March 26th, 2007 by Carmen Fowler
Things have changed and things are changing. That is certainly NOT news to anyone among us.
Just by virtue of the fact that I’m “blogging” (something that didn’t even exist when I went to Seminary in the early 1990’s) is an indication of just how much things have changed in the life and ministry of the ordinary pastor, let alone all the changes in the world we are called to reach for Jesus Christ.
So, things have changed, and things are changing… So what?
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March 19th, 2007 by Gerrit Dawson
Dear New Wineskin Congregations,
The Convocation is long past. The next Convocation isn’t until October. What do we do now?
We get on with it!
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February 22nd, 2007 by Carmen Fowler
From Renee Guth, Executive Coordinator, New Wineskins Association of Churches:
Acts 18:24-26 - Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
The New Wineskins Constitution makes no explicit distinction between men and women serving in roles of leadership in the church, embracing the biblical declaration in Galatians 3:28 that in Christ “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Women have always been, continue to be, and will always be an integral part of the New Thing that God is doing through the New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC).
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February 21st, 2007 by the New Wineskins Team
From Gerrit Dawson: The conviction has arisen among us that we want a church where essential tenets are not only named but joyfully articulated, embraced, taught and celebrated. The winsomeness and power of our gospel is directly related to the clarity of our confession. Only on the basis of shared essentials can the church move forward in trust and effectiveness. That’s the first principle of the Wineskins.
February 9th, 2007 by the New Wineskins Team
With the theological prophets of our time, we see every evidence that God is orchestrating a massive worldwide realignment of His beloved Church. We are also experiencing in our denomination the North American Mainline expression of that realignment. Things are out of joint. The Body of Christ is experiencing growing pains. We do not yet know all that means but we are committed to becoming a missionally faithful expression of Presbyterianism in the 21st century.
February 9th, 2007 by the New Wineskins Team
It is amazing and humbling to observe what the Lord is doing! What started out as a dream about 6 years ago…is now here…the new thing we have longed for is in our midst. I believe we are witnessing the confluence of a whole new stream of missional and evangelical presbyterianism…and this is only the beginning…who knows what the future will hold?