January is “Spiritual Abuse Awareness Month”

An edited version of the following excerpt will appear in the introduction to the book, Safe Houses for God’s People.

At long last, it looks like the first book in my Opal Design Systems series will be published within the next month or so. This curriculum is meant to equip participants in churches, agencies, and Kingdom enterprises with the frameworks and tools they need to create holistic, sustainable, transformational ministry. I’ve title this inaugural volume, Safe Houses for God’s People. It focuses on discerning malignant ministry, dismantling systems of spiritual abuse, and (re)building safe and sustainable places of discipleship. Many topics wrapped up in spiritual abuse and toxic organizations are uncomfortable, but I’m approaching them with a redemptive edge for those in need instead of an inflammatory exposé of the experiences I’ve survived.

I crafted this title and focus because I believe all followers of Christ need to become safe people to serve those who have endured the grievous wounds of spiritual abuse (and other kinds of human frailty). Also, as teams and congregations of His disciples, we need to ensure that our churches, ministries, and activities are safe places where bullying is never tolerated. The house of God should be a safe house for discipling all people … even for repentant abusers … and we should consistently deal with any attempts at manipulation or control in the name of Christ there and, in fact, vigilantly prevent them.

The safe house image provides a powerful illustration for these every-disciple responsibilities to protect and nurture. I learned about safe houses many decades ago from my sister, and the grit and grace required in her advocacy work has stuck with me. In the mid-1970s, she served as a pioneer in helping women who were survivors of domestic violence. It all started when a friend showed up at my sister’s place with a camera. She asked my sister to take photos to document the huge bruises she had from her husband beating her. Her friend knew if she didn’t leave him now, there just might not be another opportunity.

Her friend’s serious situation jolted my sister into further action – just documenting the damage didn’t seem like enough of a response. So, she became an activist and advocate for survivors on this and other forms of abuse. That was an era when bullying was not on the “social radar” yet, and there was a very uneven response to this particular form of violence. Still, there were women who’d survived physical, emotional, and verbal abuse and had the courage to leave their toxic situations. They needed somewhere to shelter them while they reconstructed their lives. Where could they go?

Safe houses provided a kind of “underground railroad” station for women to escape their oppressors, recuperate in hiding, and relaunch life with a more healed identity. Typically, there they would find a combination of friendship, advocacy, counseling, and training – all in a safe environment designed to protect and nurture them.

My sister steadfastly kept the confidentiality of her clients. She did not tell me specific details about individuals, but did educate me about the relevant concepts and practical needs. (I’ve ended up applying those in my work with other kinds of marginalized individuals and groups through the years.) She also attempted to educate church leaders and members, but to little avail. The unfortunate truth was that many theologically conservative and evangelical churches back then generally didn’t offer safety or solace to survivors of abuse. “Pastoral care” often just consisted of telling a battered wife to return to her husband and submit to him – frequently with the implication of, By the way, whatever did you do to make him so angry that he hit you?

Is it shocking that Christian “leaders” would justify what is absolutely unjustifiable, and leave victims without help or hope? That unyielding ignorance was a heartbreaking tragedy back then. Yet, a similar tragedy continues to occur these days because too many of our churches, ministries, and Christian agencies protect the perpetrators of spiritual abuse. They fail to confront the infliction of vile attacks on God’s people through legalistic rules, relational control, and emotional manipulation. They refuse to acknowledge the presence of spiritual bruises, and may even blame the victim as if they brought such “discipline” upon themselves and deserve what they got. In extreme cases, they invoke the name of Jesus Christ while actually promoting a system that perpetuates damage on all whom they claim to disciple. Such abusive individuals and organizations in particular are flirting with the thin border between “toxic” and “cultic.”

And how should we respond? Or, better questions are based on this: How will we respond? Curtailing malignancy is more than just a matter of theology; it requires us to choose a basic course of action that may affect every facet of our ministry, and follow it through.

• What should every disciple know and do to support survivors sensitively and block bullying relentlessly?
• What responsibilities fall to the congregation together as a community of those who follow Jesus?
• What are the roles and responsibilities of leaders to ensure a constructive environment for everyone’s spiritual transformation?
• What do we do when Christian celebrities in the larger society or online world demonstrate themselves to be spiritual bullies – even if they are not doctrinal heretics – and they spread their poisonous paradigm via downloads, blogs, books, conferences, and ministry associations?

Yes … What will we do to become safe houses that protect and nurture God’s people?

I will also be adding resource items and additional details to pages on my Opal Design Systems site as time goes by. This is more of a resource site related to my curriculum on systems for cultural contextualization of ministry, and I don’t plan on regular blogging there.

My blogs about movies and media will stay on-line – Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Max Headroom.

Brad Sargent, aka the futuristguy

Becky and I connected through that missional mogul, TallSkinnyKiwi (also known as Andrew Jones, who happens to be one of the instigators of my entry into blogging nearly 10 years ago). We’ve been in touch for a few years now, with lots of emails and a few in-person visits to round out the virtual relating.

In fact, last year Becky and some of her friends from this area dropped in for a visit during her research-interview trip for Ancient Future Disciples (her most recent book – see below). And, if you know either of us, you can imagine the “Level 10” kinds of conversation topics that got bantered about! I’ve never been one to simply collect clone-buddies as a set of friends. (In fact, I’ve even had some close friends who cannot get along at all with some of my other equally close friends … go figure … But isn’t that very thing a picture of the realities of what “culture” is all about and what “church” as a community needs to figure out? Since we share the same spiritual space, yuh think we could learn to give each other grace!)

Also, if you know either of us, you can imagine there are quite a few things we two don’t agree on, but there are many that we do. And I think the most essential one is the importance of following Jesus and wrestling with what that means in terms of practical, everyday decisions as His disciple … treating all people respectfully, standing up against societal and spiritual bullies, reflecting on life through Scripture, doing something that makes a difference in peoples’ lives. We come at the specifics of what that means from very different starting points, but the exploration of exactly that often becomes where the best learning can take place. Our different trajectories give us different perspectories, but that certainly leads to creativity!

