Hudson River Presbytery NewVember

Hudson River Presbytery NewVemberSaturday, November 8, 2008Rodger Nishioka, Ph.D.Benton Associate Professor of Christian EducationColumbia Theological Seminary Decatur, GA

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?• It means we live “The Way.”• What is “The Way”?

You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know—this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in death’s power. Acts 2:22-24

Living, Dying, Rising

Living

• Living means the things we do to keep going. These things may not be glamorous but there is life in them.

• Keeping on, keeping on.

Dying• The dying things are those where there

is no life, no vigor. We may still be doing them, but either their time has passed or it is coming to an end. We church people struggle with letting things die.

• There is grief in dying as well as sadness and memory.

Rising

• Rising means those things which are new and fresh. These are the things that are sprouting.

• Resurrection can be part of the rising.

In your ministry context…What is living? What is dying? What is rising?

Seven ministry trends that are rising…

From Tribal education to Immigrant education

From Mission Out There to Mission Right Here

From Reasoned Spirituality to Mystery-filled Spirituality

From Official Leadership to Gifted Leadership

From Long -Term Planning to Short -Term Planning

From Mass Evangelism to One-on-One Evangelism

From Traditioning to Experience• Experiential• Participatory• Image-Driven• Communal

What are the implications for ministry if these trends are truly rising?• From tribal education to immigrant education.• From mission out there to mission right here.• From reasoned spirituality to mystery-filled spirituality.• From official leadership to gifted leadership.• From long-term planning to short-term planning.• From mass evangelism to one-on-one evangelism.• From traditioning to experience.