Parish Church • dwight j. friesen

leadership is conversation

After sitting with the question of “the nature of leadership” for some time, I find myself moving toward a very simple understanding. Is leadership is about conversation. Leadership has less to do with the clarity of vision, and much more

Dwight J. Friesen May 6, 2005November 20, 2020

More on ‘Consultation’

Well, I’m back to the world of the web connected. After a week in LA at Fuller Seminary and in Portland at George Fox University without access, it feels so good to have my networked-mind back. The time at the

Dwight J. Friesen May 2, 2005January 14, 2021

woodinville alliance church

Preaching at Woodinville Alliance Church June 27, 2005. Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen May 1, 2005January 18, 2021

Consultation on Missional/Emergent Leadership

Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger at Fuller and Mark Priddy (Allelon) are bringing a group of Avant-church influencers together for a few days to discuss church, networking, training, leadership, etc. I head out very early this morning. This will be

Dwight J. Friesen April 26, 2005January 14, 2021

morphogenesis of church life, 2.0

Cellular Mitosis is cell division in which one somatic cell divides to produce two cells each of which has the identical genetic content (same number of chromosomes) as the original somatic cell. An interesting question to reflect on is when

Dwight J. Friesen April 24, 2005January 14, 2021

morphogenesis of church life

I’ve been giving some more thought to the connections of Cellular Mitosis with church growth and church planting. The body of Christ appears to be a not unlike a multi-cellular living organism. Multi-cellular living organisms contain more than one cell

Dwight J. Friesen April 22, 2005January 14, 2021

what is emergent?

Yesterday I participated in one of the most promising North American emergent-type events I have seen in some time. Karen Ward and the Church of the Apostles sponsored “mission shaped church: a learning party.” A couple of things that were

Dwight J. Friesen April 18, 2005October 4, 2022

mission shaped church

Presenting “emerging theology” at the mission_shaped_church learning party sponsored by Karen Ward and the Church of the Apostles. April 17, 2005 Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen April 17, 2005October 4, 2022

shaping of things to come

Yesterday Joel, Tim and I went to a day long conference with Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch (authors of, The Shaping of Things to Come). The event was hosted and sponsored by Zoe, a church community in Tacoma, pastored by

Dwight J. Friesen April 13, 2005October 5, 2022

re-church

The Church of the Apostles (Seattle, WA) and Moot (Westminster, UK) are sponsoring what is promising to be a great conversational space. Click for more details. peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen April 7, 2005December 8, 2020

pray for the Pope

Please pray for 84 year-old Pope John Paul II. His health is failing and the Roman Church is preparing for his home-going. As the Pontiff for about one-half of all the world’s Christians. He has already received the “Holy Viaticum”

Dwight J. Friesen March 31, 2005October 7, 2022

emerging orthodox v2.0

Sitting with the wise replies to the Emerging Orthodox post I am impressed again with the great wisdom which comes from engaging the Holy Tradition. The wisdom of “us” (which always includes the presence of God by the Holy Spirit)

Dwight J. Friesen March 29, 2005November 19, 2020

emerging orthodox

Sky posted a few questions and challenges in response to my March 24th entry. Sky asked: “Can you explain how the statement that the Protestant Reformation gave the bible ‘back to the people’ applies to the vast communities in the

Dwight J. Friesen March 26, 2005October 7, 2022

Open Listening?

Karen Ward pointed me to an interesting article on dangers of the “emergent church movement.” The article cited Dr. Donald A. Carson (with his new book, Becoming Conversant with Emergent), Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. (President of Southern Baptist Theological

Dwight J. Friesen March 24, 2005October 10, 2022

church: body & soul

There have been times throughout Western history when people talked as though the spiritual mattered, and the physical did not. Soul = good; body = bad. The move to holistic viewing of the human person in community seems like a

Dwight J. Friesen March 24, 2005October 10, 2022

pastoring as bi-vocation

Many avant-church leaders/hosts/facilitators/curates/etc. are serving in bi-vocational ways; meaning they earn their living working a “regular” job in order to support their community habit. Some have made this a conscious decision, others have been forced into this bi-vo-role by slower

Dwight J. Friesen March 23, 2005October 10, 2022

Emerging Women

This week in Seattle there is a gathering of Emerging Women’s Leadership. This initiative is one of the most important to be born of the avant-church conversation to date. The “emergent” conversation I’ve been most familiar with, appeared to begin

Dwight J. Friesen March 8, 2005December 13, 2022

life

As is so often the case with at least me, when my journal is quiet – life isn’t. In addition to observing the 36th anniversary of my birth, I had a pretty full teaching week; 20 hours in the classroom.

