MattGlover.com

I was fortunate enough last week to score a “by invitation only” chance to spend the afternoon with Brian McLaren. He has gained a reputation for being one of the leading thinkers on new forms of mission and church, however I was pleasantly surprised to find him a balanced and likeable guy without the ‘attitude’ that many of his contemporaries have.

A few weeks before he arrived I was asked to submit a few questions that I would like to here Brian address. The other invitees were asked to do the same, and then about 15 of us gathered to discuss the common themes that came up in our questioning.

Anyway, here’s a few notes that I took:

1. This guy has less hair than me. I like him already.

2. Stop talking about the church and start talking about the gospel. I can’t tell you how glad I was to hear him say that. One of the constant criticisms I hear from the emerging church circle about the established church circle is o an unhealthy concentration on the forms and structure that chrch should take. The emerging discussion is just as guilty of forgetting Jesus and repeating the mistakes of the past by simply concentrating on new forms and structures of the church.

3. Forms of church are not as big an issue as the theology. Interesting, as I have read on a few emerging church blogs that this movement isn’t based on theology but practice. Personally I think this is nonsense - any church is based on a theology whether it acknowleges it or not - so it was good to hear Brian’s take on the issue.

4. Brian hates the name “Emerging Church” and the fact that his name is associated with it. He loves Jesus. Amen.

5. On the topic of attarctional/extractional/incarnational mission, Brian says that all forms of mission are attractional to some extent. The people when scattered and gathered have to be attractive - we can’t have incarnational misson and repulsive people.

I challenged him about thinking of mission and church as ‘invitational’. He answered by saying that there was no one way and we need to be open to all forms. Just like you can’t put Jesus into a box, so too you can’t put mission or church in a box. And while he didn’t say their names, I reckon he had a go at Alan Hirsh and Mike Frost here!

Anyway, I missed most of the other events Brian spoke at for various reason, so I was glad to be at least able to make it to this one. He was a gracious man with a good heart from whom I think I could learn a lot. Time to add his books to my reading list…

These blog entries and discussions cover some of the things raised in his other presentations:

Tim Jefferies at Established and Emerging
John Jensen over at The Rev
Phil McCredden at Signposts has two threads here and here
Stephen Said at Neurotribe