(7 votes, average: 4.71 out of 5)
Loading ...Thy Kingdom Connected by Dwight Friesen
Networks: They’re everywhere. From our roads to our relationships, from our food supply to our power grids, networks are an integral part of how we live. Similarly, our churches, denominations, and even the kingdom of God are networks. Knowing how networks function and how to work with rather than against them has enormous implications for how live lives of faithful and life-filled ministry. In Thy Kingdom Connected, Dwight Friesen brings the complex theories of networking to church leaders in easy-to-understand, practical ways. Rather than bemoaning the modern disintegration of things like authority and structure, Friesen inspires hope for a more connective vision of life with God. He shows those involved in lives of ministry how they can optimize already existing connections between people in order to share the Good News, embed people more deeply in the lives of their faith communities, and grow together as apprentices of Jesus.
Dwight says “This book was born in the context of an eleven-year life altering experiment in ecclesial life, fleshed out in learning communities with thoughtful women and men who never ceased to ask insightful and revealing questions, and now it is being published by my new friends at Baker Books. I hope you’ll take a look at it. I’m very excited to offer my voice and contribute, even a small piece, to the ongoing conversation. . . let me know what you think.”
What others are saying
“A wonderful tutorial for those who want to experience the kingdom as more than a wistful idea.”
-Reggie McNeal, missional leadership specialist for Leadership Network
“Friesen brings together current thinking on the Trinity, the kingdom of God, and missional church, and creates the first contextual ecclesiology for a networked world. Highly recommended.”
-Ryan Bolger, associate professor of Church in Contemporary Culture, Fuller Theological Seminary; co-author of Emerging Churches
“A treasure chest of insights to further the conversation on the nature of the missional church in post-Christendom Western societies.”
-Eddie Gibbs, author of ChurchMorph; professor of church growth, Fuller Theological Seminary
“A guide to harnessing the powerful possibilities of connections made available through social networks. You may never look at ‘church’ the same way again.”
-John R. Franke, Clemens Professor of Missional Theology, Biblical Seminary; author of Manifold Witness: The Plurality of Truth
“Helps us see how connection is at the core of the gospel. I recommend it to all Christians emerging in this inescapable cultural reality.”
-David Fitch, B. R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology, Northern Seminary; author of The Great Giveaway
About Dwight
Dwight J. Friesen (DMin, George Fox University) is assistant professor of practical theology at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. He was the founding pastor of Quest: A Christ-Commons in Bellevue, Washington, and lives in Seattle, Washington, with his family.
EnglewoodReview
This review originally appeared in THE ENGLEWOOD REVIEW OF BOOKS
Vol 3, #1 – 8 January 2010
http://bit.ly/8LbFSg
For the last several years, social networks have been all the rage. The number of users on networks like Facebook and Twitter rises exponentially each year, and newer, more specific social networks emerge every day. It comes as little surprise then, that someone would eventually explore the topic of what the church can learn from these social networks, as Dwight Friesen has done in his new book Thy Kingdom Connected. Given the trendiness of social networking, however, what does come as a delightful surprise is the depth and acumen with which Friesen addresses this topic; despite the overwhelming relevance of social networks, this is not an opportunistic book. No, indeed Thy Kingdom Connected is a rich exploration of post-modern ecclesiology that happens to illustrate key points with examples from contemporary science, network theory and familiar social networks. The key theme for Friesen here is demonstrating the inter-connectedness of God and creation, and there is plenty that we can learn from network theory as a metaphor for our inter-connectedness with God, each other and all creation.
The highlight of the book, for me, was the section on leadership, and this came as a surprise because I typically think the deluge of writings on leadership in recent years is overrated. It was refreshing to hear of Friesen’s own struggles with the terminology of “leadership,” followed by his depiction of a non-hierarchical, connected vision of leadership. He says:
Leading connectively busts the myth of control and proactively dethrones hierarchies, daringly linking people and organizations with God’s vision of the connective kingdom and surrendering their personal vision for ministry. In more hierarchical models of organizations, knowledge and connections were seen as power and the person with the most was in control. Knowledge and connections were therefore often held tightly by the leader. But leading connectively invites a redefinition of power. Power is very important in living networks, but it is not hoarded; it flows as a relational lubricant (100).
Thy Kingdom Connected is a superb reflection on the interconnectedness of creation and our call as followers of Christ to a mission of connection. I look forward to re-reading and continuing to reflect on its wisdom!
Jan 11th, 2010
edwardgoode
I think that the subtitle for this book does a great disservice to the content of the book itself. I received Thy Kingdom Connected and honestly thought, great, here’s another one of those ‘how to’ type books for church leaders where the author simply walks people through what facebook is, how the internet works, how a church can set up a facebook fan page, etc.
I was so blessed to find that it was nothing like that at all. While I did not count as I read, I cannot think of more than about 10 times in the entire book that the word Facebook was even mentioned. I have read enough of those “how to” books that the subtitle for this book truly made me a bit wary before reading it. However, I am very thankful that I did. Friesen’s work is outstanding in painting a picture of the connections that are present in the world and how the church not only can work with them, but also how the church is already a part of them.
Truly the key words for me in the book were – connected, networked, and well…and. He paints a beautiful picture of the connected world that we live in today and the effects that it has on the ways that we are already interacting with one another. His five “clusters” (also known as sections) are:
* Seeing Connectively
* God’s Networked Kingdom
* Leading that Connects
* Networked Church
* Connective Practices
These various sections each help weave together the larger picture of a God who has always sought to work in a connective way with God’s people. The book is not about how to use facebook or the internet to be a part of this connective reality as a church, but instead to focus on how we are connective in our respective ministries. He very much paints a picture of how the church (both emerging and long-standing) can be connective in their practices, relationships, leadership, and worship.
A word of warning…It is not an “easy” read. I found myself having to often re-read sections to “keep up” with what he was sharing. This is by no means a criticism, but instead a compliement about the quality of the content that Friesen was able to put together.
http://www.edwardgoode.net/2010/01/27/thy-kingdom-connected-what-the-church-can-learn-from-facebook-the-internet-and-other-networks/
Jan 27th, 2010
tiffanymalloy
In addition to being a booksneeze blogger, I also review books for The Ooze Viral Bloggers. The opportunity to review Thy Kingdom Come by Dwight J. Friesen recently came to my inbox, and I had to jump on it. The subtitle is “What the Church can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks.” Basically the book used networky terms and ideas to communicate the role of the church, the role of pastors, the idea of the kingdom of God, and missions.
What I really enjoyed about this book was the complexity of this book. It was easy to read, but it was written in a variety of styles- textbookish at times, businessy at times, leadership-like at other times. Also, at the end of each chapter, the author gave some suggested books to read as well as some reflection questions. These types of additions really make a book more than a one-time read experience. It networks you to other books, other resources, and makes the reading experience more of an ongoing conversation. In fact, that’s very in-line with Friesen’s premise.
If you are a church leader, or an future church leader, this book is for you, ESPECIALLY the chapters on what church is. Although the subtitle is slightly misleading (there’s not much talk about using facebook or the internet for the purpose of the church), it’s still a great book on the idea of the kingdom of God being like a giant network.
http://tiffanymalloy.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-review-of-thy-kingdom-connected.html
Jan 27th, 2010
darhug
The ancient Chinese proverb about the teacher and the student has always been precious to me: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” My intuitions about many “emergent” characteristics for the practice of Kingdom living have been affirmed by Friesen’s new book. He has offered a meaningful, practical model of church practice by tapping into the modes of networks.
What is endearing about the book is that it taps into latent patterns of relating in the institutional church. For a couple of years now I have been teaching: “relationship, relationship, relationship” to a small, dedicated group that has had to unlearn many counterproductive church habits. They are now prepped for a major change in ministry direction, sponsored by the church, that will embody many of the concepts in Friesen’s book.
The endgame for my little offshoot is transformation through relationship. Friesen explores what that means and what that looks like in some very practical terms. He directs his comments here at pastors, but the topics are applicable to almost any leader, like a Sunday School teacher such as myself. The encapsulating quote is this: “My aim is nothing less than active participation with God in weaving a kingdom tapestry together with others as our lives—by the presence of god’s spirit—give unique networked expression of God’s unfolding narrative.”
What a reader will take away is a greater knowledge of the nature of networks, as they are explained not only with relevant examples from the arena of social networking, but with references back to the institutional church and a vision for what it can become.
So now that you’ve got your head full of “emeregence,” theory and knowledge, it’s time to put it into practice. “Thy Kingdom Connected” will be an invaluable resource in exploring what that will look like for you.
Jan 29th, 2010
patjdawson
Thy Kingdom Connected explores the nature of networks and connections in God’s kingdom. I was skeptical thinking that it’s a topic that didn’t need to be expounded upon, because like we all know or have figured out “relationships are everything”.
I loved the section of “I & You” vs. “I & It” relationships. Very applicable. Easy to understand and apply to real world situations that everybody goes through. Speaks about the danger of labeling and categorizing people and instead calls us as kingdom people to engage in real world relationships. Great message and presentation of the material.
I would recommend this to anybody who is willing to take the time to dive deeper into this.
Jan 29th, 2010
LAM
Review: This book is under 200 pages, but has a density unlike any other book I’ve read lately and is by no means a quick read. I can’t quite agree with the statement in the summary that complex theories are broken down in easy-to-understand and practical ways as this book requires a good deal of mental effort to stay engaged and reminds me of at least a college-level book. However, the reward for staying focused is that Friesen offers all kinds of meat to chew on.
