It occurs to me that one of the things we are trying to do at Jacob’s Well is something I’ve tried to bring into the established churches for the last dozen years. The “what if” concept has helped me see how the emerging church needs a ‘culture of discontinuity.’
A “what if…” church, filled with “what if…” Christ-followers has a culture of discontinuity rather than of continuity. They are rooted in where they have been, but they don’t take their foundation as an anchor. Rather it is a springboard to what God has next for them. They live out possibilities in the name of Christ. That means status quo, equilibrium, ‘the way we’ve always done it’ aren’t goals. Change is sought, not fought.
I developed a series of “Discontinuity Teasers” years ago that I’ve used with our staff at Bethlehem and many other staffs and groups of church leaders to help them see the possibilities of a culture of discontinuity, and how to develop that sort of thinking in their organization. I’ll post it in the “church transitions/resources” portion of our website (link below). Check it out and let me know if it is helpful, or how you would improve it. It is quite a few years old and wasn’t designed for an emerging church, but for an established church.
Precarious Pastor 