The Quest for Holiness of Heart and Life

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Last night I joined with fifteen other "baby-boomer generation" folks in a great new adventure: beginning a house church. For my wife and I this is our second foray into this first century paradigm of church. Home churches, house churches, cell churches, whatever you prefer to call them, have long been an interest of mine. In fact, it was the subject of my doctoral dissertation, some twenty years ago. The model is experiencing a resurgence among many, especially those engaging in the emergent church conversation. The gathering last night has made me think more about "The Quest for Holiness of Heart and Life" and to revisit a work I authored a few years ago and which really is at the heart of the theology of this blog. It revolves around a spiritual path I created for small, house/home/cell churches - what I call in this work Intentional Covenant Fellowships. I have decided to publish this path here for anyone who wishes to share in it. It revolves around "Ten Transformations". I will publish one of the transformations each month. I invite you to read the following introduction, and the first of the transformations, Prayer-Making. Please feel free to comment.

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As Christians confront the challenge of the dynamism and relevance of the Church in the Post Modern era new forms of being community are being experimented with. Some of these experiments have been more successful than others. As we continue to "push the envelope" of how the church could be structured in the most effective way it is important to keep before us why the Christian community exists. This article suggests that the mission of the church needs to be thought of in the context of a "community of memory".

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If you have been reading these little monographs you might be asking yourself, "why are these entitled Basin and Towel? What is the significance of that name?". The following article explains the meaning of the symbolism of basin and towel.

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The times they are a changin'. Well, that's not exactly news to anyone, with the possible exception of those who lead the church. It is not uncommon these days to see the telephone numbers of the pastoral staff members of churches published with the following words behind them: "for emergencies only". What consititutes an "emergency"? Who gets to determine whether the person wanting to talk to a pastor or priest has an emergency? When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well did he consult his PDA to determine when he could squeeze her in to his busy schedule? We need to rethink the whole idea of ministry, availability, and how the people of God are best served. The following article explores twelve characteristics for an effective ministry.

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How a person is in the world makes up their spirituality. We are called by God to respond to life in a radical kind of way...with wonder, awe, and a sense of trust. This issue of Basin and Towel discusses that Radical Response to Life.

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Judaism has survived trial and tribulation for over 3000 years. One of the gifts of the Jews to Christians is the "dining room table" as the center of fellowship and prayer. In searching for a new paradigm for being church, perhaps we need to look backwards instead of forward. This article relays a recent experience "around the table".

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One of the most marvelous capabilities that we possess as human beings is the ability to dream. It is one of the attributes of being created in the image of the Creator. This issue of Basin and Towel explores the origin of God's creative, saving, and sanctifying dream and challenges each of us to pursue that same dream.

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