Parish Church

Interviewed by theooze

Almost a year ago theOoze.com interviewed me for their Seedstories deal, which has been undergoing a retooling for some time. Seedstories is a curated collection of stories and interviews with people from around the globe who are pioneering new expressions

Dwight J. Friesen January 7, 2004December 8, 2022

why relational church?

why relational church? by dwight j. friesen Doug has a love/hate relationship with the church.  Some of his fondest memories, his life shaping moments and his deep relationships have been within the body of Christ.  He became a pastor to

Dwight J. Friesen December 17, 2003May 4, 2022

Opening

A friend emailed a couple of questions yesterday: “What are the drawbacks to Post-Modernism? What are weaknesses within the ‘post-modern’ church?” Here are my efforts at a response… There are likely as many drawbacks to the pomo as there are

Dwight J. Friesen December 11, 2003November 14, 2022

Trans-Church

In dialogue with my friend Thomas, we found ourselves wondering about the church as trans. Take a look at the “da Vinci Code” for some of the impetus for the discussion. The church seems to struggle with its identity. One

Dwight J. Friesen December 2, 2003November 15, 2022

Worship Search

I’m not exactly looking for new forms of worship; as much as I am wanting to learn from what appears to be a human impulse to worship. Human beings seem to have a penchant to worship. Forming desire for the

Dwight J. Friesen October 11, 2003November 18, 2022

Spiritual Leadership

I just returned from a denominational conference and was shocked by the “us” verses “them” conversation representing the clergy verses the laity. As though “we” clergy (or whatever we are) have an experience of God that we need to lead

Dwight J. Friesen October 10, 2003November 18, 2022

Resurrection is Impossibility

Michael Jinkins, writes: “When the church faces the prospect of its own demise (for whatever reasons), it faces a critical moment when its vocation is called into question, when it has the unparalleled opportunity to comprehend and render its life.

Dwight J. Friesen September 18, 2003November 21, 2022

Post-Missional Presence?

I continue to wrestle with what feels like a growing tension between the Missional and Incarnational approaches to life. I may be way of base here, does anyone else feel this tension? Is it just me? I guess when I

Dwight J. Friesen September 11, 2003November 22, 2022

Church Discovering

Recently I was in a discussion about whether we should still plant churches… or even, would the Apostle Paul plant churches today. It seems to me that we need new language to discuss the idea of pioneering new Christ-communities. I’m

Dwight J. Friesen September 10, 2003November 22, 2022

Walking With

A couple of weeks ago Mark Humphries – Winnipeg artist, spiritual innovator and community curate – emailed me regarding how I might define ‘relationality’ within the rhythm of community gathering. Mark’s email, alone is a testament to his generosity… I

Dwight J. Friesen September 4, 2003November 22, 2022

Relational Church Worship

One of the people I’m doing life with (Jeff Baker) in our little community of faith, wrote a brief reflection paper (for Mars Hill Graduate School) on worship in which he talks about quest. I asked Jeff if I could

Dwight J. Friesen August 23, 2003November 24, 2022

un-worship services

I’ve been having this overwhelming sense that western protestant white Church “worship services” may ultimately have the opposite effect that we hope for. Among other things, we intend to lift up Christ, to praise him, and so on, however. The

Dwight J. Friesen August 21, 2003May 4, 2022

my bi-vocational life

Wow, I’m tired. This bi-vocational thing has a way of wearing a person out. I guess we all feel this way from time-to-time, huh? Trying to juggle life as a husband, dad, pastor, community member, employee, doctoral student, let alone

Dwight J. Friesen August 20, 2003May 4, 2022

Missing my Christ-Commons

Today will be the fourth Gathering in the seven year history of Quest that I won’t be there for. Lynette, Pascal and I are taking just a couple of days as a family. I feel such a tension, one the

Dwight J. Friesen August 10, 2003November 19, 2021

Leadership Called into Existence

I have been appreciating some of the recent “leadership” literature emphasizing that leaders are not made nor born as much as they are situationally called into existence. I’ve been telling my community for years that the clearer the sense of

Dwight J. Friesen August 7, 2003November 24, 2022

Second Guessing

Ever since I posted yesterday’s blog I’ve been wondering whether I should have. Lynette read it and asked me whether I had intended to make, even a subtle connection to the controversy of the last few months, about gay men

Dwight J. Friesen August 2, 2003November 19, 2021

Incarnation/Syncretism

I’m wrestling with “Incarnational living” and wondering about the relationship of syncretism & incarnation. Doesn’t it seem that to be incarnate is to enter in fully… to be present… even while holding imagination for “in yet not of” there may

Dwight J. Friesen August 1, 2003November 24, 2022

preaching?????