Dwight J. Friesen March 7, 2005October 11, 2022

Limitations of Cross-Cultural Missions

One of the goals of cross-cultural missions – in some traditions – has to generate a more nearly universal Christian witness, one that has pan-human validity, thus to attain a universally applicable theology and Christian ethic; its primary goal is

Dwight J. Friesen February 13, 2005September 14, 2022

influence

The cover story of the current issue of Time is “The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals.” Listed among the powerful voices of Rick Warren, James Dodson, Richard John Neuhaus, Billy/Franklin Graham, J. I. Packer, Bill Hybels, John Stott, and sixteen others,

Dwight J. Friesen February 3, 2005October 12, 2022

church finding culture(s)

Recently I was again asked about D. A. Carson’s comments regarding the emerging church. The inquirer was curious whether or not I’d recommend the recordings (previous posts, 1 & 2). I always value listening to those views might appear to

Dwight J. Friesen January 19, 2005October 12, 2022

hosting forum

Today’s entry is intended for use by those who proactively shape the ethos of Quest by participating as our hosting forum. Quest’s “Hosting Forum” is the gathering of participants from our spiritual community who intentionally & collectively discern on behalf

Dwight J. Friesen December 21, 2004January 14, 2021

where is the emerging church going?

Teresa Acheson, who is a seminary student and radio host (listen live, www.ciay.ca Fridays @ 10pm PST) interviewed me as part of her research for a paper entitled Where is the Emerging Church Heading? She was gracious enough to let

Dwight J. Friesen November 8, 2004October 25, 2022

PoMo Q & R

A reader of my blog recently asked a few questions about ministry in a postmodern context. While I am certainly seeking to engage our emerging cultural context I can’t claim to be an expert in these matters. I will say

Dwight J. Friesen November 5, 2004January 14, 2021

emerging church q & a

Today I was interviewed by a student researching the “emerging church.” Here are my somewhat esoteric responses: > Can you think of a model for the emerging church? When I use the term “emerging church” I am not simply referring

Dwight J. Friesen November 2, 2004October 25, 2022

leading postures

A few years ago I asked a few people to help me see myself as “pastor” and “leader”. Through the process of that three month conversation I made a number of commitments that I revisit often and fail even frequently.

Dwight J. Friesen October 28, 2004September 14, 2022

Ecclesial Being-Unto-Death

Like most people 😉 my mind occasionally drifts to happy thoughts of Heidegger’s notion of Dasein as being-unto-death. Marty (can I call him Marty?) reminds us that when people becomes aware of their inevitable death; really aware, like after a

Dwight J. Friesen October 26, 2004September 28, 2022

leading… why no one IS “leader”

I was rereading The Web of Life and The Hidden Connections by Capra this morning (he may be best known for his book The Tao of Physics). These thoughts come from his work: A living social system of any sort, be

Dwight J. Friesen October 13, 2004September 13, 2022

the E-word

Avant-churches don’t spend much time talking about evangelism anymore. Maybe for good reason. The fifty years following WWII Western evangelicalism produced hordes of evangelism techniques, manuals, tracts, laws, programs, para-church ministries, etc. This was vital to the modern evangelical project.

Dwight J. Friesen September 26, 2004May 6, 2022

the “parish” corrective

The return of the parish appears to be an ecclesial movement sweeping Western Christ-communities. I’ve been thinking of it as the parish corrective. I would characterize this corrective as a local church move to embody “full life” or embody the

Dwight J. Friesen September 24, 2004December 7, 2020