Organic / Missional / Simple / Emerging Church

Over the last couple of months I've been blown away with something that has just simply struck a chord with me.
It started with picking up a book of my brother's whilst he was moving house - Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola. Now I've read something along the same lines before (Houses that change the World by Wolfgang Simson) but this book certainly smacked me in the face and made me wake up and smell the coffee.
For a long time now I've wondered why I felt so stifled by the structures of the traditional church, why I was so uncomfortable with  the performance/spectator based Sunday morning services.  This book looks into the origins of traditional church practices and how many of them have their origins in pagan rituals and not in the New Testament.  In fact many of the churches traditions stem from Constantine and his creation of "Christendom".
"In AD 312, Constantine became caesar of the Western Empire.  By 324, he became emperor of the entire Roman Empire.  Shortly afterward, he began ordering the construction of church buildings.  He did so to promote the popularity and acceptance of Christianity.  If the Christians had their own sacred buildings - as did the Jews and the pagans - their faith would be regarded as legitimate.  It is important to understand Constantine's mind-set - for it explains why he was so enthusiastic about the establishment of church buildings.  Constantine's thinking was dominated by superstition and pagan magic.  Even after he became emporer, he allowed the old pagan institutions to remain as they were.
Following his conversion to Christianity, Constantine never abandoned sun worship.  He kept the sun on his coins.  And he set up a statue of the sun god that bore his own image in the Forum of Constantinople (his new capital).  Constantine also built a statue of the mother-goddess Cybele (though he kept her in a posture of Christian prayer)....
In AD 321, Constantine decreed that Sunday would be a day of rest - a legal holiday.  It appears that Constantine's intention in doing this was to honour the god Mithras, the Unconquered Sun.  (He described Sunday as "the day of the sun")  Further demonstrating Constantine's affinity with sun worship, excavations of St Peter's in Rome uncovered a mosaic of Christ as the Unconquered Sun....
When Constantine dedicated Constantinople as his new capital he adorned it with treasures taken from heathen temples.  And he used pagan magic formulas to protect crops and heal diseases." (Pagan Christianity, p18-20, F. Viola).

Following this book I was inspired to read further into this and read other books by Frank Viola - Reimagining Church, The Untold Story of the New Testament, Finding Organic Church, From Eternity to Here and Jesus: A Theography.  This also lead me to read others authors along the same lines like Neil Cole's Organic Church: Growing Faith where Life Happens, and Church 3.0 and Alan Hirsch's The Forgotten Ways.
Frank Viola's Reimagining Church picks you up off the floor where Pagan Christianity leaves you. In that where one book helps strip away the dross of religion and ritual the latter helps you to take a fresh look at the way the first century church met and planted churches, and the way Jesus made disciples.
I know the Organic church way is fraught with as many difficulties as blessings, and it's definitely not the "easy" way to do church, but I'm sure it's worth the cost to have a true experience of how Jesus meant ekklesia to meet.

I currently attend a lively contemporary church with a pentecostal background but now independent. But I want my children to live by Divine life, by the indwelling Christ. How can they experience this when the church we attend is all about performance and is attractional and seeker-sensitive.
At the same time though I don't want to isolate our children from making sound Christian friendships with children their own age. The youth programme at church is excellent and more missionally geared than the church itself. It does more things in the community and encourages greater impact in their school lives.
We decided that we would have the best of both worlds and remain at the church but hold our own "organic" style meetings in our own home. We break bread as part of a meal and then discuss scripture together and  pray. And sometimes we sing.
We're currently going through the Seven Signs of John. Subsequently we have gained a new recruit as we invited Adam's sister to meet with us. She is a recovering addict who after hitting rock bottom has come back to God. She struggles with depression and so struggles getting up to attend a Sunday morning service. She tried going with us to the church we attend but it didn't work out.
She now comes to our Weds evening meetings and has really benefitted from it. In fact, with the meeting being decentralised and laid back with opportunities for all to contribute,she has been an inspiration to us and has blessed us in return.

Silicone Engineering

Just started my new job at Silicone Engineering. Such a relief! It's so laid back and great people I'm working with. Can't wait for next long weekend.

Soccer Aid 2010

Adam's about to take Daniel & Joshua to Old Trafford for Robbie William's celebrity charity football match.

They went and thoroughly enjoyed it. They were sat in the top tier but right at the front. Joshua almost cried because England lost. Good practise for the World Cup then :)

More New jobs

Well, a lot of water under the bridge since my last post. I got made redundant from Gemini Dispersions, was gutted but made some great friends there.

Left Gemini 24th Oct 2008 and got a temporary job in Chorley at Kerax a couple of weeks later. But that didn't last either, was only there 4 wks before they let me go too. :(

Was out of work for 3 mths when I got a job in Bury at LGC, but this was the pits and had an awful oppressive atmosphere. Out of the blue I was offered a job at Robert McBrides in Middleton in their R&D lab. The girl that had got the job didn't like it and was leaving so I was offered the job. I loved the job there but found my boss a bit bit of a bully. She wasn't called "Rottweiler" on the shop floor for nothing. Managed to find something nearer home in a little firm that appears to have a great atmosphere. I've just got one week left at McBrides and the boss has been off for most of my notice, so happy days! Will start new job on the 16th June. 11.30am finish on a Friday, what a dream.

New Jobs

Adam had to come back off work. When he went to see the doctor he didn't think they were doing him a favour putting him a different department where he was sitting down all the time doing close work. He said it was the worse thing they could've done. Looks like it was a ploy to get rid of him. Anyway the doctor signed him off straight away and we decided it was best if he gave up altogether and I went back to work. The first job I came across I got an interview within half an hour of emailing my CV. I went for the interview at Gemini Dispersions and found it a really close knit friendly firm. Was the only one suitable out of over 20 applicants and was called back for a 2nd interview to meet the team. Mike took me round the factory and I met more or less every employee working there. Most of them had been there at least 15 years or more. Anyway he said I'd got the job if I still wanted it. Turns out I get 36 days holiday. Thought originally it was only 28 days but that didn't include statutory days.

Adam's in training now to be a househusband. He's doing really well. He'll probably end up doing it better than me. He's had a couple of rough days just lately with his depression but the doctor has changed his medication back to Fluoxetine on request. It takes 3 weeks for the medication to take effect so he's bound to take a turn for the worse until the drugs kick in.