And so, with that intro, here are some details about Becky’s recent writings and a forthcoming webinar on January 17, 2012.

ARTICLE. Becky is a prolific writer, blogger, and commentator. She had an article published in December on “fashion that impacts social change.” It features Sweet Notions (which I’ve written about here on futuristguy, exploring how it demonstrates what future mission and ministry look like) and Nomi Network. Both of these organizations work to stop human trafficking and support survivors in sustainable ways. They use fashion production as a means to empower women from vulnerable backgrounds as they learn skills and produce eco-friendly clothing and accessories. Check out Becky’s article on Halogen TV’s site: Let Your Fashion Make a Statement For Social Justice.

BOOK. Meanwhile, Becky’s most recent book was released in October 2011 – Ancient Future Disciples: Meeting Jesus in Mission-Shaped Ministries. (A Kindle ebook version is also available.)

Until I can get to writing my own review, I have to settle for posting some of the online description from Amazon, with some commentary.

Journalist and religion commentator Becky Garrison spent a year visiting US based mission-shaped ministries. Where most books focus on the pioneers who founded these congregations, Garrison shifts to focus on the people on the ground: what drew them to the community, why they come back and how they understand themselves to be “church.” In the process, she reveals wisdom around evangelism, Christian formation and discipleship that every congregation can use to flourish in this postmodern age.

One thing I especially appreciate about Becky is that her writing comes from “primary research” – personal experience and interactions and interviews. It’s not just some mish-mash rehash of “secondary sources” of what other people have said or written or compiled on a subject. She’s an on-the-ground advocate and reporter herself, so she knows whereof she writes, and especially how to pull relevant information out of others who typically aren’t being interviewed! Back to the Amazon description:

Ancient Future Disciples tackles the question: “Are people actually becoming disciples of Jesus in the emergent Anglican communities of the US?” Fresh expressions of church may offer a fresh take on ancient Anglican tradition and worship. But what difference are they making for the people who call them their church home?

Becky’s from a “progressive church” background, and so she gets it about the tensions among social engagement, evangelicalism, and missional enterprises. She’s tracked the successes and critiqued the foibles of the emerging and Emergent movements. Becky’s also connected with people from the UK involved with “Fresh Expressions” (an “emerging-missional movement” within the Anglican church), and interviewed on-the-ground people who are transforming the current and future shape of the church there. She knows her stuff from the grassroots up, and she’s practical. I’m looking forward to reading it to get her read on this important church culture.

WEBINAR. Meanwhile, Becky is scheduled for a webinar on Tuesday, January 17, at 8 PM Eastern time. The subject is Ancient Future Disciples, and you’ll find the registration information on the Center for Progressive Renewal site.

Webinars are one wave of the future as an accessible form of collective learning. I’ve already registered, and hope you’ll do likewise. NOTE: There is a nominal fee for this event. Don’t let that stop you – Becky is worth the bucks! Looking forward to hearing my friend online soon …

The ultra-short version of the story is this: My Dad was a jeweler, and I’ve seen all kinds of gemstones through the years. I’ve grown attached to opals as an analogy representing organizational systems that bring together flashes of brilliance from all kinds of people, and that is done by design. So, this curriculum is about how to create intentional and sustainable activities for an intercultural group of people, who integrate together their different ways to process life while following Jesus, and who use interdisciplinary approaches to build Kingdom enterprises (churches, ministries, businesses, community agencies) and to collaborate with others in their communities.

The first series in the Opal Design Systems will be eight books, the first of which is due for publication early in 2012. This inaugural volume is titled, Safe Houses for God’s People. It’s about discerning malignant ministry, dismantling systems of spiritual abuse, and (re)building safe and sustainable places of discipleship. A difficult topic, but with a redemptive edge.

More on that in another post sometime soon … but for now, a well-earned rest is calling my name … and I do believe I also hear the faraway cry of a hazelnut latte, calling for a time of celebration!

Today was World AIDS Day. It’s hard to believe that the then-as-yet-unnamed HIV epidemic was identified 30 years ago in June 1981, and that I started researching HIV/AIDS ministry topics 24 years ago strictly because of God’s calling to do so. (I didn’t even know anyone with HIV or AIDS back then, just knew I was being led to do something rather than do nothing but comment about how awful it was and that “somebody” should do “something.”

Also, was remembering that I was in Atlanta for an early conference on ministry and HIV 21 years ago today. That event in particular sticks in my memory, because it turns out that my mentor in editing – Dr. Lalia Phipps Boone – passed away that very same day, December 1st, 1990, at age 83. I met her when I was 27 and she was nearly three times my age. We worked on a complex editing project together and she let me take the lead, flail away at it, and then we would discuss together what were good editing choices or not, and why. She told me later in her still Texan accent that, “I didn’t really want to train another young’n, but something told me to say yes.” And so, in her passing, I lost the one person who most understood my intellectual abilities, spiritual gifts, and learning styles … and the one I have most modeled myself after, because she was a writer/editor who sought to be led by the Holy Spirit in all things in life.

And it was 15 years ago in 1996 that I helped organize a series of three Continuing Education HIV/AIDS ministry training workshops for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. As best we were able to verify at the time, we were presenting what turned out to be the first U.S. seminary HIV ministry training for academic credit. The heroes of those workshops were the 40 to 50 men and women from across the U.S. who had served in ministry to people affected by HIV/AIDS since the early- to mid-1980s. Today I pray for the legacy of their pioneering efforts will continue bearing fruit.

I also praise God for the friendships I’ve had with people with AIDS over the last 20-plus years. Some of my friends have passed on, and yet some remain, by God’s grace and a lot of prayer and conscientious care, as long-time survivors. It’s mind-boggling to think they’re still with us, though they were infected 25 years or more ago!