What does it mean to proclaim Christ? This fall I will be guiding/teaching a coarse for a college on public speaking in ministry – preaching. One of my personal challenges is I don’t preach in “that way” any more. Should

Dwight J. Friesen July 24, 2003November 7, 2021

accidental church planting

Ok, so I’m a church planter who is in danger of giving up on the idea of church planting. I’m not even sure I see much Biblical support for church planting. I see Christ sending people as bearers of the

Dwight J. Friesen July 24, 2003November 7, 2021

Where were all the Synagogue-Planters?

Ok so I just posted this on http://www.emergentvillage.com Why didn’t Jesus send out his disciples as synagogue-planters? Could it be because Jesus sent them out as people in relationship with the Divine, to bear witness to the Kin-dom of that

Dwight J. Friesen July 3, 2003November 24, 2022

church immersion

The other day I had a conversation with a woman who, though she may not have used these words, was challenging the notion of the church efforts to be fully present in a pomo/post-critical context. It doesn’t matter whether we

Dwight J. Friesen June 11, 2003November 7, 2021

Church Faces Death

“Depend upon it, Sir,when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight,it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” Samuel Johnson, Sept 19, 1777 Michael Jinkins begins his book, “The Church faces Death” with this quote from Samuel Johnson.  If

Dwight J. Friesen June 7, 2003November 7, 2021

Ordination

Thoughts regarding ordination: I understand ordination to be a human recognition of God’s calling on a person’s life. Yet in practice it is a gatekeeping practice to ensure that those in power have a means of controlling who is let

Dwight J. Friesen November 5, 2002October 24, 2022

Communal Worship?

Thinking about worship… What is it that the church can do in worship corporately that the church can’t do individually? How did worship devolve from a wholistic way of life to a gathering on a Sunday morning? What if how

Dwight J. Friesen November 1, 2002November 14, 2022

Never Go to Church Again

“Go to church” . . . what does this even mean? I sense it may be time for us to collaborate toward destroying the erroneous notion of “going to Church.”  Jesus never told us to “go” to anything.  Jesus’ invitation

Dwight J. Friesen July 22, 2002November 6, 2021

Church Covers Up Priests’ Abuse

The story that broke in Boston yesterday about the Roman Catholic Church’s intentional cover-up of ongoing sexual abuse of children by priest(s) makes me feel sick and angry. All those kids being violated is nothing short of evil. And to

Dwight J. Friesen January 7, 2002October 7, 2022

Speaking @ Trinity Chapel

On Friday l have the opportunity to join Trinity Lutheran College and speak in their chapel. I’ve been asked to speak to the kinds of leaders I sense that the church needs now and into the future. I’m titling my

Dwight J. Friesen September 19, 2001October 22, 2022

The Big Church Shift

From the birth of the church to today, the continuity and spread of the gospel has been dependant on the church passing leadership to the emerging generation.  A cosmic relay race with eternal consequences and life altering ramifications. We can

Dwight J. Friesen May 17, 2001November 5, 2021

Quest… In the Transition

North American culture is changing.  So is church culture(s). Some have suggested that culture is reinventing itself at a faster pace than ever before… while none of us have lived at another time something inside me senses that this may

Dwight J. Friesen April 18, 2001November 5, 2021

questions asked

Recently I helped facilitate an “Emerging Leaders” conference sponsored by a modernist-mission denomination.  All of the presenters/facilitators were asked the following questions, my responses are listed: Ministry Title? pastor / mystic / friend / artist / missionary / husband /

Dwight J. Friesen March 9, 2001November 5, 2021