Marc's Messages

A long night with friends

Wow, there are not many nights that I sleep less than 30 minutes. I hit the bed at 4:30 am and had to get up at 5:00 to catch a taxi to the airport. Had a quite long and meaningful conversation with Connect friends Charis & Keith, Marek & Elaine, Sasa and Andi. After we ate out in Marek's favourite beer house (where I had the best gulash ever), we descended on Sasa's place for tea, to finally move to the house of prayer where we talked and wined around the fireplace. Really enjoyed it. Heard some encouraging stories from Sasa of how the Czechs are redisovering their Bible (he's translating the Bible into modern-day Czech). We also talked about funding and relational issues. Afterwards Andi commented: "I like your pragmatic approach to counselling - straightforward, direct, unafraid, helpful." Yes, it's the Dutch way, that some would probably just call blunt. ;-)

Seven perspectives

Today I gave my slightly provoking presentation/plenary input, which can be summarized in seven points:

1. The prophetic perspective: we can call/pray into being what we see with our spiritual eyes, what God has already prepared. This is often a hidden factor in the birthing of movements.
2. The historic perspective: I zoomed in on two movements that happened in Prague in the past - the Moravian reformation movement (Hus) and the Velvet Revolution of 1989, and how the three tipping point laws applied here.
3. The missional perspective: discipling post-Christendom Europe is only realistic when we think and act movements, small groups, every sphere of life, all believers, network dynamics, and the supernatural dimension.

4. The social perspective: a globalized, interconnected society needs an organic church that understands the network dynamics God embedded in creation, and that provides vital space where movement can happen.
5. The strategic perspective: we should focus our efforts and resources where it really matters, which implies we have to break with unhelpful/limiting church practices and structures.
6. The innovative perspective: if we think and act out of the existing church box, and out of our safety/comfort zone, we position ourselves for God's surprises.
7. The reformational perspective: the real paradigm shift we need is that it's all about Jesus and his Kingdom, not about the church. If we follow Jesus, church can happen everywhere, in many different expressions. We have to let go of human control and embrace the liberating reality that Jesus really is in charge and knows pretty well how to build his church.

I had the impression that it was received well. For some quite out of their current paradigm, while others resonated with it. The light version of the Powerpoint can be downloaded here.

A day of conversations

Most Eurochurch participants are working on the missional side of established denominations and organisations. It was good to hear their hearts and stories. Talked with Tom Burke from Ireland, Dutch baptist pastors Oeds Blok and Teun van der Leer, Tony Palmer of The Ark Community who told some highly encouraging stories about the renewal movement in the Catholic church that is now numbering 120 million people worldwide, Lubo Hlavacka of HeadWind Consulting who somehow got inspired by Dutch windmills, and inspiring people from Latvia, Greece, Scotland, England, Switzerland, France, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. In the evening, while eating out in the city, I stroke up a conversation with 'free lutherans' Helge Hollerud and Jon Arne Nygard from Norway, who are committed to see me move to Trondheim of all places. Andreas also blogged some of his impressions of today.

The Northumbria Community

I'm engaged in contemplative worship and storytellling with companions of the Northumbria Community and around 40 participants at the Eurochurch conference in Prague. Roy Searle fell ill and couldn't make it to the meeting, so we will miss his contribution on 'the spirituality of movements', but it will provide more time for conversation. The Northumbria Community is one of the expressions of new monasticism, Christians faith communities that provide vital space for pilgrims. As formulated on their website:

The Community is the gift of God to those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage and whose lives are constantly being redefined and redirected by living the questions, 'Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?' The ebb and flow of 'the mixed life' of both the contemplative and active, of monastery and mission, withdrawal and engagement, solitude and Community, together makes the Northumbria Community ethos.

The making of movements

From today until Saturday morning I will be in Prague for the Eurochurch conference, where together with Martin Robinson (DAWN / Together in Mission) and Roy Searle (Northumbria Community / Renovaré) I will facilitate a learning process on 'The making of movements'. You might be interested in Martin's paper on the nature of movements, that provides the groundwork for this conference. Afterwards I will reconnect downtown with emerging leaders in the Czech Republic. Let's pray for a catalysation of God's work and the emergence of many new Kingdom movements in Europe.