The book gives vision and clarity to a radical shift away from the individualistic nature of western culture. Each man’s choices have a far-reaching impact to bless or to curse and to build-up or tear down. Because we are so inter-connected, our choices matter. In light of the systemic nature of things and relational focus of the Bible, it is a worthwhile pursuit to learn how to best channel and utilize the power of networks for good.
Positives: I particularly enjoyed the discussion on relating to others with a goal of giving of oneself rather than only to use and take. I also enjoyed the focus on spreading rather than hoarding power and the “parable of Google” regarding the example of how Google links us to what we seek rather than being an end in itself. The chapters on leadership were compelling and there is a solid stress on looking at the big picture and cooperating with “competing” ministries. Finally, the networking theory as it relates to form and function and chaos and order was very intriguing.
Negatives: Apart from being thrown off by the subtitle, this book is not the most aesthetically pleasing. The cover is ugly, the line spacing is tight and the illustrations are busy and not always clear. Also, I feel like this book could have been better organized and set out a clearer road map as to where it would go and what it would aim to accomplish.
Summary: The author has clearly done his homework. This book is jam-packed with information, theory, guidance and challenging insights regarding connection and community.
Jan 31st, 2010
Chris Wiles
ABOUT THE BOOK
Thy Kingdom Connected describes God’s kingdom as a giant network, using metaphors derived primarily from the world of technology but also living systems as well (note: the book’s subtitle is slightly misleading: the book compares social networking and the church, rather than actually discussing what can be learned from them).
[...]
STRENGTHS
The book had the following strengths:
(1)Great introduction to the connected life. The book serves its intended purpose, and its greatest strength is found in communicating the connectedness of God’s kingdom. There are already many books being written on the subject of organic community/connected church. Friesen’s book joins their ranks as an excellent overview of this subject, and his approach will surely be refreshing to many young Christians and pastors.
(2)Writing style. Friesen draws from a great deal of sources. At times this approach can feel esoteric and cluttered, but the advantage is his ability to speak to a variety of educational and spiritual levels. The book is appropriately short, whose dense content reveal something of Friesen’s passion and enthusiasm.
(3)Appeal to postmodern epistemology. The “connected” model appeals directly to the “web” metaphors of truth increasingly popular in postmodern circles (or the “chastened epistemology” of the Gospel Coalition and others). Mind you, Friesen is not endorsing any particular approach to epistemology (making this one of the saner voices of the emergent village), only that is model mirrors current philosophical trends.
(4)Emphasis on humility. Time and again the subject of humility emerges, a subject of which the church often needs reminding. The section on “dissipative community” (p. 153) highlights the fact that ministry disruptions often precipitate our (re-)evaluation of our ministry models.
WEAKNESSES
Most reviews of the book have been overwhelmingly positive, and deservedly so. However, there are some areas where clarification would have been helpful. To clarify, these difficulties are far from insurmountable, and are mentioned only because they require further conversation and clarification:
(1)What is the gospel? Friesen would articulate this subject in a section on “the ministry of reconciliation,” though even here it is less than clear. At other points in the book the church’s role seems to be described almost solely in terms of social activity. Further articulation of the nature of the gospel and the church’s responsibility towards it would have been helpful.
(2)Leadership and authority. The author’s admitted discomfort with these terms is understandable, and many readers will surely empathize with the way leaders have abused their role with the body (p. 87-88). However, abuse of authority does not mean that leadership does not have its place. Similarly, church authority is defined in terms of “the mission of God,” “imparted from Christ and missional congruence,” and the “Holy Spirit’s empowering presence” (p. 114-116). Friesen fails to deal with key scriptures that describe structure and authority given to leadership positions (elders, pastors), and it would have been very helpful to see how he may have woven Paul’s pastoral epistles into his connective framework.
(3)Connecting community is not missional community. Friesen describes evangelism as something that happens naturally (the sneeze effect, p. 143-4), but experience reveals that this task is often anything but involuntary. While Friesen’s description of a connecting community was solid, I was unconvinced that this model leads to a community focused on Christ’s mission.
(4)The book is entirely descriptive. In the author’s defense, it was never intended as such, and even the final three chapters pointed in a slightly more practical direction. But some may find this frustrating. Practical strategies for connecting people to Christ and His body will require further thought and discussion, though I suspect that this is one area that the author would agree.
THE SKINNY
Overall, the book provides an excellent summary and introduction to the subject of connective/organic community, and will surely stimulate conversation regarding the nature of God’s kingdom.
Those looking for practical advice will need to read further, though again, I suspect that Friesen would agree that his work is part of a larger conversation.
This book is recommended to those already involved in this conversation or for those seeking an introduction, and may be a helpful tool among church staff members or elder boards.
I would recommend this book to be read alongside of Randy Frazee’s The Connecting Church or Frank Viola’s Finding Organic Church.
Link to original post:
http://thornscompose.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/thy-kingdom-connected-dwight-j-friesen-review/
Chris Wiles is an avid writer and speaker. You may visit his blog at http://www.thornscompose.wordpress.com or add him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/wilescj.
Feb 1st, 2010
Ben Simpson
In Thy Kingdom Connected: What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks Dwight J. Friesen explores the power of networks and the lessons the church can learn from observing and understanding how we are bound together through common relationships.
This book did possess some strengths, among them a treatment of Trinitarian theology, an invitation to dialogue and an openness to critique, and the important recognition that the Kingdom of God possesses an environmental component that supports an “ecological” approach to leadership. On this last point, Friesen’s chapter on “Network Ecology” was quite good. Likening the church to a natural ecosystem, Friesen explores how the openness of such systems, the need for diversity, and the necessity of death in such systems lead to overall flourishing. One of the most powerful metaphors I’ve found for “Kingdom” among emerging leaders has been this very example. Once a leader sees oneself as an ecologist or an environmentalist, it changes how one relates and navigates various relationships, casts vision, and clears ground for growth. Of all the contributions in this book, I think this chapter is the most valuable.
Most of the reviewers I have read have been positive, and because of this I’ll offer a couple of words of critique. Here are two of my points of contention.
First, is Friesen’s account of networks and their applicability to the church based on a gospel dynamic? Within the first few sentences in his introduction, Friesen states “Many are wondering why so many churches and denominations are in decline when they are proclaiming the gospel,” a statement which, prima facie is easily debatable and, indeed, on this very topic much ink has been spilled (with the rise of computing, when will this idiom change?). After making such a bold assertion at the outset, I was hoping to hear more about what this gospel might be that is failing to gain a hearing despite its proclamation. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Friesen’s articulation of the gospel is undergirded by the claim that in Jesus the fullness of life is found, and that the same fullness that is seen in Jesus can be realized in us. Friesen states, “This is God’s mission: that human beings like you and me would live as fully alive, fully networked human beings.”
That sounds nice. But it needs more fullness. More robustness. And, it needs to be accompanied by the avenue through which such a life can re realized. In other words, I need to know how to get plugged in to the with-God life. I need a theology of cross and resurrection, a more detailed account of justification and sanctification. I need something beyond a definition of life as “the relationship between chaos and order,” something like “shalom,” an ultimate vision of what a life of peace and reconciliation between human beings and between God might look like at the end of the ages.
To give him the benefit of the doubt, I would think that Friesen’s presentation presupposes that the reconciliation found in Christ brings about the creation of a community wherein humanity can flourish through connection. As we come to know one another, love one another, serve one another, submit to one another, and live according to a collective vision of what constitutes new creation, the “good news” is imaged forth. While I find such imagery compelling, as I’ve already stated, I find presentations like Friesen’s as insufficient. I appreciate that Friesen’s “connected community” represents an embodied realization of the gospel. But I think any such community which embodies the gospel must undergird those claims with a discourse, or a language, that goes beyond practices. Proclamation and practice go hand in hand. In that sense, I am “And’ing” two concepts that have often been featured as part of the division between traditional and emerging leaders. At this point, I suspect Friesen would agree with my sentiment that proclamation or discourse is important, but I think I’ve made clear that I found his presentation leaning more in the other direction, and if his argument is to be strengthened a clearer and more robust articulation of the gospel is required.
Secondly, I found that the overall idea–that networks define our life and are pivotal for the realization of the Kingdom–was not supported by consistently strong biblical and anecdotal support. Concerning the former, like many emerging leaders Friesen relies on narratives from the Bible to illuminate his argument. Most of these examples seemed supplemental, however, and not foundational for Friesen’s account, and this is the root of my concern. Concerning the latter, Friesen does relay a number of stories about his family, about his experiences as a church planter, and his experiences as a professor at a seminary, and his stories do relate to his central thesis, but do not add much to his argument.
Friesen’s work here is interesting, though I wouldn’t enthusiastically recommend it to friends and fellow church leaders. I picked up a few tidbits here and there (to cite one example, I enjoyed his insights from Martin Buber’s I And Thou), but finished unsatisfied for the reasons given above. I would’ve liked to see more theological robustness, a clearer articulation of the gospel, and more practical and concrete examples of how his theory has been embodied by church leaders. Philosophically, the account was fine, engaging, and compelling. But to really draw me in, I need to see the theological import and warrant, and how these ideas move beyond our current reality to the transcendent. I think Friesen’s goal is to help us see the Kingdom as an eschatological community of connectedness, but he has to take us from here to there, and in order to do so his account must evidence more from the story of Scripture and historical theology.
The good news, of course, is that Friesen can do so. And if he doesn’t take up the task, perhaps someone else will. If so, in the end the church will be better off for it, maybe even more connected.
Link to My Blog and the Original Review:
http://bit.ly/cAoBsq
Feb 2nd, 2010
SGill4613
As a newly ordained pastor, I have struggled with trying to figure out what my role is as a leader of a community. Dwight Friesen, who writes the book Thy Kingdom Connected is a professor of practical theology and this book shows that he is a master of his field.