So … what a day. Maybe not as much focus on HIV/AIDS as there could have been for me, but still, it is good to take time out to think about God’s perspective and providence, and His love for all people and His desire to relate with us, no matter what. It’s been a good day …

Malignant Ministry: Discerning and Dismantling Systems of Spiritual Abuse

Excerpt #1 ~ The essence of malignant ministry and some basics of identifying it.

Malignant ~ ma·lig·nant [muh-lig-nuhnt]. adjective

1. disposed to cause harm, suffering, or distress deliberately; feeling or showing ill will or hatred.
2. very dangerous or harmful in influence or effect.
3. Pathology.

a. tending to produce death, as bubonic plague.
b. (of a tumor) characterized by uncontrolled growth; cancerous, invasive, or metastatic.

The best description I ever heard for what’s at the core of spiritual abuse came from a child. When she was asked during a Sunday school lesson what the differences are between sin and evil, she said, “Sin is when you’re doin’ something bad. Evil is when you’re doin’ something that looks good, but you’re thinkin’ something bad.” Not a full definition of evil, but not bad for a five-year-old.

Boil it down to its very essence and that is what spiritual abuse in ministry is really all about. It’s one form of evil, the kind where those inflicting the damage look good on the surface but there is corruption underneath. Malignant ministry looks like righteousness but instead it produces guilt. It looks like community but instead it sprouts shame. It looks like humility but instead it implants fear. Malignant ministry masquerades in all sincerity as Christlikeness and good, but in reality is corrupted and evil. And, like some christianized cancer, it injects disease and decay into whomever or whatever it touches. This is true whether we’re talking about an abusive individual leader or layperson, or about a toxic institutional organization or strategy.

So – if we go with that idea of spiritual abuse as a cancer in the Church, how do we deal with it? Treating cancer depends on the type, but in general, a couple things have to happen. In order for the body to return to health, the cancerous sources must be minimized or removed, the injured organs need to be treated and rest, and the body as a whole needs to be restored and rejuvenated. I’d suggest that organic process isn’t so very different for organizations, whether in a church or ministry or non-profit or collaboration that’s recovering from the presence of toxic people.

But we have some very serious problems. The churches of North America have a fairly poor record of confronting these kinds of corrupting influences among us. We don’t know how or when to challenge the perpetrators of evil, whether they are in the pulpits or in the pews, and we don’t know how to help them if they are truly repentant and want to change. We fail to see how people actively enable or passively endorse bullies, and thereby they share responsibility for extending the cancerous influences. We often scapegoat and ostracize the very ones who try to warn us about malignant ministry.

We don’t identify where elements of evil enter our theology through legalism and control or through license and chaos. We don’t recognize how, over time, various forms of spiritual abuse affect the very organizational infrastructures we put in place and thereby transfer a legacy of corrosion onto next generations. We don’t know how or when to intervene and eradicate these evils, and how to move toward prevention of an abusive environment and promotion of a safe one.

In short, we just don’t know how to discern and dismantle the systems of spiritual abuse, or how to deal with all the people and processes that restoring health involves. But there is hope, and there is help …

# # #

Some of the next excerpts include:

• An “extended” systems definition of spiritual abuse that is comprehensive and keeps the elements interconnected.
• A “narrative” approach to theology helps us keep people’s roles and responsibilities in focus.
• What it means for the Church that the social tide is going against bullies,
• Thoughts on books about spiritual abuse published in the last 30 years.

Katie's Chirp-Chirp Bird Reminds of God's Faithful Provisions ...

When we’re on a real-world journey, unexpected situations unfold that turn out, providentially, to help us better understand what God created us to be and to do – why we are here and what we can contribute to the expansion of the Kingdom through our own unique design. I’m about to embark on what seems to be the beginning of closure in one major stage in that journey for me. This will still take a while, like one last big push uphill in a steeple-chase race.

And though I don’t have a clue what’s coming after this, there are a few important things that have become for more settled in my soul over this last stretch of 20 years. (Note that I said these realities have become more settled over time, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still have angst over them. Maybe just not as much as I used to.) (In fact, while one of my friends periodically says that I’m “the posterboy for faith” I think it’s more “the posterboy for perseverance.” Maybe they’re really the same, but one emphasizes the concept more than the concrete action. I don’t know, but I suspect neither one is doubt-free or angst-absent.) Anyway, here are key things I’ve concluded …

First, God really, really is in control – even over the horrors and heartaches we experience – and He really does provide empowerment and opportunities to bring redemption into those difficulties.

This is especially poignant to me right now, because today – yes, today! – I launched into the final conceptualization and editing process for a book about spiritually abusive leaders and toxic organizations. Not exactly a barrel of fun, this topic, as it’s based on a multitude of personal encounters with malignant church and ministry leaders, many who showed no significant signs of remorse or repentance from the intentional harm they inflicted. Which is a pretty sure sign that they have a grandiose problem with lording it over others for the sake of their own self love.

Anyway, I’m doing this book at all for a couple reasons: It represents a redemptive and constructive way to deal with my own wounds. It’s not an exposé, but lays out a series of practical things I’ve learned from examining my own life and experiences and observations against the standards laid out in the New Testament. Hopefully this book can help in:

• Preventing others from being harmed or becoming harmful through developing as healthy individuals involved in healthy communities.
• Intercepting those already at risk of perpetrating abuse on others, enabling abusers, or naively attracting abusive people to themselves.
• Intervening in the lives of abusers and their enablers, and in the lives of victims who need to consider becoming survivors.
• Restoring those who want help – whether they are survivors of spiritual abuse or the former perpetrators thereof.

In my forthcoming curriculum series, I’m doing this book first for a couple reasons: When we have an array of activities to choose from, there are times when we need to do the hardest thing first. This is one of those times. Also, “Spiritual Abuse Awareness Month” is January. Perhaps this will be done in time for that.

