So many changes have happened at such a dizzying pace in the Western world that we who live here are only relatively recently waking up and wondering about the impact of this change. Moreover it has forced us as Christians to ask very simple and basic questions like ‘What is the purpose of the church today?’, ‘How does God want his church to look in these times?’ Most of us have had a sneaking suspicion for a while that the church as it is in the West is not functioning to its full potential. With declining numbers and increasing irrelevance this has provoked various responses by Christians- some well thought out and others not so much. The inaugural Missio Alliance Conference held at Alexandria, Virginia in the USA just over a week ago was, I think, a good response to the disorientation we are experiencing as Christians in the West. I think most of us are perplexed about the place and purpose of the church today.
Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Missio Alliance’ conference