Because I have struggled with my place, and trying to figure out if I am to become an expert in a single area, or if I ought to should become a Jack of all trades and master of none. I have felt lots of pressure to be the latter, and while this can be daunting, Friesen shows that it is far better to be an expert at connecting people and resources than to have basic skills in all areas.
Connections/Networks have always been important throughout human history, but in today’s world of social networks, connecting can happen much faster, and sometimes on a much more shallow level. To be successful in promoting the Good News of Jesus, we must seek to make deep connections, like Christ did.
While there are some people saying the Emergent movement is dead or dying, This book shows that the church is being refocused. In an ever changing world, Christians need to focus less on building buildings and more on being in places where we can strengthen as disciples as well as minister to others, for wherever we do that, our connections will grow deeper.
Feb 2nd, 2010
rckhff
When it came in the mail, I was looking forward to reading Thy Kingdom Connected by Dwight J. Friesen. But I ended up being more annoyed by the book than enlightened. The problem with the book, for me, was that Friesen just didn’t make the case for why the network metaphor was helpful. He spoke of links and nodes instead of relationships and things/places/people. Fair enough. But why? What does it do for us? Where does “links” take us that “relationships” doesn’t?
The reason I found this book annoying is that Friesen consistently used highly technical terms from network theory, chaos theory, and other sciences and applied them to theology. This, in itself, isn’t really problematic but the way Friesen does this reminded me of the way some people have taken Einstein’s theory of general relativity and tried to somehow link it to epistemological relativism. Another example would be how some people have tried to take quantum theory and apply it to New Age theories (it is not surprising, I guess, that Friesen quotes Fritjof Capra a number of times).
For example, on page 98 Friesen – while talking about chaos theory – talks about “human beings, our interpersonal relations, and creation” as a dynamical system. As he correctly points out in an end note (his endnote on the definition of “dynamic systems” appears to be a direct quote of Wikipedia without reference, by the way), a dynamic system is a mathematical formalization. But, unless you are a reductionist of the greatest sort, human beings (let alone our relationship with other human beings or the entire creation) aren’t dynamic systems. Dynamic systems are models. They are deterministic models. That’s why they are useful to scientists and engineers. But even as a Calvinist, I don’t believe humans or creation are deterministic in the way that dynamic systems are. And I doubt Friesen does either. Which means he either doesn’t truly understand what the term means or he is not using it in the way that people who study chaos theory use it. And this is why I found the book annoying – he draws on certain terms from various subjects (chaos theory, network theory, etc.) and then uses those terms in a way that is quite different than how they are used in those subjects. And that makes me wonder “Why?”
I should end by saying there was a lot in the book that I agreed with (e.g., his discussion of the “other”). I just really didn’t like the way the manner in which he arrived there.
Feb 4th, 2010
Andrew Gill
‘And.’
That about sums up this book.
In Thy Kingdom Connected, Dwight Friesen explores the wide variety of ways that human beings are connected with each other, with our planet and with God; and why that matters to people trying to live in concert with what God is doing in the world.
Friesen begins and ends the book reminding the reader that ‘whatever is you, you will share it.’ It echoes Shane Hipps’ idea that the medium is the message. Consciously or not, we are constantly sharing who we are and what matters to us with the world around us. A weighty thought for those of us concerned with joining Jesus in his mission of reconciliation.
Reconciliation – ‘missional and’ing’ – is, according to Friesen the focus of God’s people. It is the good news. God is working to reconcile all creation w/ Godself and invites us to join in the process.
If we would join in that process, Friesen says, we must be aware that all individual decisions, believes and actions have bearing on others and our world.
This is a timely book, I think. In an exciting era of church history, in which we are able to participate in the wonderful and ever changing conversation about who God is, what God is doing and how we fit into what God is doing, it’s easy sometimes to give more energy, time and attention to what’s wrong with the ‘other’ side(s) of the conversation. How we relate to one another has never mattered more for the health of the church and the world we interact with. How can we hope to join in reconciling the world with God, when we are not reconciled to one another?
Feb 4th, 2010
mmichelson
They Kingdom Connected by Dwight J. Friesen is a book that I will recommending to the two professors who teach with me who specialize in “Practical Theology.”
There was very much to appreciate about this book. Having said that to get started, let me point out a few critiques before I sing praise.
The book’s subtitle is poorly framed: “What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks.” I anticipated reading a sort of “how to” use these networks for developing and working with the church. Instead, this book has very little to offer about “how to” use networks in the computer/internet spectrum. (More on what this text does say about networks in a few paragraphs.)
Second, I thought the book could have been much more deeply connected and structured with Biblical support for the claims that are offered. And, for a few of the claims, I was left wanting to ask, Dwight what Biblical text supported his characterization of the church. For example, on page 41 Dwight finishes an analogy of the church built, in part, on the parable of the yeast from Jesus. But, the analogy wherein the yeast is seen as a positive issue of expanding the networks of the kingdom might be well out of line with Jewish understanding and frameworks within the Hebrew Bible because of the clear implications of yeast’s impurity. Not that Dwight thereby could not have used this as an example, but it could have been better parsed out with a fuller reading of Biblical texts, and specifically of the Hebrew Scripture.
That being the case – and fully cognizant of the fact that I would likely not agree with “every claim” of any author, I value and appreciate what Dwight has constructed. I think his organization of the text and examples including modern networks – both computer and biological – are creative and inventive. I found his work to be grounded in a clear articulation of Trinitarian theology that understands God to be relational and thus, God’s intention for the kingdom is intended to be relational as well.
At several points in the text Dwight creatively recycles language to cause his readers to (re)think perspectives. For example, “Failure to see the interconnections of the world created by God can only result in ‘di-vision’” (page 19). And, much later in the text, he provides an appropriate Calvin and Hobbes cartoon to bear on his creative (re)use of language in his chapter on “And’ing.”
The book was not difficult to read, and it offered some intriguing analogies and images to re-think – including the image and idea of the lighthouse – but it was neither a simple read. Dwight engages early the work of Martin Buber (page 49ff) and then appropriately comes back to Buber later in the final few pages of his text (page 169ff.) His conception of the Christ-commons and the idea of cultivating fertile soil for new life were helpful.
A few places along the way I would suggest that Dwight might want to rethink a few analogies or metaphors – but in the end, the book comes together in a clear, wholistic way. His final few chapters, especially the one on Network Ecologies, were a delight to read. I am certain that the students I have taught over the years – if they were empowered to see the Church in the way Dwight outlines – they would be greater empowered to be in ministry for the long-haul. Not to become pastors that “grow” or meet denominational expectations to be a certain size – but churches that “build and steward sustainable communities in which we can satisfy our needs and aspirations without diminishing the same for future generations” (page 149). Students training for ministry and pastors in ministry could learn from Dwight. “It is very difficult, maybe impossible, to determine a network’s relative health by looking at a smaller set within the ecosystem. It’s best to look at a larger set. . . . How is your local and community participating with God and God dream for the re-creation of heaven and earth? How is it your church participating in the flourishing of God dream of abundant life for all?” (page 156-157.)
Dwight’s vision would help the church look to the larger life of expanding God’s Kingdom, advancing the good for all, announcing and enacting good news.
Feb 5th, 2010
mhasty
Thy Kingdom Connected by Dwight J. Friesen is an exploration into the networking that exists all around us as individuals in the world that God created and how we are a part of it. It starts out with a well placed concern and question: Is the way we’re doing church really the best way to do church? I think it’s the wrong question. Maybe not the wrong question, but it could be rephrased to say is the way we’re doing church allowing us to be the church?
Dwight believes that the best way to be the church is by accessing our connections through our network. He likens this to social networking media. Through a few clicks, a few degrees of separation we can connect with “friends: from around the globe.
The paragraph that best sums up the idea is found in chapter 9:
Ecology is a focused study of learning how living systems work, so it holds tremendous insights for caring for our families, churches, and even out personal lives. Throughout They Kingdom Connected, we have seen that everything and everyone is interconnected fro the vantage point of interconnectedness, we understand live to be an eco system, meaning that what happens to one or to a cluster has ripple-like effects for all. Giving God’s networked ecokingdom, the question before us is: How do we steward our lives and our communities such that abundant life flourishes not just for you and me but for everyone and everything? Our hope should be to build and steward sustainable communities in which we can satisfy our needs and aspirations without diminishing the same for future generations.
They Kingdom Connected challenges the way we think and view church and drives us to act on those challenges to move toward a better version of being the Church for ourselves and fo future generations.
Dwight J. Friesen (DMin, George Fox University) is assistant professor of practical theology at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. He was the founding pastor of Quest: A Christ-Commons in Bellevue, Washington, and lives in Seattle, Washington, with his family.
Follow Dwight J. Friesen on Twitter
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Feb 7th, 2010
Jonathan Stegall
Thanks to TheOOZE Viral Bloggers, I recently got to read Thy Kingdom Connected: What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks by Dwight Friesen. He is a professor at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. As a person who has a passion for web and user experience design, and for the church and its mission in the world, I love it when I find people, or books, or other things that speak into both worlds, and this is one of those things.
The book seeks to link together a number of thoughts and disciplines – ecclesiology, science, network theory, missiology, and spirituality, among others – to indicate the incredible interconnectedness in which we can live, and how that affects the way we think about leadership, theology, ministry, and the mission of God and the church in the world.
The subtitle is a little misleading, first of all. I don’t recall more than one or two mentions of Facebook, specifically, in the entire book. This is a wonderful thing, as far as I’m concerned, because Facebook is just one part, albeit a very large and influential part, of much broader things that are going on in culture. It is also just one manifestation of the larger discussion that Dwight brings to us of scale-free networks, of hubs and links and nodes of various sizes and connectedness, connecting everyone to everything.