This is big stuff. Bullying is a huge issue in the church and society. In my understanding of discipleship, sometimes the Spirit leads us to commit ourselves to providing for others what we could not find for ourselves. That seems to be much of what my resource writing has been about. In a typical week, at least a third of the people who come to this blog via a search engine have typed in some kind of phrase about abuse. Maybe something I’ve written is making a difference out there …

Second, God really does provide what we need.

I’ve seen this truth enacted every month for three years now, since losing my job in October 2008. But the supply line is never the same two months running. Sometimes all I need is provided by short-term work, other times it’s been through sales on eBay, still other times through the generosity of family and friends in giving gifts. Usually it’s an unexpected combination of two or three sources of resources. Plus the occasional finding money on the street, or that I stuck in a drawer some years before. Keeps me hopping – and hoping. I don’t know if all that makes this enactment into high drama or theatre of the absurd. I just keep going with it. It’s a surprise to many, myself included, that I am still here in the same place, three years later. But, I must say, what a relief!

And I’m coming to accept that if provisions don’t seem to arrive on time, there’s some other good and relevant reason behind the apparent delay. This is poignant right now because I have no clue how I’ll make it through to the end of this production stage, however long it lasts. Although research and development like this is one of my “dream jobs” – I have a strong sense that I’m doing what I was designed for – this whole last three-year round of R&D is appearing in the midst of nightmarish circumstances. Thankfully, this storyline plays as an ensemble piece and I’m not in this on my own. I do have a lot of resources through a network of those who pray, encourage, support, talk through material, etc. But my reserves on the physical and financial fronts seem about as low as they can go. From a human perspective, this is an absolutely terrible time to tackle this. But it also seems like a now-or-never moment. No one can complete this work for me. (There’s a whole lot of analysis rattlin’ around in my brain that I’ve waited for this final stage to disgorge onto paper.) And it’s also about day-by-day faith-building, not waiting until everything seems comfortable and convenient enough.

And that’s where this red Starbucks bird ornament in the picture comes in. My friend Katie gave it to me a few years ago as a reminder that, as the old-time gospel song goes, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” We’ve each seen the Lord watch over us and take care of our needs time and time again, even if we’re shaky about how and when He will do so. And every so often, one of us will send a little reminder email message to the other with a subject line like, “Chirp! Chirp!” Sometimes that’s all it says. But we know what it means to us human sparrows, right?

So, that’s it. After 40 years of evangelical church experiences, 20 years research on healthy and contextual ministry, and three years of intensive writing, finalizing the first portfolio got underway today! After this first book, tentative plans are to finish the other portfolios that include text, images, individual reflection questions, group/team discussions questions, small film/media studies, simulation scenarios, trading cards (Yesss!) – and don’t forget the syllabus and the guidelines for “skill certification.” And if by chance I end up having a dedicated website, there will likely be advanced bonus case studies available on organizations, media, and individuals. And perhaps videos. Additional suggestions for immersion activities. And maybe even digital magazines. (Well, yuh gotta aim for the stars in order to make it at least to the moon …)

FYI for inquiring minds who want to know, here’s the probable order of the portfolios:

• Elements of paradigm systems
• Processes in paradigm shifts
• Key concepts and tools for critical thinking in a holistic-paradigm world
• Seven integrated processes for creative and sustainable social change start-ups

Wheww! Well, one day into the last lap done! Prayer for continuance appreciated …

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” ~ Jesus, Luke 12:6-7 (NIV)

Overview of Reconfigured Seminary Curriculum

Ultimately, I am proposing a paradigm shift for seminary curriculum, with a different learning style emphasis and different integration principles – not just a new source for ministry research material. This 21st-century curriculum would include the following seven features:

1. Narrative Biblical Theology
2. Narrative Historical Theology
3. Narrative Personal Theology
4. Study and Outreach Skills for Exegeting the General Philosophical and Social Milieu
5. Study and Outreach Skills for Engaging Specific Social Institutions and Issues
6. Interpersonal and Outreach Skills for Effective Individual and Community Interaction
7. Skills for Effective Leadership and Teamwork

How These Tools Fit Together

The three narrative theologies provide the overall framework in which the other clusters of skills function. The shift from abstract, systematic theology to the narrative style allows for more integration of how God works in the lives of His followers, yet without minimizing truth. This makes talking about God’s personal involvement in the world and in people’s lives more natural – it takes at least one less step than having to think first about how an abstract theological category applies in a personal way before we can talk about God and His character.

The four other categories of skills show a certain logical flow. The skills for exegeting the general philosophical and social milieu (category #4) deal with how Christians can reach beyond themselves and relate with individuals and people groups that exist outside the Church, and do so in a way that maximizes the natural bridge-points and minimizes the natural barriers between Christianity and the beliefs of the outsiders. The skills for engaging specific social institutions and issues (category #5) deal with how Christians can position themselves in the broader context of cultural institutions and make an impact through our service that hopefully draws people toward Christ through the display of godly character qualities in us.

Once we have connected people with God, the skills for effective individual and community interaction (category #6) show us how to bring these individuals into the context of the Church fellowship. Then the skills for effective leadership and teamwork (category #7) train us on how to equip newcomers and old-timers with what they need to begin the outreach cycle again (category #4). This training includes the three narrative theologies, which help equip believers both for personal spiritual growth and preparation for outreach in sharing what God has done in the midst of the lives of themselves and His other people.

I will overview the seven features below, and then go into depth on each concept in later sections of the full document. Relevant bibliographies will also be included in these later sections.

1. Narrative Biblical Theology

Narrative biblical theology is a disciple that integrates around the chronological flow of Bible history. It emphasizes whatever themes are stressed at any particular time in the biblical accounts of God’s dealings with humanity. (For instance, God reveals His character qualities of omnipotence in sending the flood, and His mercy through His covenant with Noah.) It also emphasizes the concept of progressive revelation, including foreshadowings and their fulfillments, and storytelling methodology.

