I like simple stuff. Things burned down to the shortest possible version. Not sure I'm often very good at it and I believe its extremely hard work to be effectively simple, but I know it when I see it.
Ray Bakke and Sam Roberts achieved simplicity in a couple great definitions offered in their book The Expanded Mission of City Center Churches. These definitions are ancillary to the point of the book but valuable, nonetheless.
Mission: everything the church is sent by God to be and do in the world.
Ministry: that loving service of all believers done for God in the church and in the world.
The book examines the factors bringing decline to historic city center churches and offer research, theology, methods and examples for reviving these historic churches. I have Pastor Paco to thank for giving me the book--muchos gracias, brother.
The authors had this to say about the dissolution of church property in city centers:
This is the era when some judicatories and churches in association feel absolutely no responsibility for "Old Mother" churches. In many csaes they would just as soon close her down, sell the place, and divide up the profits for the young and the strong. Perhaps this image is too strong, but in some denominations it looks like the vultures are circling over Old First.
So, for the record, in the future I will be shamelessly hiding behind noted urbanologist, Ray Bakke when I spout off about churches getting sold and converted in the city of Chicago.
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