That Troublesome Word Church

So, the description says we are re-imagining and re-incarnating "church." Does that mean this blog is only for Christians, especially those of a progressive bent, or Religious Communities? Can you be a missional progressive and not "believe" in God? (I hope so, for even for this specific Christian Theist Jesus Follower, there are those days..., days I actually affirm my doubt).

I have wished at my own particular blog called progressivechurchplanting that I hadn't used the word church. It reflects a particular now a decade old mindset about "planting a church" even "planting a church that plants churches." I am now more interested in planting mission, planting communities, planting relationships, ones that may not, probably won't be, 501c3 or otherwise organizations, and may not be set up to "last forever" in a single identity, geared to grow the numbers of members of a group.

So while so much of this movement has been rooted in the soil of the Christian movement, and I suspect much of what we share here will continue to be in and of that movement which is itself undergoing so much change anyway, the portals are open for those progressives who are engaged in missional re-imagining and re-incarnating of communities and relationships, perhaps just their own life at the moment, without any theological tests. If you are in such a tribe, others of us who aren't need your learnings and sources, as you will ours. In the spirit of generosity and hospitality, we allow for "the shaping of things to come."

This is one of those frequently asked questions of missional progressives. I am sure there are others to come.
Ron R.
(who will try to remember to sign posts that come from me, as i hope we soon have other major post threads originating from others)