Because narrative biblical theology uses a concrete logic system, it makes the discipline of theology more accessible to those from non-Western thought patterns. This contrasts to traditional systematic theology, which integrates around abstract topical categories, and appeals to classical modernist abstract-sequential learning styles. Thus, narrative biblical theology – and narrative theological disciplines in general – are better suited to postmodern thinkers, who tend toward multi-perspective and intuitive thought patterns.

Narrative biblical theology skills integrate Bible history with thematic analysis.

• Integration Point (“Backbone”) – Chronological flow of Bible history.
• Auxiliary Points (“Ribs”) – Themes stressed at particular times in the biblical accounts of God’s dealing with mankind.
• Word Picture – A series of love letters from God to His people.
• Representative Study Techniques – Progressive revelation, including foreshadowings and fulfillments. Literary analysis (not higher criticism) and storytelling methodology.
• Advantages Over Traditional Methodologies – Uses a non-Western logic system, which opens the training more to those who think in ways other than abstract sequential. Grounds scriptural principles into their chronological setting and cultural context, and thus discourages proof-texting. Biblical stories, wrapped around important theological themes, make a vivid presentation that non-readers remember better.

2. Narrative Historical Theology

Narrative historical theology is very similar to the discipline of narrative biblical theology, only its sources are the chronological flows of Church history, including the history of missions and world history as part of this context. It ties specific theological issues to their social-cultural-historical settings.

It perhaps has a stronger emphasis on the social context of theological developments than would regular church history courses. This makes it more useful in finding cultural and subcultural dynamics from controversies in church history that parallel contemporary dynamics. (For instance, a society dominated by postmodernist amorality has much in common with the immoral pagan societies in which early Christians found themselves. Exploring the contextual parallels between the two could offer important insights on potential bridges and barriers between Christians and their postmodern neighbors.)

Narrative historical theology skills integrate Church history with historical theology.

• Integration Point (“Backbone”) – Chronological flow of Church history, including the history of missions and world history.
• Auxiliary Points (“Ribs”) – Ties specific theological issues to their socialcultural-historical settings.
• Word Picture – A series of controversies brought before the elders at the gate to gain a fair hearing and wise verdict.
• Representative Study Techniques – The discipline of historical methodology and writing; history of philosophy, world history. Study of good/evil, justice/injustice, and how to tell the difference; wisdom principles.
• Advantages Over Traditional Methodologies – Including worldwide church/mission history reinforces outreach mentality; makes training more relevant to non-Westerners. More comprehensive in scope; includes biblical, historical, theological, and contemporary information. Draws on wealth of historical situations with similar subcultural dynamics to modern situations.

3. Narrative Personal Theology

Narrative personal theology is the first-person parallel to the other two narrative theological disciplines. It focuses on the chronological flow of one’s personal spiritual history, and demonstrates God’s character qualities and biblical wisdom through His working in one’s life.

Because postmodern people are more interested in anecdotes and personal history than in abstract concepts and categories, narrative personal theology has the potential to reach people with biblical truths in ways that modernist preaching no longer will. Personal storying that intertwines experiencing God with personal history also role-models the process of discipleship in a way that topical teaching can’t necessarily do.

Narrative personal theology skills integrate our personal history with thematic analysis of God’s working in our experiences and setting.

• Integration Point (“Backbone”) – Chronological flow of personal spiritual history, including prevenient grace.
• Auxiliary Points (“Ribs”) – Reflections on how God manifests His character through various personal experiences, as interpreted by Scripture.
• Word Picture – A docu-drama autobiography, self-narrated, and filmed after enough time has elapsed for a more objective evaluation of events.
• Representative Study Techniques – Inspirational, devotional, and biographical writing techniques. Evangelism’s personal testimony preparation/delivery; homiletics, storytelling.
• Advantages Over Traditional Methodologies – Highly “incarnational,” personal, flexible. Confronts cultural decline in basic biblical knowledge by teaching through personal anecdotes wed to biblical content. Mimics but counteracts cultural trend toward “personal mythology.” Vivid personal stories more memorable than abstract points, and stress obedience to God.

4. Exegeting the General Philosophical and Social Milieu

The study skills and outreach skills in this cluster of categories are the complements of one another. On the “inward” side of exegeting culture, the three skills of biblical exegesis, exegesis of contemporary culture, and trend analysis give us a Christian understanding of our biblical heritage, our present situation, and the direction of our future ministry. They take into account both the direction of cultural trends and the underlying dynamics that fuel those trends.

On the “outward” side, contemporary contextualization, apologetics, and dialoguing skills send us out from our core understandings to bring light into the context in which we find ourselves. They help bridge us in relevant ways toward those who do not yet know Christ, and avoid typical barriers to the gospel found in certain people groups we may come in contact with.

Study Skills Goal Statements

4A. Biblical Exegesis. To understand the Scriptures in the original language and in their original socio-historical setting, and make steps toward application of the principles and themes to contemporary life.

4B. Exegesis of Contemporary Culture. To analyze the interplay of psychological, sociological, cultural, and worldview dynamics that profoundly affect individuals and the subcultures they choose to form their identity around. To make specific applications from biblical exegesis to contemporary situations.

4C. Trend Analysis. To assess the direction of contemporary cultural trends, examine possible dynamics that fuel the trends, and create a strategic plan that responds especially to the underlying dynamics, but appeals to people on the basis of their involvement in the direction of the trend. (They may be unaware of the dynamics in their own lives.)

Outreach Skills Goal Statements

4D. Contemporary Contextualization. To identify possible “points of empathy” on which to build bridges from where people in specific subcultures are really at to where Christ is, and to identify probable “points of friction” which could create significant barriers to members of a specific subculture giving a hearing to the claims of Christ.

4E. Apologetics. To give further shape to narrative personal theology in how to select the most relevant personal anecdotes for any given situation, and how to adapt telling the details of our personal story in a way that is most likely to make sense to a person from a particular subculture.

4F. Dialoguing. To engage in culturally and apologetically sensitive conversational skills with a variety of people.

