Our guiding ideas:
As postmodern Christians we perceive the world around us and understand we are in a changed context for ministry. Years of restlessness, church-hopping and significant personal study has revealed we differ from the pragmatic or modern approach to ministry and the Church. We understand we now minister in a new paradigm of thought while still valuing the essentials of the Christian faith. We recognize the road to the future runs through the past. We value our shared history with all Christians and understand our generation must embody the gospel of Christ in an authentic way.
We understand theology as narrative. Theology is a way to understand God and our world. Not as science, but as a reflection of God’s community on the narrative of God’s involvement in history found in the stories of Israel and Jesus.
We understand apologetics as embodiment, ecclesiology as the visible church. We do not mourn the passing of Christendom, but look forward to a new world in which the church can again reclaim its role as a counter-cultural force. We are committed not so much to congregation as to networking. We understand we are to be the church, not just do church.
The church is moving from market driven to mission driven. As pastors we seek to move from power to servanthood. As educators we long to move from information to formation. Through spiritual formation we desire to take people from legalism to freedom. As worship leaders we are moving from program to narrative with interaction and use of symbols. As artists in the church we will go from constraint to expression. The evangelists among us understand it’s not rallies but relationship, and our activists are moving from theory to action.
Together we will explore what this looks like in our communities.
What to expect at an up/rooted west gathering:
· Understanding that we are in a changed context for ministry, we will explore, teach, and encourage with a spirit of humility toward one another and toward the traditions and institutions which have nurtured us.
· Understanding this is a new world and we are the “experts” on our generation, we will take turns asking questions and sharing insights from personal study. We will discuss and brainstorm together in a round table environment.
· Understanding information must lead to formation we are committed not so much to pure academic thinking as we are to no-lazy-thinking. Our gatherings will be full of substance and creative imagination which leads to action.
· up/rooted west values the process of shared experience from which we derive a sense of wisdom and direction. We meet once a month for discussion on topics of theology, ministry and social justice. The meetings are open to any who wish to minister to their hurting generation, not just those with “official” church jobs.
Keeping coming back here to find out when the next up/rooted.west gathering will be.