A related observation: the book does not spend time telling us how to use Facebook, or Twitter, or any other specific networks. I think he assumes we can get this information elsewhere, or that we are already doing these things. This is one of the great strengths of the book, as most books that try to tell people how to use social networks are out of date by the time the print has dried. Thinking about networks theologically and thinking about the church through network theory is, in my opinion, far more valuable and can help us understand the implications of these core parts of culture.
This is the image that he gives us of the people of God – nodes of people connected through real relationships and encounters to other people. He also gives us this image of a connected, linking God, and reminds us of the perichoresis. God is not a lighthouse, standing afar off from us, but even in God’s essence there is linking, connecting, and relating in the Great Dance between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and we are invited into that Dance.
There are beautiful thoughts on leadership in the days of Google, which for me fit really well with the conversations that are happening around Theology After Google. The ideas being presented in the book remind us that people don’t come to us, as the church or as ministers or as individuals, giving us authority or asking us to give them information.
They come to us, and we can give away our authority by creating genuine connections. Connections with God and the reconciling work of Jesus in the world, and connections with others. This kind of image of the kingdom of God, then, is relational and always moving, and is thus chaotically unpredictable.
These images lead into specific practices, and specific ways of creating space for people to engage God and others. There are beautiful ideas on how leaders can creatively seek to create this kind of space in their networks, and how each network has to be in relation to other networks in order to thrive. This leads into discussions of missiology, and how we understand our encounters with people who are fully Other from us; whether or not we allow ourselves to be shaped by these encounters.
All of the images in the book move back to the mission of God in the world – creatively reconciling people to God and to each other, and understanding that mission in light of things we know about the world through computer networks, ecological systems, tapestries, and other intricately connected things. I’d highly recommend this one.
Feb 8th, 2010
Michelle Van Loon
Is the church: (A) series of bunkers, sheds and silos storing already-harvested grain or (B) an organic, open network of interconnected relationships?
Of course, we know the answer is supposed to be [B]. [A] has often defined our functional reality. Dwight Friesen has written a book designed to expand our imaginations about the kingdom-shaped web of connections into which God is weaving His children.
In the hands of a less-insightful analyst, Thy Kingdom Connected: What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks could have been a corny and derivative exercise. Friesen, an associate professor at Seattle’s Mars Hill Graduate School and pastor of an organic fellowship, instead gives us a thought-provoking exploration of how the body of Christ is wired. The “is” in the previous sentence is an important distinction of this book. Friesen is not spinning out ivory-tower theory though his writing reflects his academic bent. He’s not given to think-tank theorizing about the way he wishes the church would behave or could be structured if only they’d buy into his program.
He is determined to help us see the interrelationships that exist in our lives as the sinew and marrow of the kingdom. Here, discussing church leadership, Friesen disarms the oh-so-modern notion of “Big Dawg” management:
“If we are obsessed with control, we will never discover the wonder of participating in God’s connected kingdom. Leading connectively dethrones the tool of hierarchy and busts the control myth. Connective leaders serve as hubs, linking people to the very best of their resources and relationships unto God’s dream of fullness of life.”
Friesen clusters his chapters around the themes of seeing connectively, God’s networked kingdom, leading that connects, networked church and connective practices. Each cluster contains two or three chapters. Each chapter’s content includes a listing of additional resources as well as a few thoughtful discussion questions. Though Friesen uses computer-based networks as an organizing metaphor for the book, his purpose in writing is to help us see the web of relationships and connections our Papa-King has given to each one of us.
I do have one language quibble. Friesen avoids using the male pronoun for God, and ends up with a few tortured sentences like this: “This means that God does not just reveal Godself through a narrative but presents Godself to us in a person to be encountered.” Suffice it to say that every time I ran across one of these pronouns, my reading ground to a screeching halt. Mercifully, they’re few and far between.
Thy Kingdom Connected is a valuable read for anyone who cares about encouraging the Bride to be who she’s called to be. Recommended.
Feb 9th, 2010
Kevin_Ring
Originally posted on Kingdom Strategist:
http://www.kingdomstrategist.com/book-review-thy-kingdom-connected-by-dwight-friesen/
Thy Kingdom Connected is written by Dwight Friesen, associate professor of practical theology at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle. In it Friesen uses Network Theory to describe various theological implications, perspectives and applications pertaining to the kingdom of God. Friesen’s goal in writing the book is to shine light upon the inter-connectivity of creation and prepare readers for “living into the image of God” and “incarnating the mission of God.”
I Like This Book, But…
I was very excited when I learned about this book. Judging it by its cover (what? you don’t judge books by their covers?) it appeared to be about things that I am passionate about: the kingdom of God, advancing the Church, and social networking. All topics that I discuss regularly on this blog.
And I discovered upon reading the book that Friesen does address these things, more or less. But a better tagline would have been “What Theologians can learn from Network Theory”, because in my opinion, this book is more a theological exposition built upon the concept of networks than a discussion of practical applications of insights from social media.
That being said, the book is interesting and important for Christians today. Network Theory is an interesting field that has helped to advance the thinking in many fields. By applying this type of critical thinking to the different aspects of Christian faith can yield numerous benefits and help shape how individuals seek to live out their faith… which is Friesen’s goal for the book.
To achieve his goal, Friesen goes through a number of different implications of network thinking applied to areas like leadership, Christian community, missional strategy, and spiritual formation. For example, in the chapter on missional strategy, Friesen makes that case that if we understand the fact that we are meant to be connected to others and that God intends the establishing of connections to ultimately bring people into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, we will intentionally seek to be relationships and practice hospitality so as to establish and strengthen such links connecting people to Him. Makes sense to me.
What to expect from the book
The book is 178 pages long but I must warn you: Friesen writes like a college professor. He makes his points through effective but burdensome use of specialist language and complex thought processes. I found myself reading and re-reading passages just to make sure I was understanding what he was saying. The book is conceptual and the little narrative that Friesen includes is only used to introduce concepts. As I was reading, I imagined I was sitting in a lecture hall… do with that what you want. Me, I enjoyed being a student.
Implications for a Kingdom Strategist
At it’s core, this book explores very important truths about the kingdom of God. It offers a different perspective and in the process highlights key implications that will shape the way you think about how to strategical advance the mission of Christian organizations. Network Theory focuses on visually depicting the relationships between elements of a system, as you think strategically about how to achieve the goals of your organization or church it is helpful to visualize how the different people involved are related. Not only that but it is valuable to incorporate relational elements into those kingdom goals.
Overall, Thy Kingdom Connected is a good book. The premise is interesting and the discourse is valuable. The readability is lacking and thus it requires commitment to draw the value out of the book. But in the end, the investment of your time and attention is worthwhile.
Visit Kingdom Strategist.
Feb 10th, 2010
pomopilgrim
The downside to my desire to read deeply and intentionally comes into full play when I post as a viral blogger here, in that so much has already been shared here on Friesen’s Thy Kingdom Connected that I find little original content to add to the discussion. But here goes…
I too was apprehensive on the value of the content when I read the words “Facebook”, “Internet” and “Networks” in the subtitle. However, I also understand that the inclusion of these buzzwords may spur some to give the text a chance. After reading, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the content was not a direct critique/defense of social networking nor a handbook for pastors on navigating social networking media to share Christ. What Friesen offers is a thought-provoking spark to how church leaders and members can work together to actualize a networked kingdom of God.
Unlike some of the reviews, I appreciated Friesen’s willingness to admit that this text was neither a comprehensive nor complete treatment of the subject and enjoyed exploring the links and suggested readings at the end of each chapter. It was like a treasure hunt, each turn leading one deeper into the individual points Friesen himself explored to make up the whole of the idea of the networked kingdom and connective leadership. I believe this lends credence to Friesen as a networker in that this is what great networkers do: point those who engage them to dig deeper and share the works of others to continue and deepen dialogue.
That being said, I can see why some would read Thy Kingdom Connected and claim that Friesen fails to offer a complete, comprehensive work . I believe that it must be read in the context of community to be truly appreciated. I found myself continually reading, digging deeper into the suggested readings, and bouncing the ideas and questions off of colleagues and close connections. Therefore it would be a text I would recommend as a small group study or discussion piece for a cohort or house church group rather than to a colleague for individual, personal reading. It is a text that begs connection and in that way, I believe Friesen accomplishes something that others who have written about the benefits/dangers of connective nature of social media networking technology fail to accomplish. Friesen gets us to actually connect.
Feb 11th, 2010
sheyduck
Another in the continuing series of my book reviews for the Viral Blogger network. Thy Kingdom Connected is by Dwight J. Friesen.
Let me get right to the point: I like this book. Friesen writes well; by this I mean the thought progression is easy to follow and I did not get bogged down in sentence structure.
I also enjoyed this book for the same reason that I have enjoyed many of the better books I’ve read. It is truly a gift, I believe, for an author to be able to connect points the reader is likely already aware of in new and interesting ways.
For instance, Friesen devotes several pages to Martin Buber’s work I and Thou. Anyone with a liberal arts education in the past 80 years, I assume, will be at least rudimentarily familiar with Buber. In fact, from my early undergraduate days, “I and Thou” is what comes to mind when I hear of Buber.
Thinking of the Trinity in terms of relationship is nothing new; looking at relationships through Buber’s lens is old hat as well. Bringing these two together in the context of the social networking phenomenon is eye opening. Friesen opens eyes.