5. Engaging Specific Social Institutions and Issues

If the skills for exegeting the general philosophical and social milieu prepare us to engage with individual non-Christians and people groups directly and on their own turf, then the skills in this particular category prepare us to engage them indirectly through the key social institutions that we share with them – family, nation, and society (“culture” in the broadest sense).

Study skills include an in-depth examination of how believers should function in their roles when it comes to the family, workplace, political state, and social culture. It takes particular note of the Old Testament wisdom literature (e.g., Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah) for studies of how believers and their mentors carried out their faith in the midst of a hostile society. This is apt, since followers of Christ will increasingly find themselves in unwelcomed situations, whether nationally or internationally.

The complementary outreach skills work toward viable models for action in the midst of societal structures, the family, and social issues.

Study Skills Goal Statements

5A. The Believer’s Role in the Family, Workplace, Political State, and Social Culture. To develop from narrative biblical theology a series of parameters on how the believer generally should and should not act in such key social settings as the family, work, the political state, and the social culture. To develop from narrative historical theology a series of models of how Christians have seen their role in social institutions historically and currently, and how they have acted within (or outside of) the biblical parameters.

5B. Study of Role Models in Biblical Wisdom Literature. To conduct comparative, in-depth character studies of believers and their mentors in situations that are basically unfriendly to followers of God, and note how they may provide role models for contemporary Christians. (Studies would include such figures as Ruth and Naomi, Esther and Mordecai, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah.)

Outreach Skills Goal Statements

5C. Social Engagement. To develop from narrative biblical theology the case for why Christians should become engaged in social and ethical issues (i.e., family, work, political state, and culture). To develop general, multidisciplinary models for how to reach out in social engagement, using sources from narrative historical theology and social science theories and models.

5D. Critical Social Issues and Intervention. To develop general and issue-specific models for Christian social engagement by individuals, agencies, and churches, using sources from narrative historical theology and contemporary churches. To practice narrative personal theology and interpersonal skills in an integrated way for making an impact in specific social problem settings.

5E. Critical Family Issues and Intervention. The same set of goal statements, applied to the family instead of to the broader general society.

6. Effective Individual and Community Interaction

The study and outreach skills in the previous two categories (exegeting culture and engaging social institutions) offer specific approaches for context-centered ministry. The skills in this particular category of effective interaction give a general framework for people-centered ministry. These are complementary approaches; both are needed in order to be effective ministers of the gospel.

The outreach skills are especially important in postmodern times. Advocacy is key because more people will be marginalized as society fragments more. Fewer people have a basic knowledge of who Christ is; an incarnational approach means we can show them His character by the way we live, and thus hopefully attract them to Him. Christ’s roles as mediator and peace-maker will show through when we promote reconciliation of tensions between groups that are rooted in the four unchangeable factors of every person’s birth: race, gender, generation, and nation. And learning how to build a sense of community effectively arches over all other interaction skills.

Interpersonal Skills Goal Statements

6A. Psycho-Social Dynamics. [Original description for this section to be added later. At the moment, the description is locked up in an ancient desktop publishing software that I don’t have available to translate from.]

6B. Relating, Discipling, Counseling, Mentoring. To build a set of strategic personal communication and outreach skills that can be used to achieve multiple types of goals (church planting, discipleship, etc.) and in multiple types of settings (urban, rural, national, international). To develop an understanding of which type(s) of communicating are appropriate for what kinds of relationships, and to develop relational wisdom through practice.

6C. Cooperative Efforts to Help People with Life-Dominating Problems. To develop a framework for understanding the common layers of needs demonstrated by individuals with life-dominating problems (e.g., substance addiction, terminal illness, being on welfare, gender identity confusion). To develop a framework for assessing what combinations of church-based and parachurch-based resources are likely to be the most effective in helping both an individual with a life-dominating problem and the corollary people in their immediate social unit. To learn how to build a network of qualified experts in your region to whom you can make confident referrals for assistance that you are unable to give yourself.

Outreach Skills Goal Statements

6D. Advocacy, Incarnational Ministry, and Promoting Reconciliation. To develop from narrative biblical theology scriptural understandings of how these three Christlike attitudes in the title – advocacy, incarnational, reconciliation – are central to all effective ministry. To develop from narrative historical theology and cultural exegesis some models of effective ministry from these three attitudes, as well as models of ineffective and/or offensive attempts to minister and abdication from them. To develop narrative personal theology for these three issues.

6E. Building a Sense of Community. To develop a set of biblical parameters on what the local church is and is not designed to be and to do. To synthesize subcultural study findings with biblical parameters and church models derived from narrative historical theology, and adapt local church structures flexibly and creatively to styles that best match that individual subculture, without losing the biblical substance of the church. To use interpersonal skills and all three narrative theologies to communicate a biblical and personal vision for what the local church and broader Christian community should and could be, and the importance of each Christian in bringing about that vision.

6F. Core Skills for Church Planting, Discipleship, Evangelism, and Missions. To build a set of strategic planning and practical ministry skills that can be used to achieve multiple types of outreach (missions, discipleship, etc.) and settings (urban, rural, national, international).

7. Effective Leadership and Teamwork

As the community-building skills in the previous category deal with how to incorporate people who come into fellowship with Christ and His followers, the skills in this category deal with how to equip believers to implement the mission of the Church in reaching outside itself.

There has been an intensified dialogue since the early 1990s over changing the seminary training delivery system and curriculum. This discussion reveals that some of the most common complaints of seminary alumni deal with the lack of training in practical skills of creativity, church administration, and mobilizing laypeople to take active ministry roles. These are addressed primarily in teamwork skills. But the cultural shifts deeper into postmodernism and the increased influence of Eastern worldviews also mean that there will be a need to understand non-Western thought patterns better. This calls for upgrading ministerial skills in the areas of critical analysis and paradoxical thinking.