Another paradigm shift

Maarten Bruynes of YWAM passed by for a chat and a cup of tea. Several years ago he set up a training titled Paradigm Shift to disciple young people in following Christ and starting organic groups. It was interesting to hear about the format, the level of commitment and responsibility people need to take, and some of the content and style of the training. Because most of the groups are in Twente, Maarten will move to Delden in the course of this year.

What stood out for me is that he recognizes that the paradigm shift from church-as-we-know-it to church as an organic movement takes at least one year, and that you need an extra one or two years to develop people (Jesus also took three years with his disciples). So the training is set up as a process, with weekly meetings, assignments and a coaching structure, in which people take their own responsibility for learning. It's quite intense, but it pays off, because it models by hands-on experience what developing people and communities of faith is all about. Maarten told me he drew some inspiration from the ACCD Breakthrough Training.

Joel News in Polski

Joel News publikuje informacje, a także inspirujące artykuły na temat modlitwy, przebudzenia i wzrostu kościoła. Yes, in case you were wondering - this is Polish and it's about Joel News. Our newszine was already being translated into Polish, but this week Rick Watkins and his team (who facilitate the prayer and church innovation movement in Walesa's and JPII's country) will officially launch the publication of Joel News in Polski.

Rabbit's birthday party

"Today is Rabbit's birthday," Peter announced this morning. He decorated his favourite cuddle toy, put him on the sofa, and instructed us to sing a happy birthday song. He had also wrapped some of his toys as presents for Rabbit, and convinced Karolien that we really needed cookies for the party. Later that day David took another cycle lesson, with mum's shawl around his waist to keep him on the road.

Flying with Phil

Today the Andersons flew over from England in their small Golf-Foxtrot-Mike-Alpha-Mike, and we spent an enjoyable afternoon together. I met Phil at one the 24-7prayer roundtables, several months after his pilgrimage flight to Herrnhut where he did some research for his soon to be published book on the Moravians. He took us and the boys up for a flight over the polder landscape between Hilversum airport and Utrecht. More pictures here.

Networks and the Kingdom

Today we had an inspiring reflection day with the board of Joel Ministries and a group of friends on the dynamics of networks. We reviewed different types of networks, where A is one-man-at-the-top, B is a typical project organisation, and C is a distributed network like the Body of Christ or the internet. We also dug into Fowler's stages of faith, Semler's organic leadership, and Wielinga's coherence circle (the role of leaders is to create vital space where things can happen and everyone can optimally contribute).



Although networks of the C-type are inherently democratic, it's important to realize that the Church is not a democracy, nor a hierarchy, but functions best when everyone (every member) is recognized in his/her own area of compentence or authority. Networks function to the extent that people participate and take their own responsibility, and this implies a certain level of maturity and equal contribution. Will everyone, also socially weaker people, be able to join in? In an increasingly networked society, people can get disconnected or isolated. This is an area where Kingdom values come in; we don't just connect with people who are of interest to us, but relate to people generously as God leads, we create community.

Missional ways and re-entry

Met up with Dave Hund in 'De Tijd' in Utrecht Central Station. Dave blogs now and then at Missional Ways and just returned with his wife Eef from beautiful Tasmania where they did a two-year missions training. Their vision is to plant 'communities of faith' in Europe, but right now they're in the middle of what every missionary fears: re-entry, the double culture shock of moving back to your home nation and realising that while you changed big time, many people in your home church and network seem to be in the same old routine. As Dave is a Web 2.0 developer, we also talked about some internet developments.

A Churchless Faith

Just finished Alan Jamieson's book 'A Churchless Faith: Faith journeys beyond the churches'. It's the first sociological study of the out-of-church phenomenon in Evangelical, Pentecostal and Charismatic churches in New Zealand (but I think the findings are also relevant for other western nations). What makes people stop attending church and what happens to their faith after they have left?

Jamieson's research kills some of the prevailing stereotypes/myths about church leavers, and clearly shows that the majority of people who leave EPC churches are in their thirties and early forties, have been active and committed church members for years (often functioning in a leadership role), and left the church box because their faith journey (following Christ) was taking them beyond the theology and practice of the church. In other words: the church became limiting, rather than releasing.

