BLOG 1/26/18. “HOMEBREW CHURCHES: RE-CONCEIVING THE CHURCH FOR  TOMORROW’S CHILDREN”

The good folk at Wipf and Stock Publishers have just released my latest book, and like a proud parent I am eager to share its arrival with the readers of my Blog.

https://wipfandstock.com/homebrew-churches.html

Maybe three things need to be said by way of clarifying my design and purpose in writing it.

1. What is often misunderstood is that generational cultures are true cultures. Whenever the church is contemplating its missional context it should, of necessity serious exegete its cultural context in order to understand its nuances, and the most effectively way of communicating to that particular culture socially, linguistically, ethnically, economically, politically, etc. What is evident in the emerging iGen or GenZ culture (those born after the late 1990s) is that they are products of a digital, internet, iPhone phenomenon that is being discerned at making them much more connected, and with more access to information than any previous culture, … but also with less capacity to communicate. It is a culture (generalizing, to be sure) that is not taken with institutions, but is more focused on relationships. This means that the venerable church institutions of the era of Christendom, which were meaningful to former generations are not meaningful to them. This is the cultural landscape of this book.
2. At the same time, it was essential to my writing to divest my readers of the concept of the church in its traditional form from the past millennia and a half (at least) what with sanctuaries, custodial clergy, participants un-equipped to be agents of the mission of God, etc. That meant for me to seek to help my readers, both tomorrow’s children, and any others interested, to discover the Biblical components of God’s intent for his New Creation community—for an authentically missional church. That meant ‘de-professionalizing’ the gifts of the Spirit, and the counterpart which is that of equipping every member to be an essential agent in the mission of God for the church.
3. And, then to resolve your curiosity about the title. I actually ‘hi-jacked’ that partly from the early history of the computer development. It seems that in the mid-1970s, there were about six early computer scientists who were fascinated with the potential of the early micro-processor, and so met in one of their garages in Menlo Park every other week to compare notes and to dream together. Out of that gathering came much of the whole emerging computer industry. They were called: the homebrew computer club. The emerging computer giants, to this day, are significantly based on small creative working groups of not more than twelve, since any group larger than that is not able to interact creatively, and to understand each other’s thinking. One of the current giant figures (maybe Bezos) calls them “two pizza working groups” and insisting that any such working group too big to feed on two pizzas is too big.

I have been encouraged by early readers, who are convinced I have nailed the issue. Maybe you will also find it provocative. I’d love to hear from you.