I’m currently on a one month work sabbatical called a “recharge.” As I shared on Facebook,
I plan to use the month to connect with friends, travel with Jane, exercise, read, pray, reflect, and generally slow down. My hope is that I’ll come out of this time refreshed with renewed energy and vision for many adventures ahead.
January 11, 2024
One way I plan to reflect is to revisit some of my old writing. I’m hopeful that reviewing thoughts from another time in my life will help me identify longer term themes and make the path I’ve been on a bit more visible. I also hope that others might find these writings useful.
Attached is the first writing that I thought was fit to share, a paper I wrote in 2003 for grad school. The paper discusses the structures of the faith community outside of local congregations and denominations. This paper has come to mind recently as I’ve been mourning the state of organized Christianity in the United States. I’ve found myself wanting to share parts of it to my oldest son, who was participating in the “compassion board” at our local congregation, and my wife, who serves on our church board, and to various friends who serve in ministry in local congregations and parachurch institutions.
Finally, I want to recognize that the paper and my thinking on this subject was and is heavily influenced by the writing of Ralph Winters, “The Two Structures of God’s Redemptive Mission” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement a Reader: Revised Edition, 1992.