I guess I match this profile fairly well. I recognized many of the personal stories Jamieson included in his book. He describes four types of church leavers: displaced followers, reflective exiles, transitional explorers and integrated way-finders. I'm a mix of the latter two (see this table with the different characteristics).

What I found most helpful is that Jamieson links these out-of-church species to James Fowler's theory of faith development (see this map). Fowler discerns six faith stages, from a person's initial surrender to Christ until the final stage of becoming a saint of the Bonhoeffer and Mother Theresa type. Now, surprise, surprise - most church-goers are loyalists/conformists (phase 3), which means that "the individual is acutely tuned to the expectations and judgements of significant others" (read: church leaders and fellow-loyalists). The whole church system is designed to serve this group. People who reflect and ask critical questions (phase 4) or develop their own God-given vision (phase 5) don't fit in the church box anymore. As most churches are scared for (and therefore don't offer space for) the foundational conversations these people are engaged in, and are not ready to change the format, these people are more or less forced out.

The implication of Fowler's theory is that the moment you move on in your faith journey (say from phase 3 where most churches are to phase 4 or 5), there is often no turning back. When you've grown-up, it's counter-natural to still go to kindergarten or highschool. In Chapter nine Jamieson compares this process of church leaving with jumping ship. Organized church is like a big cruise ship with its routines, one-size fits all, and fixed destination ports. But there are some people who buy their own sailing yacht, set out their own track, and explore new shores. More freedom, but also more responsibility to (learn to) navigate yourself.

Interestingly the group that should understand why active Christians leave church - church leaders - generally have no clue what's going on. They don't do exit-talks. They assume people are overly critical or backsliding, and so nothing really changes. As I wrote in an earlier posting, there are seven things church leavers wished their church had done/been to help them stay involved. The two main ones are a. providing places to explore, question and doubt, and b. including a theology of journey. In other words: being principally open to people who think differently, and making room to grow, even to the point of helping people to leave church, and move into their next phase. Jamieson challenges EPC churches to become not only seeker-sensitive, but also leaver-sensitive. In the last chapter he even proposes a dialogue between EPC churches and liminal groups (emerging and organic expressions of church), as they can both learn from each other.

The Aamsveen wetlands

Made a long walk in the Aamsveen, a moor/wetlands area south-east of Enschede, on the border with Germany. Many birds and the first signs of Spring. More pictures here.

A little nostalgia (2)

Tonight we put up a beamer and filmscreen to watch my dad's 8mm early Seventies home movies. It's incredible what kinda cars they drove back then. But the hair and dressing style would be quite fancy retro these days. I compiled a few pictures of me and my younger brother and sister in the various stages of life: on the left as preschoolers, in the middle as (terribly bored) teenagers, and on the right as we finally grew up (well, did we? ;-)

Happy Easter!

Nine-course dinner

It's incredible that we made it back home. My parents arranged an eight+one course dinner in a romantic restaurant in Usselo, which included eight+one glasses of wine. It was excellent - "like little angels were peeing on your tongue", as the Dutch expression goes. Glad I didn't have to drive.

Jumping up and down

If I could choose my ideal expression of church, it would be a trampoline or a bouncy castle. It's soooo liberating. I know it's pathetic - while most of Christendom is silent today because Jesus just died, we are jumping up and down in Easter mood. It's part two of my parents' surprise party, which also took us to Singrave estate and the regional planetarium. More pictures here.

A little nostalgia

Today it's 40 years ago that my parents married, and they decided to throw us a surprise party. They took us on a nostalgic tour to the street where they lived and met each other (they were neighbours) and where I was born, the restaurant where they had their reception, and the little baptist church where they married (which is now a living house). I compiled a few pictures of how things looked back then, and how it is now. Click to enlarge.

Good Friday 2006

I AM. A deeply touching interpretation of Good Friday by young artist Sarah Brown. See her own notes here.

Shift pilot in Utrecht

Together with four friends I'm preparing a pilot training for young people in Utrecht, focused on starting organic church planting movements. This week we agreed on the basic set-up. Our goal for the pilot is three-fold:



1. Start a conversation about foundational issues related to church as a movement.
2. Help people think and act out of the existing (church) box.
3. Train 1200 young leaders in the next 10 years to plant 400 new groups in Utrecht and 800 in other parts of the world.