Individual Leader Skills Goal Statements

7A. Critical Thinking. To build a comprehensive set of Western and non-Western tools for critical thinking (e.g., analysis and synthesis, comparison and contrast, direct logical deduction, indirect logical description, associations and relationships, circular reasoning). To apply these tools appropriately to a wide range of practical ministry problems, including exegesis of Scripture, philosophical worldview analysis, non-English language systems, and developing strategic ministry goals and timetables, etc.

7B. Paradoxical Thinking. To learn to recognize the existence of paradoxes in various types of literature, cultures, and experiences, such as the narrative theologies, Western and non-Western forms of communication, and humor. To learn how to use paradoxes and tensions effectively as a communication tool.

7C. Creativity and Renewal. To study different ways that highly creative people think and act, and learn to make general personal applications of those principles. To distinguish between specific types of creative thinking and acting, such as soft/fuzzy and hard/linear thinking; the ah-ha! creative occasion; mind-mapping; lateral thinking; wordplay; play; cross-domain thinking; unusual associations among things; music and creativity; invention; simulation games; etc. To apply principles of creativity and renewal to such practical ministry issues as sermon development, youth work, goal-planning meetings, writing tasks, etc.

Team Skills Goal Statements

7D. Leadership. To develop such important personal skills as vision, ethical integrity, self-discipline, ability to keep confidences, discernment, passion and rekindling it if it dies, personal renewal and avoiding burn-out, humility, personal accountability, and overcoming passivity.

7E. Teamwork. To develop such important interpersonal and supervision skills as listening, allowing people to express their ideas and vent their feelings, accepting people as both gifted and flawed, complimenting and correcting others, and equipping others for ministry.

7F. Lay Mobilization. To understand various models of lay mobilization and the personal leadership dynamics needed to create the kind of church/agency environment that promotes laypeople becoming active in using their giftedness for ministry.

7G. Administration. To learn the core planning, organizational, and administrative skills that can apply to church, parachurch, and personal ministry, such as vision-casting, goal-setting, record-keeping, oversight, ethical and legal integrity, hiring and firing, etc.

VFW "Buddy Poppy"®

We grew up in the 1950s and ’60s with the annual sale of those then-familiar red poppies. Veterans from World Wars I and II stood on the street corners, smartly dressed in their uniforms, poppies in one hand and a collection can in the other. It was rare to see people in uniform then, and when you did, it tended to be a mixture of somber celebration. Over the years, various veterans visited our schools to share their stories. Sometimes they showed up in their uniform, sometimes not. Either way, these heroes – our local baker, shoemaker, real estate agent, and others – all of them made history more real to us, with their accounts of surviving the Bataan Death March, or the Battle of the Bulge, or Midway. It would take years before I better understood what those experiences cost them, in terms of their loss and pain and grief.

In my desk drawer, I keep as a reminder one of these bright-red flowers with the green cluster center and sage-colored twist-wrap wire stem. I kept the little paper tag on it. The front of it says, “Buddy” Poppy®. Wear it proudly.” The back says, “Proceeds to the Veteran of Foreign Wars for Veterans Assistance Programs.” You may not have seen one of these before, so I include here a picture of the Buddy Poppy I keep in my drawer. This one is vintage mid-2000s. Somewhere in storage, I’m sure I have one that is decades older …

Conflict is a difficult thing. I believe our hearts naturally long for peace. It’s just part of our God-given design. And yet, things are rarely at peace, and it is the sad irony that war does not bring lasting peace. Still, we have benefited from both obvious and behind-the-scenes service provided by the sacrifices of current members of our military, our veterans, and their families. I am reminded of the inscription at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial: “For those who fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.” I will never fully know the meaning of this, but today, I’m adding my thanks for the men and women who have sought to restore hope and to protect the possibilities of freedom for the future.

I’ve been reading papers and forum discussions posted on The Future of Theological Education, which went live the first of this month. I’d thought a lot about changing the seminary paradigm over the years. So, I decided to write up my current top 10 notions on how I think theological education would be changed to match the emerging holistic, integrative paradigm – in other words, something far more friendly to what I understand as an incarnational and missional ministry approach.

After finishing the first draft, I found archived e-files I’d written 15 years ago on changing the seminary paradigm. The document included what I was then calling a “Toolkit for Effective 21st-Century Ministry.” It was intriguing to compare that with my current list, and to realize that my views now are pretty much refined versions of what they were then. In fact, the curriculum I’m finishing up includes pretty much all the major themes for required how-to courses that I was mulling over in 1997. In Part 1, I’ll give my top 10 list, without a huge amount of detail or discussion. In Part 2, I’ll take a look back at some similar material from 1997, and in Part 3, comment on how I think the situation has changed since the mid-1990s and where it may be headed in the future. I may add other posts if I access intriguing material from 1997 (most of which was typed into program I no longer have access to or translation capability for).

My Top 10 Ways to Revise Theological Training Systems for Missional Ministry

Theological Content

GOAL – To move toward a story-based approach to thinking about God’s Word and His work in this world, where principles of truth are embedded in the unfolding “plotline.”

1. Shift to a systems-oriented narrative theology. The conventional approach to building theology integrates around the world of the mind, abstract categories, and theological principles and propositions drawn out of patterns in Scripture. It is more philosophical in nature, and can easily fall prey to the flawed Enlightenment drive to achieve “philosophical/theological and linguistic perfectionism.” (For instance, see The Search for the Perfect Language by Umberto Eco.) The holistic approach to building theology integrates around how people relate in the world. This is more paradoxical (keeping in mind simultaneously both God’s providence and people’s interactions as they interweave through a groups’ history) and more concrete (keeping in mind culture, and not just language). A storying approach is more culturologist-oriented than philosophist-oriented. It will not give us all the in-between details that the abstract/analytic-dominated mind wants to know, but it still shows us the themes/principles God revealed for us to know and the trajectories He wants us to move toward in everyday practice.

Ministry Communication and Customization Skills

GOAL – To create an environment that embodies and trains people in practical skills needed to contextualize ministry – for individuals, teams, organizations, and cultures.

