Under One Steeple: Multiple Congregations Sharing More than Just Space

by Lorraine Cleaves Anderson, Anthony C. Pappas (Foreword by)

Overview

Remember the era when people loved living in Christian community? So why not bring that way of life to a "community of churches" in which longtime members of cavernous, cathedral-type buildings open their lives and belongings to homeless churches? For decades now, God has been bringing revival to the US through immigrant church startups exploding with fearless vigor while many of our once stalwart churches continue to coddle a handful of folks each Sunday. Why not "stand on the table" and see God at work from a different vantage point? Some congregations own huge structures, others need space, we all need each other, and we can learn to share, kindergarten-style, first our passion for Jesus and his agenda, and secondly our stuff--holding the former tenderly, the latter loosely. It's all God's anyway, and will crumble without being used, so let's share it all gladly while we can! By concentrating on placing people's hands in the hand of Jesus, we can create a community of churches under one steeple, then under another steeple, then another, unlocking every room and every heart!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781725247161
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	03/09/2012
Series:	House of Prisca and Aquila Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	164
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Lorraine Cleaves Anderson (MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is Senior Pastor of International Community Church (American Baptist) in Boston, where, for nearly fifteen years, numerous churches and organizations have joined ICC's "Christian community of churches."
Anthony G. Pappas is area minister for the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts and the editor of The Five Stones, a newsletter on small church ministry.

Table of Contents

A Song: Reciprocate xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Foreword xv

Preface xix

1 Scrutinize the "Hospiradical" Incarnation of Jesus 1

2 Pinpoint the Nonnegotiables 8

3 Welcome Every Knock on the Door, Every Ring of the Phone 16

4 Host Whole People Groups 22

5 Listen for God's Wisdom 28

6 Say "Yes" as Often as Possible 35

7 Carpe Occasionem 41

8 Count the Cost Gladly 47

9 Keep the Infrastructure as Self-Managing as Possible 54

10 Drop Negative Signs and Business Lingo 58

11 Have as Few Rules to Enforce as Possible 64

12 Set Grace-Plumped Boundaries, and Leave the Maturing to God 67

13 Take Prayerful Risks 73

14 Celebrate Cultural and Linguistic Distinctives 81

15 Start Peer Learning Groups 88

16 Hang World Maps and International Art 95

17 Pray! Pray! Pray! 101

18 Play! Play! Play! 108

19 Stay! Stay! Stay! 113

20 Leave Well 119

Postscript 125

Appendix A Covenant for Shared Space 127

Appendix B Covenant for Resident-Custodian 136

Appendix C Poems by Jack Powers 139