The training has three modules:

1. MIND - Think differently and act differently; three paradigm shifts:
- refocus on Christ and the message of the Kingdom;
- the DNA of church as a movement, understanding organic network dynamics, and the implications for theology, leadership and structure;
- holistic (community) impact.

2. HEART - Following Jesus means doing what He says:
- relationship/friendship, character and discipline;
- baptism, power of the Spirit, deliverance;
- values of the Kingdom.

3. STRUCTURES - Sowing, reaping and multiplying:
- reaching people Jesus-style (men of peace, gossiping the gospel, opening up people groups and areas for the gospel);
- conversion and making disciples;
- forming, developing and multiplying new groups and teams.

The pilot will run next Autumn in three times 24 hours, and includes meals, overnight accomodation and a free beer. The format will be mainly conversational teaching, or focused moderation. Highly challenging, not for the faint-hearted. We will model teamwork. And there will be some practical assignments.

Upgrading my weblog

As you can see I restyled my weblog: a new banner, different fonts, new colours, and some changes in the sidebars. I upgraded my photo albums in the left sidebar to Flickr, which makes it easier to upload, sort, view and share photos. I downsized the bloglist in the right sidebar as it was getting quite long, but created a new page with all the links. So don't worry if you don't show up, you're still there, and I'm checking the blogs regularly.

So you wannabee a missionary?

Portuguese blogger Nuno Barreto wrote an interesting series of articles on missions. He says: "I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly of foreign missionaries to Portugal, and it's time to speak out. This is for everyone that wants to know how it feels to have missionaries sent to him." I summarized his advice for wannabee missionaries:

1. Skip Bible school; instead learn how to plant churches in real-life.
2. Engage with the culture, but dare to be authentically foreign; don't imitate the locals.
3. Count the cost and learn the language.
4. Get a job that helps you meet lots of people, and join a club.
5. Forget about targets and 5-year plans; get a (family) life.
6. Resist the temptation of forming a holy bubble with other missionaries.
7. Beware of support with strings attached; stay financially free to be able to move with God.
8. When you plant a church, don't stay on as a pastor; your best gift to the church is to move on.

City process in Utrecht

I'm downsizing my local involvement in Utrecht. Johan den Hartogh will now be in communication with the pastors, and maintain the website at a new url: www.leidersdagutrecht.nl. I will also lay down my role in the Utrecht City Team. When we started the process, I committed myself for two years to lay a foundation, and I sense it's now time to move on.

Dreamtime with the Aboriginals

This year it's 400 years ago that the Dutch 'discovered' Australia. Realising that at that time Australia was already inhabited for thousands of years by the Aboriginals, this is of course a very relative (European) perception of history. Today, while visiting the Aboriginal Art Museum in my hometown Utrecht, I realised what my Finnish friend Niina already learnt in her contacts with the Saami: in the area of holistic thinking and community these native peoples have a lot to teach us. Aboriginal art is an expression of spiritual connectedness. It links the people with the Dreamtime, the Aboriginal understanding of the world, of it's creation, and it's great stories, and with the land.

For some background on the Aboriginals, check out wiki's entries on Indigenous Australians, Australian Aboriginal art and Dreamtime (mythology). The exhibition in the museum showed artwork created in the desert community of Yuendumu. I compiled a small photo album with snapshots of some of the paintings, and you can check out the film loop.

Museum weekend

A week ago, while strolling a forest north of Utrecht, David (6) accidentily jumped into a muddy ditch, getting soaked from shoulders to feet. He didn't have much chance to repeat that acrobatic act this weekend, as we spent most of the time indoors. It was national Museum weekend, which means that most museums had free entrance, and there's no need to say that twice to a Dutchman. ;-) It was fun. Yesterday we visited the newly constructed Railway Museum. This morning the university's botanic gardens. In the afternoon Aussie paintings in the Aboriginal Art Museum, and a quick peek into the University Museum's old hortus.