Friesen makes connections – which is really what this book is about. Most of the books he cites (that I haven’t already read), I have added to my listed. The author’s understanding of the power of connections, which he brings out clearly in the context of his passion for ministry, drew me forward through Thy Kingdom Connected.
If there is one phrase in the book that has grasped me more than any other, it is where, on page 135 he quotes David Weinberger: “Conversations subvert hierarchy.” (from Weinberger’s Cluetrain Manifesto)
Conversations subvert hierarchy. Let that sink in.
Jesus eschewed hierarchy; his Church may well be headed (should be headed) back in that direction after centuries of structure, hierarchy, and bureaucracy. Conversations are such a simple tool, yet stand as the most powerful tool any of us might have to be a part of reclaiming the Kingdom vision within and around the life of the church.
Thy Kingdom Connected is a worthy read for anyone interested in being part of what the church is going to look like 10 years from now.
Feb 12th, 2010
mjmm
As part of The Ooze Viral Bloggers, I recently had the change to read Thy Kingdom Connected by Dwight J. Friesen. Dwight in an associate professor of practical theology at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, and the founding pastor of Quest: A Christ-Commons in Bellevue, Washington, and it is clear both these experiences inform his writing.
Thy Kingdom Connected looks at the role social networks play within the life of the church. Rather than looking at the specifics of networking tools like Facebook and Twitter, Friesen, insightfully examines the “big picture” of Scale Free Networks and how they are applicable to the life of the church. Drawing upon theology, biology, and sociology, Friesen makes the case that we need to rethink our conception of the congregation and the missional implications that ensue from understanding our fundamental interconnectedness.
Theologically, Friesen asserts, the Christian conception of God is inherently relational. He writes, “…only Christianity has a vision of God who exists in relationship before time – a God whose ‘being,’ as Orthodox theologian John Zizioulas says, is ‘in communion’; a God who moves relationally toward creation, now away from it; a God who is personally and actively involved in human affairs, not just setting things in motion. And we don’t just stop there; we believe that God created all that is out of love and for relationship, and we understand the very mission of God, as seen through the capacious narrative of revealed Scripture, to be the reconciliation of all things relationally unto God” (pg. 56).
And when we begin to consider that we each have importance and a place in this relational/networked kingdom that God has created, the missional implications become apparent, as Friesen notes, “As we begin to understand our interconnectedness, we begin to take on a shared mission: the mission of kingdom connectors is to actively participate in the ending of suffering of all kinds. Kingdom connecters know that when one person suffers, we all suffer, and that to bless one has untold ripple effects” (pg. 70).
Using this idea of a networked kingdom, the local church becomes a resource center with the goal of developing relationships. Friesen notes that each church should maintain its unique identity (traditional, contemporary, house, small group etc.), but the larger goal should be about connecting people with God and with each other, so that the people might be equipped to serve Christ in the world. As he says, “The church exists in relationship, by relationship, and for relationship. We exist to connect people with God, one another, and with creation in continuity with the capacious narrative of Scripture. Sometimes this means connecting people with a narrative so big and so beautiful that their lives find new meaning, redemption and hope. Sometimes it might mean connecting with others whom you personally wouldn’t choose to connect with. Sometimes this may even mean helping people who are a vital part of your church connect to a different faith community or ministry even at great cost to your own ministry. And we can do this because every local Christ-Commons understands it is dynamically linked together in God’s connective kingdom. The church doesn’t exist simply to propagate the church, rather the local church exists as a local expression of the reality of God’s networked kingdom” (pg. 109).
In a networked system traditional hierarchies no longer work, authority isn’t derived through position or power but in the ability to connect. Using Google as an example, Frissen argues that the role of connective leadership is to help people connect and build meaningful relationships, building bridges and revealing God’s reconciling work. Leaders in the church are “network ecologists” who help foster the life of the community.
Overall, Frisesen’s book is a great read. It’s deep – I found myself wanting to put it down after reading through each two or three chapters just to process everything he presents, and at the end of each chapter he presents some great questions for reflection and discussion, but it never felt overwhelming. The one (minor) difficulty I had was that it felt, at times, a little too “theoretical” to me, there were points where I wished he would have pointed to examples or provided a specific picture of what his vision of what church or pastoral leadership looks like in the networked kingdom. But it is largely written in such a way (especially with the questions) that the reader can fill in those gaps on their own.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Thy Kingdom Connected to review through Ooze Viral Bloggers.
Feb 12th, 2010
expastor
First, the subtitle: What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks. You’ll understand my interest in reading this when The Ooze Viral Bloggers listed it as a choice for review, because I’m fascinated with communications, especially religious communications. This is the second book I’ve reviewed with a subtitle that is slightly (completely) misleading. I thought I was going to get an assessment of how networks, especially Facebook, were affecting church, community, and communication. No. Not so much. I’m pretty sure Dwight J. Friesen mentions Facebook, but as for evaluating how it affects churches and Christians, even with an eye toward learning from it, there is no substantive assessment. Quick epistle: Dear publishers, quit lying in your subtitles. Thanks.
More annoying than the subtitle is Friesen’s attempt to do what hundreds of religious writers working in the church leadership field have been doing since at least Augustine: develop a trendy model of the Church based upon a contemporary contextual phenomenon that is supposed to suddenly open the eyes of believers and pastors so that church can finally be what it’s supposed to be, as if anyone actually has an idea of what church “should” look like. I fully confess to stealing this next set of analogies from Nicholas Fearn’s excellent little book The Latest Answers to the Oldest Questions, which everyone should read instead of the book under review. In his chapter on Minds and Machines, Fearn talks about the tendency of philosophers to use current, cultural or scientific models to describe the relationship between mind and body or to simply illustrate how the mind works. If we only go back 150 years, we’ll find the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, the telephone switchboard, and the currently dominant model, the computer. I can remember a half dozen analogies from books I read as a pastor or in college and grad school that were supposed to apply to the church: family, company, ranch, computer, Internet, and friendship.
For Friesen, it comes down to networks, links, and nodes. As kindly as possible: I just don’t care. No model, however thorough the analogy, is a group of human beings trying to live together. If I produce a dozen presentations illustrating how links and nodes work, and then explain how that applies to people in pews, they will be no closer to acting like Christians than they were when I insisted that they were the software running on the hardware that was the church driven by the CPU that was the Holy Spirit. How does that help? If your church members are so daft that they need to be told they’re a node to actually do something charitable, you’ve failed as a pastor or they’ve failed as people. It matters little what the church is compared to analogously, nor does it matter what component of a network is analogous to a church member; this is not a football team, so knowing something about what kind of thing I am in the model of church helps very little. The instructions for everyone are pretty much the same: don’t be a dick, and beyond that, love people. Feed them. Clothe them. Suffer for goodness. Pursue justice. Got it, nodes?
Friesen could have taken a crack at the decentralized nature of networks, the lack of hierarchy, and the freedom to be as committed to the network as a “node” wants to be. If we follow his analogy though, it quickly becomes apparent that a centralized location wherein worship services take place, people make salaries, and bills must be paid is not a necessary component in a network. Let’s face it, this book is targeted at pastors and church leaders. No sense in saying to them, “hey, get a damn job,” when they already have one, even when dismantling the structures and hierarchies makes complete sense within the framework of the analogy. The problem with analogies, even good ones, is that the limits of extension are hard to determine; I can extend them as far as I want to make my point, while avoiding the undesirable conclusions the model also suggests. I can insist that this observation applies to that application with no functional rubric, allowing me to say unilaterally which parts of the analogy are important and relevant, and which are just detritus. This is made worse when new words are created, because we don’t have a mutually agreed upon definition of the word that was developed like every other piece of jargon–within the context and practices of a community of reference. Additionally, I can quickly move from analogy to allegory, which, in this case, is deadly for any idea of autonomy of action within a network. As soon as I’m told “this equals you,” my role is set and I’m no longer free to move within the relative freedom of the network.
I’m a little weary of saying this, but any model brought from outside the church to define what the church is supposed to be or do brings with it a whole set of assumptions related to a different community of reference and a different language game. These cannot be imported without importing the assumptions that gave them birth, nor can the words be stripped of their original meaning, sanitized, and then employed for the sake of church. At that point, just make up words, because if the words are being re-interpreted, they aren’t functioning as they were intended to function so the meaning is malleable to the point of ambiguity. What then is the point of importing them?
Enough for now. Next time, Christ-clusters and Friesen’s redefinition of personal entity.
Originally posted on http://theparish.typepad.com
Feb 13th, 2010
RyanBraught
The other week I received the book “Thy Kingdom Connected: What the Church can learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks” by Dwight J. Friesen from the Ooze Viral Bloggers. I get a book about once a month, read it, and then post my thoughts on this blog and also on the Ooze Viral Bloggers site. It’s a great deal. I get free books out of it, and all I have to do is write about the books.
The book is about Network theory and what the church can learn from it. I’m not sure exactly what I was getting when I chose the book. Maybe I expected more “practical” applications to Network theory. As a church planter I am looking for ways of using things like Facebook, Twitter, and the Internet to interact with people, get the word out about Veritas, and develop missional opportunities. After adjusting my expectations about a chapter into it, I began to connect with alot of what Friesen was getting at.
The three biggest connections that were helpful to me were the Bounded Set/Centered Set discussion, the chapter on Network Ecology, and the discussion about Christ Commons and Christ Clusters.
The discussion on Bounded and Center sets reminded me of the same theme in the book “The Shaping of Things to Come.” A Bounded set is all about boundaries. Therefore making it easy to determine who is in and who isn’t. Alot of the times with Bounded sets within the Christian community there are clearly defined lines of what makes a follower of Jesus, and alot of those things are, in my opinion, peripheral issues. Things like what political party you belong to, whether you smoke or drink, what you “look like”, etc.. A Centered set however is all about direction. It’s about orienting around a center or “hub”. It doesn’t matter how close to the center you are, it matters if you are moving toward the center. And so for the church, with Jesus as the center, or “hub” we need to be a centered set, encouragiing people to move toward the center.
