plenary talk from the Disciples of Christ general assembly in Nashville, July 2011

1. becoming a luke 10
church

3. There are many kinds of churches.

6. There are many kinds of churches.
revision, revolution, counter-revolution
Ethnic
Activist
Colonizing
Rural
Contemplative
Underground
civil religion, liberation, restoration
Urban
Progressive
Conservative
State

8. the Disciples of Christ
A disciple-forming church
A missional church
A Luke 10 church

9. Luke 10
After this the Lord appointed seventy
others and sent them on ahead of him
in pairs to every town and place where
he himself intended to go.

10. 1.
A Luke 10 church is a
future-oriented church.

11. NOT Luke 10
After this the Lord appointed seventy others
and sent them to a bunker in the wilderness
where he told them to wait until the end of the
world comes in 2011 (or 2012), listening to
Christian radio and avoiding all contact with
this world, which, Jesus said, had no future.

12. The problem isn’t “the world”:
He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few; therefore ask the
Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
into his harvest.

13. The problem is
a shortage of disciples who will
see and seize the opportunities of the
present and the future.

15. 1.
A Luke 10 church is a
future-oriented church.

16. 2.
A Luke 10 church is a
simple, flexible,
vulnerable church.

17. Luke 10
Go on your way. See, I am sending you
out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and
greet no one on the road.

18. Luke 10
Go on your way. See, I am sending you
out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and
greet no one on the road.
Simple. Flexible. Vulnerable.

19. Are we in the
stamp, envelope,
mailbox, and post
office business ...
or the
communication
through many
media business?

20. Simple. Flexible. Vulnerable.

21. 3.
A Luke 10 church is a
“peaceable-kingdom”
church.

22. Luke 10
Whatever house you enter, first
say, “Peace to this house!” And
if anyone is there who shares in
peace, your peace will rest on
that person; but if not, it will
return to you.

23. … Remain in the same house, eating and drinking
whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be
paid. Do not move about from house to house.
Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome
you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who
are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of
God has come near to you.” But whenever
you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go
out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your
town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest
against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of
God has come near.”

24. Eating
Healing
Announcing the Kingdom of
God has come near.

25. The new global love economy of God
invites you to invest your lives.
The sacred regenerative ecosystem of
God offers you a new way of life.
The global community of welcome,
reconciliation, and peace welcomes you.
The world wide web of God’s grace
offers you a free, lifetime membership.
God’s global network invites you to log in.

26. Luke 10
The seventy returned with joy, saying,
‘Lord, in your name even the demons
submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I
watched Satan fall from heaven like a
flash of lightning. See, I have given you
authority to tread on snakes and
scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy; and nothing will hurt you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that
the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that
your names are written in heaven.’

27. 4.
A Luke 10 church is a
community of joy.

28. Luke 10
At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the
Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and the
intelligent and have revealed them to
infants; yes, Father, for such was your
gracious will. All things have been handed
over to me by my Father; and no one knows
who the Son is except the Father, or who
the Father is except the Son and anyone to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

30. future-oriented
simple-flexible-vulnerable
peaceable-kingdom proclaiming
joyful

31. 5.
A Luke 10 church is a
compassionate church.

32. Luke 10
Just then, a lawyer stood up to test Jesus ...
What must I do?
Who is my neighbor?
A man was going down from Jerusalem to
Jericho....
Robbers ... stripped ... beat ... left ...

33. A priest ...
passes by.
A Levite ...
passes by.
A despised Samaritan ...
saw, felt compassion, stopped, cared.

34. Luke 10
… Which of these three, do you
think, was a neighbour to the
man who fell into the hands of
the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one
who showed him mercy
[compassion].’ Jesus said to him,
‘Go and do likewise.’

35. 5.
A Luke 10 church is a
compassionate church.

36. Now as they went on their way, he
entered a certain village, where a woman
named Martha welcomed him into her
home. She had a sister named Mary, who
sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what
he was saying. But Martha was distracted
by her many tasks… But the Lord
answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are
worried and distracted by many things;
there is need of only one thing. Mary has
chosen the better part, which will not be
taken away from her.’

38. 6. A Luke 10 church is ...
future-oriented
simple-flexible-vulnerable
peaceable-kingdom
joyful
compassionate
truly devoted to Christ himself.

43. future-oriented
simple-flexible-vulnerable
peaceable-kingdom
joyful
compassionate
truly devoted
disciples of Christ

45. There are many kinds of churches.
revision, revolution, counter-revolution
Ethnic
Activist
Colonizing
Rural
Contemplative
Underground
civil religion, liberation, restoration
Urban
Progressive
Conservative
State

46. becoming a luke 10
church