think you can do all three...
Realistically...hmmm, not so sure...-
at 12:05 PM
said... I think the church excels at #1, many of them to the extent that "like minded" people is all they are interested in. To coin a phrase from one of my favorite commercials, these churches seem to view the world outside their walls as "not being in the contract", therefore......what a drag dude!
It is imperative that we go out into the everyday "marketplace" if you will. Very Biblical and very much the model of ministry that Jesus exhibited.
Can churches do 1 and 2? Absolutely, provided they truly have the heart and willingness to view ALL people through the eyes of God. Once you see people as God sees them and your heart comes in line with that viewpoint, the doing becomes a natural extension.
The third group - really can't say. I've not really been able to envision a modern day example of what he was talking about.
Jeff-
at 2:57 PM
ragamuffinminister said...
more thought on this...
is it okay if person A is called to one space and person B to another and person C to yet another?