Hopefully Veritas is the kind of place that lives out a centered set instead of a bounded set. He want to focus on the center (Jesus) and help people make their way towards the center. To orientate their life toward movement toward the center and not the other way. That is not to say that we don’t have ideas what makes a follower of Jesus. We just don’t focus on alot of external things that people can too often get hung up on.
This is what Friesen says about missional communities and centered sets, “The centered paradigm has some clear advantages for thinking about spiritual formation because it focuses on what is central while allowing for porous boundaries. The centered paradigm helps Christ followers orient themselves in terms of who God is as revealed in Christ. And the issue is not external boundaries but movement with the Holy Spirit toward Christ. The centered paradigm still maintains a distinction between being a Christian and not being a Christian, but its emphasis is not on maintaining the external boundaries in order to preserve personal purity in order to ensure that one is “in”. Rather, the distinction is for the sake of cluster identity. Centered paradigms also allow for and encourage variation among Christians. All are seen as being on different paths along their Christ-centered journeys, and that’s a good thing.”
Next time I’ll look at the chapter on Network ecology and the idea of being closed while at the same time being open. So this looks to be a 3 part blog on “Thy Kingdom Connected.” Hopefully I’ll do the next two blogs before I leave for Deep Creek Lake in Maryland for some Snowboarding on Thursday.
Originally posted on http://veritaspa.squarespace.com/blog/
Feb 20th, 2010
jc4jc
Thy Kingdom Connected
I found Dwight J. Friesen’s Thy Kingdom Connected: What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks (Grand Rapids, MI: BakerBooks. 2009) a most timely read as I am on my way to Malta to discuss facilitating partnerships among church workers in geographical regions and specific ethnic groups. As Friesen successfully elaborates, because God’s kingdom is connected, we can learn much from biology and contemporary high-tech networks to live out this connectivity. “The time has come for us to reflect on the complexity and the interdependency of all aspects of created life” (p. 22). We need to perceive the kingdom of God as a relational connectivity with God, others, and all of creation. I am attending the Malta summit because I want to serve as a hub, and link people together in God’s kingdom.
We find our meaning in relationships and ultimately in a relationship with God. Friesen unpacks Buber’s I & It and I & You relationships and moves into a we relationship. I & It relationships are safe—we control the encounter. Our society finds itself attracted to social networking websites because they provide the sense of an I & You encounter for the low cost of an I & It relationship. In Christ God opened Himself to a genuine encounter with humans, confronting humans in Jesus Christ in an I & You relationship. We can have a personal relationship with God because God-in-Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit establishes a genuine encounter with God.
What Friesen calls Christ-Commons provide an environment where people come together in Christ to bless others. Christ-Commons embody God’s networked kingdom. God’s networked kingdom expresses itself as people cluster together, centered on Christ. Christ-Commons provide a connective space, empowering people to live the good news. Christ-Clusters occur when Christ’s followers live the gospel. Christ-Clusters provide soul to the local church, the Christ-Commons.
I particularly appreciate Friesen’s handling of bounded vs. centered paradigms. Too often Christianity presents itself as bounded with effort primarily focusing on maintaining the boundaries. Centered paradigms, on the other hand, focus on the center. The issue with centered paradigms is whether we are moving toward or away from the center. We are constantly moving on one direction or the other. May we move with the Holy Spirit toward Christ. May this centered paradigm help free followers of Christ from rigid boundaries and help us to focus on Christ and His networked kingdom.
I thank God for His kingdom connected.
cf. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jc4jc/
Feb 21st, 2010
kevinstewart
What can the church learn from Facebook? That’s what Dwight J. Friesen sets out to answer in his new book Thy Kingdom Connected. I have to admit I wasn’t expecting very much out of this book, however I was pleasantly surprised. This book helped me to see the interconnectedness of the kingdom of God, in spite of all the division among his people. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to gain some perspective about God, humanity, and all of creation. It draws all of Scripture, theology, science, and network theory together to help us see relationally in God’s networked kingdom.
Original post: http://kevinstewart.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/thy-kingdom-connected/
Feb 25th, 2010
kmcdade
Originally at http://whatsthemission.wordpress.com
Despite the subtitle (What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks), this is thankfully NOT a book on how to use social media to promote your church. Instead, it’s about relationships, and how the church can use its networks more effectively. Again, NOT social media networks — just the relationships between people and groups in the church and in the world.
So as far as language goes, it’s a very geeky book — lots of networking vocabulary and metaphors. That will be pleasing for people with technical knowledge, but it’s not too much for non-technical types, either.
Instead of trying to explain the book, I’d like to share some of my favorite quotes:
Once, while teaching a class, Friesen “invited the learners to collaborate in the creation of a network map of our collective journeys to the school.”
“By the time the whole class had finished, we discovered a clear hubbing pattern, and it was not what I’d expected to find … One of the most connective hubbing nodes was http://www.mhgs.edu (the school’s website), and the other was Brian McLaren.”
On connective leadership:
“The goal of connective leadership is not to gain more links to increase the scale of your own influence, but to help those connected to you make meaningful connections that will help them find fullness of life.”
I can’t categorize this, but I like it (emphasis mine):
“We exist to connect people with God, one another, and with creation in continuity with the capacious narrative of Scripture … Sometimes this may even mean helping people who are a vital part of your church connect to a different faith community or ministry even at great cost to your own ministry … The church doesn’t exist simply to propagate the church, rather the local church exists as a local expression of the reality of God’s networked kingdom.“
And there’s more. I bookmarked several other sections which are too long to include here, like the story of how an aging, traditional congregation welcomed and eventually transferred their entire facility to a young church plant, for the sake of God’s networked kingdom.
I recommend this book especially for Christian techies, but anyone who is interested in relational aspects of the church, and in getting beyond traditional church structures and routines, will enjoy it.
Feb 26th, 2010
Loffers
I found this a complex but enjoyably challenging work. It raised many interesting & even uncomfortable questions but did not itself provide textbook answers, it is rather more like a catalyst for change you need to then think through for yourself. For me personally the style of deliberately interlinking material sourced from theology, social science, network theory and IT disciplines made it harder work to read through as a book. However, that may also make it more long-lasting as a reference work.
Beyond the intended structure of this work, covering as it does the Kingdom, Leadership, Church & Spiritual Practice (all from the perspective of how these could be done differently if viewed from a network/connectivity paradigm), having finished reading it I was left with these abiding memories:
1. I found the comparison & study of ‘Christ Commons’ (institutional/formal churches, meetings or church meeting places) and ‘Christ Clusters’ (informal ad-hoc joinings as part of a living faith) a really useful dichotomy. To think of the church thus as having a body & a soul that both need to be preserved & nourished was a useful analogy. It also made sense of the twin desire I feel to both see progress within the local church body I am part of as well valuing the freedom to not have my outworking of my faith limited to one group or tradition. To me this whole section of the book also carefully avoided the excesses I have heard on both emerging & traditional sides of the debate about how we move forward.
2. The potential impact of our meetings with or even just lose connections with others was also very challenging. Using the much quoted analogy of the butterfly effect, it was sobering to think how even those ‘weak links’ I have in my social network (real world as well as online) could be important for what God is working to bring about. Thinking this way, which took a while to get my head around, also helped me reflect on how a number of social care projects that I am involved in (and are precious to me) came about because of these kind of connections. I was in fact reminded of an article I read many many years ago in a publication called Edification; about the potent importance of our meetings & conversations with others.
3. Some of the material on the ‘centred paradigm’ vs the ‘bounded paradigm’ reminded me of how much I agreed with this view when I read it in Brian McLaren’s “More Ready Than You Realize”. So, it was even more interesting to see the implications for my view of evangelism & fellowship of moving beyond both of them into a ‘networked paradigm’. The principle here reminded me of the point that Miroslav Volf is making in the academic but brilliant ‘Exclusion & Embrace’. But even though I have sited other authors I am not suggesting any plagarism; the points made here fitted absolutely in this context, they just resonated even more.
4. “Mission as And’ing” was a potent chapter. Covering the analogy of sneezing to move onto an almost viral marketing view of sharing the good news could have seemed like the next step of the church growth movement & too manipulative. Except it is presented as something to just let happen naturally and cooperate with the opportunities Holy Spirit gives you through your network. That was liberating and an encouraging way to see being sociable and friendly as building the kingdom as well as good works or giving testimony.
5. Being a somewhat ‘driver’ character type, I guess I would have preferred a more directive ending in the chapters on what such a connected reality means to how we could ‘do’ spiritual development or our personal spiritual life – but it was in keeping with the rest of this work to rather sow some seeds to leave you thinking and challenged to put your imagination in gear.
So, I would recommend this work. It covers material that will be useful to leaders, followers & those who are uncomfortable with either label. The section on connective leaders is very freeing for anyone struggling with formal leadership hierarchies and gives you a whole new vista on who the real ‘leaders’ in your community might be.
The main thing I would want to pass on is that this is not a shallow work. I was a little concerned by the subtitle: “What the church can learn from Facebook, the Internet and other Networks”. I dreaded that this might be some dreadfully trendy (i.e. dated once in print) or nerdy work that was overly fixated with the current technological vogue. But it really is not. You get to learn some interesting findings from networked theory and there is enough scripture and Christian wisdom within the work for you to realise that this really is a useful worldview to help bring alive a number of Jesus’ teaching & biblical injunctions that can sound strange to our individualistic modern ears.
Enjoy this book & don’t forget to gossip about it to your network. You might even share it!
Loffers
Mar 1st, 2010
ldbarnes
Dwight J. Friesen in his book, Thy Kingdom Connected, discusses the paradigm shift that is taking place in today’s world and how this shift translates into God’s networked kingdom. And he invites his readers to reimagine the church in this networked kingdom.
To do this, Friesen uses metaphors and illustrations from modern technology and network theory. At times, I found myself getting lost in the metaphors; but by the end of any one chapter, I was able to understand the connections that Friesen is making as he uses them. He does a good job of bringing together the metaphors and his vision of the church in God’s networked kingdom.
Friesen also uses numerous examples to illustrate what he is communicating. They are real-life stories that describe what Friesen means when he uses new terminology such as a “Christ-Commons” or “Christ-Clusters.” I appreciated these illustrations because they enabled me to get a vision of the reimagined church. And I liked the inventive, networked kingdom terminology that Friesen uses to describe the reimagined church.
As a minister in spiritual formation and a spiritual director, I found that Thy Kingdom Connected challenged me to rethink my own ministry and how it fits into the networked kingdom of God. In addition to the questions that Friesen poses at the end of each chapter, there were other questions that I was asking myself.
I began to imagine myself as part of a networked ministry. I wondered who were the “hubs” in my network. I thought about the sharing and receiving of information. I am considering the meaning of being a “missional and’er” and am trying to discern my links.
Although these new questions that arose from my reading challenge me to reimagine my ministry, Thy Kingdom Connected also affirmed for me some of the ideas that have been rolling around in my head for some time.
Thy Kingdom Connected is easy to read. For anyone wanting to be on the edge of missional church, I recommend reading this book.
Mar 3rd, 2010
bobcornwall
Writing to a church that prizes individualism and autonomy, Dwight Friesen preaches networking. In a world that seems increasingly polarized – despite the ever expanding opportunities to communicate – he embraces a message of unity, what Mainline churches call ecumenicity. The model for achieving this unity is different from the one embraced by the ecumenical movement. It’s not institutional; it’s a grass roots effort, involving efforts to build links between separated people. Friesen isn’t focused on getting denominations to agree on a theological construct. Instead, he envisions people getting caught up God’s vision and begin joining together in giving witness in word and deed to God’s missional presence in the world. An image that appears in the later stages of the book is that of a social virus spreading through society, permeating it with God’s presence and vision.
To get a sense of where this conversation seems to be going, it might be helpful to know something of the author of Thy Kingdom Connected. Dwight Friesen is a youngish Emergent former pastor teaching practical theology at a rather new and upstart seminary in Seattle (Mars Hill Graduate School). He’s evangelical, but his evangelicalism seems to be open and generous. Oh, and I might add that he’s wearing an ear ring in the back cover picture. The author is technologically savvy, understands the new sciences, and is conversant with the latest trends in society. This background helps illuminate Friesen’s sense of vision. Unlike some of the Emergent and Missional works I’ve read, even though he is critical at points of the way things are going with institutions, he’s not overly anti-institutional. Rather than focus on the problems, he seeks to find clues that would help us move forward — especially forms of social media such as Facebook.
In Friesen’s vision, the Christian faith is akin to a conversation. It is relational, even as the triune God is relational. It is dynamic and creative. While Friesen is critical of religious institutions, he doesn’t seem interested in tilting at windmills or tossing out what exists. Instead he wants to offer a new paradigm, one that isn’t atomistic or static – as he correctly notes, is often true of our institutions. They are stymied by conflicting interests and concerns (consider our governmental systems for a moment).
In the new paradigm, the world is envisioned as an integrated whole. Those involved in leadership in this model are called to facilitate linkages and help create hubs that will connect people together. Again, as models to emulate, he points us to such internet staples as Facebook, Linked-In, and Twitter. Churches are not so much institutions as “Christ Commons” or “Christ-Clusters,” and pastors serve as network ecologists, helping to facilitate linkages to the hubs.
The book is composed of five clusters, which lead from “Seeing Connectively” to “Connective Practices.” He begins by inviting us to look at the world through a set of lenses, moves on to describe the kingdom in networking terms, shares how leadership functions in this new reality, and concludes with two sections, one dealing with the church and the other with missional practices. The goal is to help Christians and churches become connected, understand how they are linked, and understand that the church is called, as the body of Christ, to be part of God’s transformative work. We are, he says to be “And’ers,” linking others to Jesus and to the kingdom. He writes:
Missional linking is marked by a kingdom imagination that, when confronted with “otherness,” is able to see an And’ing in Christ; Jew and Gentile, slave and free, men and women, Republican and Democrat, modern and postmodern, left and right. The way of Christ is to become the And. God’s mission, if you choose to live into it, is to boldly link where no one has linked before; this is the Christ conjunction (p. 135).
Such a view would seem ideologically centrist, or perhaps a sense of pragmatism – trying to bridge the gaps in a very polarized society. But, his sense here is that the goal of the kingdom is reconciliation, “the linking together those who have been separated” (p. 134).
In the past, even in the biblical text, the church was envisioned as a lonely light house, shining its light into the darkness. Such an image is less useful today, and thus we might want to turn to the vision of a city, at night, its many lights centered around a hub, being our new image of the church. To get there we must move from a bounded set mentality to centered set one. Borrowing from anthropologist Paul Hiebert, Friesen suggests (rightly in my mind) that focusing on maintaining boundaries will not get us to where we want to be. Instead, we should focus on the center, that which binds us together. Moving toward Christ, we cluster together, and thus are bound together by the Holy Spirit.
The book is interesting and challenging. Those in the younger set will understand the language it is used. Those who are not as adept in social networking, especially clergy and church leaders over fifty might struggle. One thing that’s not dealt with very well in much of the literature (and that includes this book) is what we do with those who are not adept at social networking. How do we keep the older one’s from falling through the cracks? Now, I realize many over-seventy people are very active on the internet, but not to the degree that the younger set is. This is a question, that at least for now needs to be considered. It is one that I as a pastor of a long standing, rather traditional congregation, that desires to be missional, must keep in mind. Still, this is a book worth engaging with all due seriousness. Let us begin the conversation.
Mar 4th, 2010
godgrown
Thy Kingdom Connected makes a case for the church in a world where Facebook has replaced the primary commons for people to connect.
Studies everywhere are bemoaning Generation Y’s unprecedented exodus from not just the church, but of Christianity. They posit that kids these days are just fed up with the church’s hypocrisy, its close-mindedness, boring worship events, and the like. The truth is – that the church has been like that for generations! That may be their explicit reason for leaving church, but if church has always been just as mind-numbing, why is it that this generation in particular is dropping like flies?
With this question in mind, consider the unprecedented use of smart phones, Web 2.0 technology and social media. Think about it – the very thing that people “went to church” for in past generations now is at your finger tips! Facebook is “My Kingdom, Connected.” My photos, my status, my events, my “friends…”
And yet Dwight J. Friesen prepares us with new metaphors and language to connect us to a different kind of Kingdom. He plays in other fields of study, from biology, physics, mechanic, ecology…even knitting…and teases out rumors of God’s networked-Kingdom.
Missiologists and church planters could use new vocabulary to describe the fresh vision of God’s people in today’s world – and while Friesen’s language at times leaves you wondering if “there was a single English word in that last sentence…” he seems to invite his readers to explore a new landscape of metaphor and paradigm for living as a networked ecology of Christ.
I am an organic church advocate and practitioner, helping facilitate a network of faith communities meeting in homes, coffee shops, and other places life happens… I found great encouragement in Thy Kingdom Connected and found myself setting aside some of the metaphors and descriptors as a means of under-girding our theology and ecclesiology here in Chicago.
So often in theology and in church planting we pick apart models, theories, Scriptures, and just about everything else…leaving the issue just about as lifeless as a dissected frog in biology class. But Friesen takes a page from the “Science of Life” – asking the question, “What would it take to develop a theological vision that enhances life?” At the core of life-centered theology is one that cultivates life, rather than picks it apart – seeing theology and ecclesiology as inherently relational and therefore, not approachable as an “it” — as would have been done in the typical modern worldview — but as a “we” – and a dynamic, open-ended “we” at that. We are in the petri dish, we are in the linked network we are ourselves exploring.
In Friesen’s understanding of leadership, we are to engage our community the way Google engages its users. No one goes to Google for its own sake – it is a springboard to resources and information. Leaders too are a linking catalyst…a hub to the resources to the very best that God has to offer. This is more than having a big library – this is cultivating a culture (ecology) of a organic, spiritual system, fully connected as an “all-channel network” — meaning giving not only your resources but pointing to each other as resources to access for strengthening the links of a church network. This is the nature of leadership – influencing the people-system for catalytic transformation.
I disagreed with Friesen’s approach (not his content) regarding the Christ-Commons and Christ-Clusters. He seemed to say that Christ-Commons were regularly scheduled events whereas Clusters were serendipitous fly-by-night collections of Christians. I agree that there are both kinds of “groups” in the Church – The folks walking to Emmaus on Easter may be to him what is known as a “Christ-Cluster” – which is fine – but to call that “the soul of the church” is a little much if you ask me. Spontaneous engagements with community and the Spirit is simply a natural overflow of family life together – which can happen in a regularly scheduled program or in a weekend retreat. People grow from both “quality and quantity” time together and with the Spirit.
Our network in Christ extends beyond our little crew that meets in my living room – it is more than our network of organic churches in Chicago. It is broader than the global church in our day, and reaches further back than Pentecost and beyond the 2nd Coming of Christ. It is the Church Universal – it is the Bride to Be. Entangled in the Network of God, who was, is, and is to come. Thy, not My, Kingdom Connected!
http://godgrown.net/blog
Mar 13th, 2010
ngilmour
Thy Kingdom Connected: What the Church Can Learn from Facebook, the Internet, and Other Networks
Review Cross-posted from TheChristian Humanist Blog
I think I have a new favorite Emergent writer, or at least someone to join Scot McKnight at the top of my list. Although I have some concerns with some moves that this book makes (which is nothing new for my reviews, no?), I came away from this book with some new ideas to contemplate, some mental tools to try out on the relationships that constitute human existence, and a sense that I’d found someone who is asking the same sorts of questions that I’m asking but who has turned to different intellectual traditions to start forming answers.
Networks and the Basics of the Book
Friesen takes his vocabularies of networks, nodes, connections, and clusters from network theory, that hybrid of computer science and sociology that begins to some extent with existentialist philosophy and picks up serious steam as computer networks become one of the primary media and in some cases the main medium through which human beings in the developed world relate to one another. The main features of network thinking that set it apart from some of its rivals and predecessors are a focus on connection rather than being-in-itself, an insistence that any thing’s or person’s being is nothing less than the sum of her or his or its connections to other entities in the world; and a more focused attention on the ways in which human relationships within those networks differ from one another, this casual acquaintance neither flattened out to be equal with that intimate friendship nor one set in hierarchical preference over another, except in the thick description of this or that “cluster” moment. (I’ll write a bit more about clusters, one of my favorite parts of the book, later.)
The bad news here is that Friesen falls to the temptation so common to these sorts of books, namely to divide the course of Western history into three segments called pre-modern, modern, and postmodern, and as with most such attempts to chop history into chunks defined by the current power structures, it lacks nuance. The good news is that he does provide a selection of excerpts from thinkers as diverse as George Bernard Shaw, John Muir, Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and the Dalai Lama, each of which highlights the interconnectedness of reality and the sense in which no thing in itself means anything exclusively in itself. (As someone who studies and teaches 17th-century literature I was quite disappointed that John Donne’s “Meditation XVII” did not feature in the list, but I don’t expect seminary professors outside of the church history department to pay too much mind to folks before Hegel.) Moreover, he provides a nice argument against reductionist anti-Institutionalism, comparing it to Gnosticism’s nay-saying to embodied community (106).
Beyond those good things, Friesen also holds his own importance lightly, making fun of himself and his neologisims at one point and throughout the book insisting that whatever importance he holds is because of, yes, the good people with whom he’s connected over his years. He relates this conception of his place in the world as he explicates what he calls “the parable of Google” (83), a vision of authority within the Church that is “revealed, not held” (115), a conception that makes me worry, but I’ll get to that later.
Christ-Commons and Christ-Cluster
By far the most interesting set of ideas in the book (they’re interconnected, dig?) are what Friesen calls Christ-Commons and Christ-Cluster, and I do think that this constellation of relationships is as fine a way as I’ve seen to cut some of the Gordian knots that arise when folks like me (a Deacon in a relatively conservative Christian Churches congregation) and folks like many of my friends (who are parts of various Emergent cohorts, house churches, and other “EC” aggregations) run into when we talk ecclesiolgy. Rather than imagining such things as opposing entities of similar kind, Friesen locates them relative to each other as parts of a larger body of experience.
Christ-Commons refers to sustained traditions in Friesen’s picture of things. A venerable institution like the Catholic Church, an intellectual movement like Realism (in the medieval sense) or Calvinism, an Emergent cohort, and an evangelical megachurch’s small group all stand as Christ-Commons, relatively stable groups of connections that exist to serve a larger end but nonetheless exert some energy to sustain themselves. Friesen points to the genuine human goods like stability, responsibility, and patience that come from belonging to such while noting that they’re not the sum total of human experience, much less the Christian experience.
Christ-Clusters, on the other hand, are momentary happenings, things like the ad hoc outpourings of support that happen in the face of disaster and the seemingly spontaneous collaborations that often arise when online acquaintances put their heads together and launch into grand conversations about this or that topic. Friesen notes that much of what Paul writes about the movement of the Spirit in the letters to the Corinthians fits this pattern better than it does the more fixed organizations that he calls Christ-Commons, and he notes that Christ-Commons are helpful to facilitating Christ-Clusters precisely insofar as they encourage strong, intimate connections and less involved acquaintance among people with a common cause. The ad hoc character of a cluster, in other words, can derive great strength from prior and intentional communities that arise from the commons.
What causes frustration and sometimes even enmity, Friesen suggests, is that when some folks try to perpetuate those momentary and Spirit-initiated Christ-Cluster moments, they either remain blind to or become resentful of the fact that any network node that persists is going to become a Commons, losing the character of the Cluster when the moment that calls the Cluster into being has passed. In the case of blindness, the frustration comes from an anti-institutionalism simultaneous with the inevitable solidification of institution, and in the case of resentment, it’s likely to result in posts decrying “the death of Emergent” every three months or so.
Perhaps this relationship was more than obvious to everyone except for me, but since I took this book on, I’ve been thinking differently about relationships between the decline of mainline Protestantism, the rise and self-doubt that I’ve seen in Emergent, the pains that I’ve seen firsthand as evangelical congregations don’t keep up with the megachurch Joneses, and an array of other phenomena.
Friesen Exacerbates My Hangups with Trinity and Church
I honestly don’t know whether to attribute my first worry to my own theological timidity or to genuine problems with the book, but I’m almost certain that the second problem follows from the first.
As I noted in a post last week about the way that I do theology as someone who does more preaching than theological-book-publishing, I tend to make divine revelation the starting point for theological reflection, and more often than not, the form and content of that revelation is enough to fill the time generally designated for a homily, so I generally don’t go much farther. I certainly confess the Trinity, but I’ve studied just enough Church history that I suspect that any possible articulation of the nature of the Trinity beyond “Trinity? Yep.” is at least somewhat likely to fall into some council’s or theologian’s catalogue of heresies. Please understand that I don’t begrudge anyone else’s attempts to articulate the real nature of the ontological Trinity; I’d just prefer to stay safely on the economic side.
With that disposition in place, readers can certainly understand my unease when Friesen, establishing good reasons for using network theory in theology, refers to the Spirit as “the perichoretic relationship of the Father and the Son” (57, italics original). The implication with which Friesen wants to run is that “We is not simply a statement of relationship but actually suggests our relationships themselves are living beings reflective of the Triune God” (57-58). Friesen is duly careful not to elevate the status of human relationships to ontological equality with a Person of the Trinity, but the move still troubles me for a couple reasons. For one, there’s the third-man question that plagues Plato: if the Spirit is the relationship between the Father and the Son, then what or whom is Jesus promising to send exactly in the gospel of John, and what would be the name for the relationship between the Son and the relationship-between-the-Father-and-the-Son? And once we named that, would there be another name for the relationship between the Son and the relationship-between-the-Son-and-the-relationship-between-the-Father-and-the-Son? Certainly I don’t need to go farther than that: even if the assertion is compelling aesthetically, it makes no sense philosophically. My second hangup is that I’ve had people who actually do Trinitarian theology insist that the diminution of any Person of the Trinity from full Personhood is a bad thing, and although I’m not exactly sure what Personhood is, this move seems to diminish it.
All that said, remember that this criticism is from the cowardly lion who runs from his own tail when faced with the task of talking intelligently about the Trinity.
The implications of this picture of Trinity, of course, have directly to do with ecclesiology. If the Person of the Trinity is a relationship between prior personalities, it only makes sense for the authority granted by that Person to arise not from that person’s mysterious choosing of this person to heal and that one to speak in the tongues of angels and a third to exercise the office of teaching; on the contrary, as I noted before, in Friesen’s vision of the life of the Church, “Authority is revealed, not held” (115). I recognize that such a vision of the work of the Spirit is not prima facie incompatible with the text of Paul, but it would, I imagine, make certain sustained activities like oversight (what episkopoi do) or shepherding (what presbyteroi do) or teaching (what didaskoloi do) rather difficult. In Friesen’s vision, like others I’ve seen, the relatively chaotic gifting of the gospel of John and the letters to the Corinthians seem to take pride of place from the more orderly systems of the letters to Timothy and Titus. I’m not saying that I’ve ever seen an ecclesiology that balances those two in a way that compels everybody, but it is a concern that concerns me.
One more bit of philosophical trouble I had with the book has to do with its use of the words order and chaos. Friesen admits that he borrows his usage not from philosophical but from corporate-managerial vocabularies, but it still troubles me that he wrote a sentence (fragment) like “A time for chaos and a time for order” (96). If there is a time proper to one thing and a time proper to another thing, then it’s not chaos. I realize that this is a quibble, that a simple change from “order and chaos” to “conservation and innovation” or even “tradition and the individual talent” would easily enough make his point read more valid, but I figured I should note this and say as a larger point that part of Friesen’s charm, that he shifts so effortlessly from one vocabulary to another, is also a source of some fuzziness. For readers alright with a bit of fuzziness, that should not be too much of a problem.
Worth a Look
Overall, although at the end of the day I’m still uncomfortable with its vision of the Trinity and the resulting ecclesiology that flows from it, I think that Thy Kingdom Connected stands as a worthwhile book for contemplating in new terms some of the questions that have really troubled the Church in my own generation, and as with most books, I think that someone doing a different sort of Trinitarian theology (in other words, someone skirting another set of heresies) could easily enough adapt that understanding to Friesen’s philosophical and sociological insights. This is a book worth a look for a goodly range of readers, and I’m glad that Mike Morell sent it my way.
Mar 14th, 2010
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