WHY? #Reimagine...
To reimagine is not to change what we believe
but to reconsider how we think about what we believe.
If we are unable to differentiate between our beliefs (theology, doctrines) and thoughts (ideas, applications, systems, best practices), then we will ultimately be unable to defend our values and discern the foundations of social change and political preferences.
To reimagine, is to rethink, review and revise, prompted by a Holy Spirit revealed fresh-for-our-times application of the unchanging truth of Scripture. We are blessed by and greatly benefit from but are not bound by tradition. Transformation requires fresh application.
To reimagine is not to rely on human imaginations; just the opposite, it is a yielding to the revelation of the Holy Spirit that infuses human thinking with the mind of Christ which allows us to know the will of our Holy God. A unique application to our times and our trials.
To reimagine, individuals – cohort groups - congregations – collaborations, must employ the gifts of the Holy Spirit (especially prayer) and the resource of scripture.
To refuse to reimagine, is actually an act of disobedience, because we are commanded to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we ( individually and corporately) demonstrate God's will is good for all. So that means our leadership and ministries, not just our personal moral life must be transformed: our disciple making, prayer, evangelism, church itself…
We should expect the renewing of our mind, a reimagination led by the Spirit, to result in great works for a great God.
CHURCH. THINK. DIFFERENT!
#ItSeemsToMe...Christians need to "repent" of behaviors AND beliefs that are not pleasing to God.
["Greek was the language of the gospels and the word “repent” was recorded as “metanoia.”
"Meta” means “after” and it bears the concept of “shift” or “change” (as in the word metamorphosis).
“Noia” translates to “mind.” “Metanoia” is a clarion call to transformational thinking. Suzette Martinez Standring]
Take faith! #Reimagine
Phil Miglioratti
Curator for The #ReimagineFORUM
NEXT STEPS ~
1. Affirm that you need to #Reimagine... if your church/ministry/team/group is going to be successful at reaching people with the Gospel and making disciples.
- >>>Scrolling comments below then...
- >>>Read how toreimagine Romans 12:2 (scroll to also see guest commentary)
- >>>Reading Designing YOUR #Reimagine Journey...
SCROLL for additional content: Commentary ~ Resources~ Replies ~
Russell Moore (SBC and CT) ~
"Every - almost every part of American life is tribalized and factionalized. But it shouldn't be that way in the church. The very existence of the church is to mean a group of people who are reconciled to God and to each other and, from the very beginning, was standing apart from those sorts of factions.
And so I think if we're going to get past the blood and soil sorts of nationalism or all of the other kinds of kinds of totalizing cultural identities, it's going to require rethinking what the church is.
And I don't think that's something new. I think it's very old. I think it's recovering a first-century understanding of what it means to be the church.
WE RESIST CHSNGE TO OUR OWN DEMISE...
"It’s not that institutional practices don’t matter at all. They certainly matter; if we all decided tomorrow to ignore them and go about doing things willy-nilly, that would cause chaos.
"But when we confuse those practices with eternal principles, we are putting our trust and our hope in the wrong things."
posted>>>
A pastor shared the challenge he faced when he dared to reimagine...
Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset
"I’ve spent a lot of time in therapy over the years as a way of processing the challenges of the church. My most recent therapist introduced me to the concept of growth mindset vs. fixed mindset.
A growth mindset is when a person is willing to take chances, enjoys learning new things and is not afraid to fail. Conversely, people with fixed mindsets don’t like to be challenged. They perceive failure as the limit of their abilities. They tend to be scared of learning new things, particularly if that education disrupts their current worldview."
"American churches need to pivot from one kind of pastor and culture to another kind of pastor and culture."
"What can we do to shift from the model attractive to narcissists to a model designed for tov pastors?"
Scot McKnight
"By nearly every account, the majority of leadership strategies aimed at creating change are doomed for failure."
So, You Don’t Like Change?
You’ll Like Irrelevance Even Less
#ItSeemsToMe...We Must Reimagine Church
The Church; the Body of Christ has critical blind spots:
-resistance to finding ways to express the unity all Christ-serving congregations…we override the call for unity to preserve our theological brand
-fear of change based on prioritizing and preserving our comforting traditions, customs, worship-styles
-in a sincere attempt to relate to an increasingly secular world, we have adopted business models and adapted entertainment techniques, resulting in a corporate leadership structure that produces CEO style leaders
-we extend our belief of scriptural inerrancy to our interpretations and applications, causing us to consider our views on politics as equally inerrant
-we have forgotten that sins are the result of a diseased soul…Sin is an ungodly worship of self, the desire to be independent of God, and the pursuit and prioritization of need to the point of addiction. We are saved from the sting of sin but need the filling of Holy Spirit to battle the symptoms of sin.
Phil
Reimagine.Network
Innovation and change in churches will improve...When the Baby Boomers are out of the way
Our team has conducted hundreds of church consultations. I did my first consultation in 1988. We have a plethora of anecdotal data and church member interviews where we see that Baby Boomers are often the most resistant to change. Indeed, in some of the churches, the Baby Boomer members decided to close the church rather than infringe upon their personal preferences (Church Answers Research). Many churches will likely have new opportunities to make needed changes for greater congregational health as the Baby Boomers fade from the scene.
Thom Rainer
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