Coldplay confiscated

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

Some time ago I bought Coldplay's new CD 'X&Y'. I kept it in my office for those times I had to do some boring admin work. Last week I brought it home and it got confiscated in no-time by Karolien and the boys. They turn the volume on, grab imaginative guitars, and act as if they're Coldplay in live concert. Never boring with these guys around, but hey - it's my CD!

1. Coldplay  | 2. Ps voor nu  | 3. Taizé  | 4. Keane  | 5. Aradhna

Here is some of the latest music we're listening to or just ordered. Click on the links to check it out.

Leaders on wooden shoes

In the Dutch edition of Joel News I published an interesting article by Gea Gort on what characterizes the Dutch in terms of leadership. It's based on material of coach and trainer Paul Donders (xpand), who helps leaders to recognize, understand and embrace their own (national) culture. Donders drew his inspiration from sociologist Geert Hofstede who developed a theoretical framework that identifies five primary dimensions that differentiate cultures: power distance, individualism/ collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. If you're interested in understanding your own culture in the family of nations, then also check out this article on Hofstede in The CPA Journal, Wiki's entry, and this website with worldmaps of Hofstede's dimensions.

Now where do the Dutch fit in all this? Like Scandinavia the Netherlands has a feminine culture, which means that more than other nations we value communication, social care, sustainable relationships and cooperation based on equality. The Dutch are internationally flexible and easily adapt to other cultures. We cherish our freedom and need space for individual development.

The flight that fought back

Universal Studios released the trailer of the first movie on 911, titled 'United 93'. It's about United Airlines flight 93, one of the four airplanes that was hijacked as part of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack on America. While the other three airplanes hit target, this one crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to subdue the hijackers. The movie tells the story of the passengers and crew, their families on the ground, and the flight controllers who watched in dawning horror.

Could you repeat that, pastor?

Yes, it's that authentic 'rabbit caught in the headlights' look. An expression of total disbelief and sheer terror recently crossed the face of Blake Bergstrom, a youth pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Parker, Colorado. In mid-sermon, he was describing what happened when Lot pitched his tents too close to Sodom and Gomorrah, when the mother of all sermon blunders fell from a clear blue sky. But God is good. Clearly, before the beginning of time, He had purposed that the whole event should be recorded on video. Blake Bergstrom is good, too, as he generously released the video onto the Net. Click here to view.

Poor Blake, this is getting really embarrassing, but so funny! Also cool is this message, recorded on a church office's answering machine, and this quote from vicar Dick Lucas. More crazy stuff at Ship of Fools.

Stay updated on MM

Do you wish to stay updated on what's being published on Marc's Messages? In the right margin I added two options to subscribe: my short personal update for friends that I send out every 2-4 weeks, and a daily subscription to this weblog's rss feed (which will be handled by RssFwd).

Professor Van der Woude

"Dear Professor Van der Woude, I'm currently writing my master thesis on 'The judicial protection after the modernization regulation'. During the course of my research I came across your article on 'The modernization paradox: controlled decentralization' that would be highly useful for my work." Cool, an e-mail from a student in Warsaw calling me Professor. How flattering. Unfortunately it's for another Marc van der Woude, who is an expert on European competition law. I'm only a simple soul who happens to pop up on place 1 and 2 in Google...

Missional church meeting

Matthijs and Rogier report about the first network night for Dutch missional/emerging/organic church pioneers. I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but happy that it was thoroughly enjoyed by the participants. Peter Jansen told a special story about his work in Kanaleneiland, a disadvantaged neighborhood in Utrecht where many Muslims live.

My unpublished April 1 report

Don't know what hit me today. Was it yesterday's late night prayer meeting in the house of prayer, with that weird, quite incompatible mix of 'impressions', varying from pastoral waterfalls to judgement by tornados? Or is it that dry, ironic sense of humor that some say God created me with, and others say I need some deliverance from, that tends to come out on days like this? I don't know, but in a wave of mean inspiration I wrote a fake Joel News report on the spreading of a 'judgement virus' in the Netherlands. I won't officially publish it, as it could cost me half of my subscription base (Holland is full of Calvinists, you know), but I assume you as readers of my blog - who have been used to even more unconventional humor - can handle it, so here you go.

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