Search This Blog

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Why Another Blog About the Church?


The Church is presently ministering in what many are calling a “new normal.” While the Church’s message must remain the same, the context in which she ministers has become different in significant ways. In the midst of all this change, there are many churches that have a great desire to minister in this “new normal,” but unsure how to begin.
Allow me to explain where http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reconnecting-the-Church-by-Tim-Kauffman/136046853102596, will be positioned. I am hoping it will be a place where constructive conversation can happen. The following questions reflect a few of the topics we are hoping to address:
a.      What does the new normal look like?
b.      How does the Church proceed from here?
c.       What kind of leadership is needed in the local church?
d.     What are some of the issues interwoven into the Church’s current challenges?
e.      What should the relationship between the Church and society look like?
f.        Is the Church indeed in need of being reconnected? If not, why? If so, how?
g.      What, if any, are the obstacles to reconnecting the Church?
After almost 40 years of bi-lingual pastoral ministry in German and American cities, and 20 years of teaching as an adjunct at APU’s graduate school of theology, and on Gordon-Conwell’s CUME campus, my passion for cross-cultural ministry remains strong.
The concept is first of all, to draw on my resources and experiences to attempt to add to the discussion and help to answer some of these questions. Secondly, it is to learn from you where you are and what you are doing. But thirdly, and most importantly, my desire is that together we can assist your Church to find her place in our complex culture.
This blog is not intended to be an exhaustive treatment of the topics we will address. Rather they are intended to be discussion starters. I will be submitting a few thoughts every week that will attempt to inform you, jump-start discussion, stimulate ideas, and prompt your comments.
So join in the conversation.

No comments: