Provocations & Pantings

Earlier this week my friend Joe Thorn shared a new ministry paradigm which he has called “The Table, the Pulpit, and the Square.” Here is his basic description:

The Table – a domestic ministry: The table represents the Christian home, and more specifically the home as the center for hospitality. This is the most accessible, customizable, and perhaps most critical ministry our people can engage in.

The Pulpit – a liturgic ministry: The pulpit represents the gathered church where teaching/preaching is central.

The Square – a civic ministry: The square represents the town square; specifically the church’s cultural engagement outside of the first two ministry realms. This square ministry takes the form of participation, dialog, and service.

I really like this work that Joe as done for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it encompasses the three areas of life: family, church, and world.  I have also been reading Rainer and Geiger’s book, Simple Church, and find several similarities in the simplicity and big picture mentality Joe’s paradigm encompasses.  I encourage you to check with Joe’s blog on a regular basis as he is sharing some of the work he is doing at Redeemer Fellowship.  In the archives, you can also see stuff he has done on developing elders as well.

Something I have been thinking about is working with a discipleship process that is centered on worship: personal worship, family worship, and corporate worship, all areas which involve devotion and discipline.  I hope to hash that out in the coming weeks.