2. Apply customization to all levels of communication and teamwork. Train ALL teachers, trainers, mentors, supervisors, and students to apply an understanding of learning styles, creativity theory, and immersion learning experiences to customizing their work for all different kinds of learners. If we cannot even learn to communicate and work on a team with people who are different from ourselves, however do we think we will have the ability or credibility to create a church or other organization that is contextual for the place where the Lord has planted us?

3. Apply contextualization to all dimensions of communication and ministry. Train in the component skills of critical ministry contextualization, including cultural exegesis (observation, analysis, and interpretation) and how to avoid the errors of syncretism, isolationism, and colonialism.

4. Address both organizational strengths and challenges. Train in how to use both of the complementary processes of building healthy organizational infrastructures through “appreciative inquiry” and the evaluation process of “differential diagnosis.” This is in part to help keep individual leaders and organizations moving toward health. Having some strengths doesn’t guarantee sustainability, and avoiding symptoms of problems doesn’t make them go away.

Immersion Ministry Experiences for Developing Practical Skills

GOAL –To achieve a more holistic understanding of the realm of ministry opportunities and Kingdom collaboration, as well as multiple opportunities for highly practical ministry and teamwork skills.

5. “Ministry rounds and mini-internships.” Doctors in training do rounds to visit all kinds of patients and get a better understanding of the range of medical issues involving the whole person. Wouldn’t sort of “ministry rounds” make sense for us as disciples, who may be called to serve anywhere or in any issue in the Body of Christ? Introduction to ministry types through a well-supervised and well-facilitated series of on-site visits, followed by a series of several well-supervised short-term ministry internships. Each internship must be written up as a case study, reviewing the organization’s history and current status, and including theological and practical lessons learned.

6. In-depth internship. Apprentices in on-the-ground ministry need an extended, well-supervised and well-facilitated Theological Field Education practicum within one certified ministry, church, or agency. The absolute minimum should be one year with the same certified mentor/supervisor.

7. Partnership collaboration tour-of-service. Disciples would benefit from an additional practicum/internship experience that involves collaborative teamwork with members drawn from partner churches or agencies. It might be a one-time event, an ongoing activity, or a comprehensive system like city-transformation. But the focus should be learning to work through issues of diversity, developing skills of communal discernment and decision-making, and communicating cross-culturally.

Research and Development for Sustainable Impact

GOAL – To develop resources that help churches, ministries, agencies, and social enterprises place participants in a role and at a level that matches their gifts and maturity level; provide evaluation and restoral tools for organizational systems to reduce their toxicity; and teach local people to create insightful resources that will help equip generations not yet even born understand the heritage (both good and bad) of the local culture.

A word of explanation is needed here. I understand that no church, no organization, no disciple is perfect and that we wound one another and that leaders can wound entire congregations. However, I don’t know whether to be astonished, embarrassed, or livid that institutions in the “business” of theological education and training can graduate toxic individuals who significantly harm people, do not seem to care, and instead demand to continue “serving” as if nothing has happened. Rarely have I seen or heard of training organizations considering how such students got through their system undetected and/or unconfronted.

At least on the secular reality TV show Project Runway, the judges speak of how, on team challenges, if team leaders don’t have the character to “man up” if their team loses due to their design and leadership, then they shouldn’t take credit if their team wins. Should ministry training systems do the same? Better yet, move toward prevention of abuse through better placement systems to lower the level of cross-cultural shock, better self-profiling systems to identify strengths and challenges related to use and abuse of power and position, better long-term resources to reduce stresses from trying to completely redesign the wheel.

The following resources are needed for working toward sustainable impact of our churches, ministries, and social transformation agencies. However, tools based on the former paradigm will find limited usage – mostly in relationship to identifying Christlike character and spiritual maturity. They will flail and/or fail wherever they focus on organizational systems, methodological models, and leadership skill profiles based on the old paradigm. In technical terms, they are not valid – they do not evaluate or measure the things they say they do for the current paradigm, because the research and the resulting definitions of “success” were based in the old paradigm. It’s an issue of apples and oranges: either we need separate apple tools for the old and orange tools for the new, or some even broader-based “fruit tools” that can evaluate apple paradigm issues and orange paradigm issues and any other kind of paradigm “fruit” that may eventually emerge. (See this post on “Gospel Ecosystems” and Organizational Systems for an example of the validity issue as it appears in the conventional church planter assessment systems developed by Dr. Charles Ridley.)

8. Discern how qualified (or unqualified) a ministry candidate is – or whether he/she is currently disqualified and needs to step down. We need evaluation tools for determining whether an individual has a threshold level of maturity and relevant skills for serving in public ministry leadership roles in the emerging holistic paradigm, and/or mentoring/supervising others; and whether an organization has a threshold level of being healthy. We also need certification tools and processes to evaluate an individual’s competency in theological knowledge and application, and ministry skills and activities. (See point #1 in My Top 10 Conclusions about Paradigm Shifts and Cultures for a bit of detail on the framework of qualified, unqualified, and disqualified.)

9. Move from paradigm-bound assessments to transparadigm placement. Character issues and maturity are always relevant. But processes and styles of visioning, hierarchy and teams, supervision, etc., are very different depending on the cultural paradigm one finds oneself in. We need a placement system of tools for evaluating how ministry candidates would fit within a variety of cultures and therefore what to expect if God sends them there. This takes assessment far beyond whether they fit in conventional paradigms of church and leadership, or will have probable success in ministry there.

10. Create a legacy of “cultural capital” resources and contextualization research. Replication of ministry knowledge and skills takes place more thoroughly when there is intentionality behind it. We need to train disciple-leaders to create a base of knowledge that can provide a historical perspective on the local culture and a ministry’s impact on it over time. This legacy involves creating “transgenerational resource banks” by conducting historical studies and case studies of local culture and collecting relevant resources on ministry to local people groups.