An ‘open-space community (church)’

September 26, 2007

I read something today that really grieves my soul.

I read of a place called the Greensboro Abbey’s Online Community Space!

The following is in large part a cut-and-paste of what the Abbey is and what they believe and hope to be. Read it and pray if you will for blind eyes to be open. I share this in all humility understanding my own imperfections and my own need to be conformed to the image of Christ. That being said, we can know the truth and it will set us free (John 8:32). Jesus said in (John 14:1 and John 14:6) that He is the way, the truth, and the life. If Jesus is the truth and the truth will set us free it must be something we can grasp. The truth of God does not change because God does not change.

Hebrews 13:7-9 will be helpful here:

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

The key to understanding the above scripture is to identify who ‘your leaders’ are and to imitate their faith, not the faith of false prophets and teachers like St. John of the Cross, Henri Nouwen, and Thomas Merton and others. Jude 1:3 tells us that we should contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (that’s all true Christians). The faith or the Gospel is not something we can reimagine whenever we want. The Gospel has been settled and we need to walk in it. Consider Galatians 1:6-9 and how this portion of scripture instructs us in how to deal with false gospels.

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel? 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

Here begins the cut-and-paste

Welcome to the Greensboro Abbey’s Online Community Space!

We are an open-space community (church) for finding identity in God.

I earned my M.Div. at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I was ordained at First Baptist Church Greensboro, NC and I am currently their Interim Associate Pastor of Education and Spiritual Formation. I am also completing work on my D.Min from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA.

We invite you to participate in the Abbey conversation via this site. We are a newly forming community of friends who want to practice the Jesus-Way of love, community, and mission. We welcome your thoughts and ideas. If you are in Greensboro get in touch so we can meet you.

The Greensboro Abbey Manifesto…

“In our world of strangers, estranged from their own past, culture and country, from their neighbors, friends and family, from their deepest self and their God, we witness a painful search for a hospitable place where life can be lived without fear and where community can be found.” -Henri Nouwen

What we understand so far…

We believe in the triune creator God revealed in creation, in the story of Israel, in Jesus of Nazareth, and in the still present kingdom of God.

We believe in the goodness of what God created, and in the sacred value of all that has been made.

We believe in Jesus who was the fullest human incarnation of God.

We believe Jesus embodied God?s loving embrace of the created, through his life, mission, death, and resurrection.

We believe that in Jesus, God?s kingdom came to earth and remains active and alive in the lives of people who incarnate the grace, justice, peace, and suffering of Jesus.

We believe in the Holy Spirit who is the source of life, vitalizing and sustaining all of creation.

We believe the Holy Spirit draws people to God and to one another in community.

We believe these communities of the Spirit, also called churches, have been established to protect the image of God in all of humanity, and to call people to live into that image in every culture, and in every religion.

We believe that God?s future involves the redemption of all things imaginable and that the communities of God’s Spirit are a glimpse of this, in addition to being the laborers who prepare the world for that future.

We believe that this confession is a human work, and is therefore always open to revision. The original document is written in pencil…seriously!

How we function…

The Greensboro Abbey is an effort at church reimagined. We would feel okay with labels like “emergent”, “postmodern”, “ecumenical”, “relational”, “contemplative”, “activistic”, “prophetic”, “open and embracing”, and “missional”.

The Abbey will be a…

1. Center for reflective theological exploration. The Abbey will be an open space for conversation about God where anyone can participate.

2. Center for spiritual direction. The Abbey will provide individual and group spiritual direction via retreats and/or personal appointments.

3. Center for contemplative practice. The Abbey will be open daily for folks to come pray, and will hold regular retreats and studies on prayer and contemplation.

4. Center for ecclesial experimentation. The Abbey will be a place where the traditional church can experiment with new ideas in community and worship through use of space, apprenticeship, and through staff retreats with Abbey leaders.

5. Center for deep ecumenical friendship. The Abbey will host regular ecumenical gatherings for fellowship, dialog, and activism.

6. Center for community engagement. The Abbey hopes to blur the lines of the sacred and secular dichotomy by partnering with local businesses, farmers, and artisans in whatever ways we can.

Posted in Contemplative, Ecumenism, Emergent, Emergent Church, False Doctrine