The Shock Absorber

MINI-SERIES: Theology-Strategy-Practice for ministry teams - this time it's strategy behind church ministry teams.

The guys delve into Soul Revival's Strategy of ministry teams. Starting with cultural artefacts, debating the depiction of AI in fiction versus reality and sharing stories about our favorite libraries, setting the stage for a discussion on deeper societal reflections.

Next, they explore insights from a chapter of Stu's PhD, focusing on how the church can influence each other's social life by allowing Jesus to guide our friendships and placing the Bible at the forefront. This leads them to reflect on the explicitly Christian approach of partnering with Jesus as He grows the church, emphasising spiritual growth over mere social or organisational efficiency.

The discussion then shifts to church strategy. Are churches open to reevaluating their methods and finding their 'light bulb moment'? They explore the idea of embracing 'otherness'—building friendships across differences rather than settling in being pleasant strangers. By leaning into the concept of church as a 'third place' community, they consider how such inclusivity can bring glory to God. Instead, they propose a relational approach to ministry—doing it as friends—which, in today's culture, might seem counter-cultural to even Christians.

Finally, they look at whether efficiency should be the core metric in measuring Christian ministry. and offer an alternative that has served Soul Revival well, where 70-80% of the congregation actively serves in it's 10 ministry teams: serving together as friends. They conclude with practical thoughts on fostering relational ministry, emphasising spending time together and building something greater than ourselves beyond just having efficient rosters at church.

00:00 Intro and CULTURAL ARTEFACTS: AI fact or fiction? Your favourite library
09:44 Allowing church to influence social life
18:35 Are churches open to considering their strategy?
28:17 Ministry as friends is counter-cultural
40:14 Is efficiency a good metric for Christian ministry?
52:52 Something bigger than ourselves over efficient rosters

DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE:

Joel's episode on the Aspire podcast
Aaron Smith on The Shock Absorber
Donald Robinson Library at Moore College
State Library Victoria
National Library of Australia
The Great Good Place, by Ray Oldenburg
L'Abri

CONTACT US:

Shock Absorber Email: [email protected]
Shock Absorber Website: shockabsorber.com.au
Soul Revival Shop: soulrevival.shop

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