There is a strong emphasis put on keeping those in the fold of the Church and going out and recruiting the heathens who do not come to Church. Instead Billings has so graciously broaden the prospective to show the Church that the people who are not coming should still be a part of the Church community and their needs are just as important as those inside the Church. The greatest opportunities for the Church are when the ‘outsiders’ decide they have a reason to come and use the Church as a resource. They may need the Church for a baptism, a wedding, or a funeral; these opportunities are great to show that the Church bears life and is there to support them. The present society appears to have an identity predicament with the Church, because there is a tremendous amount of self-help propaganda in this society; therefore they simply do not care about a commitment with the Church, but can read about how to be better people in the comfort and safety of their own homes.
Puritans agree that only visible saints should have Church membership but in England everyone could have Church membership so the Puritans came to the Americas to set up a Church where only “visible saints” could have membership. The Massachusetts Bay colony was set up by non-Separatist Puritans and they came also to set up their own Church because the changes in the way the Church in England was run was too slow for them. The way their government and schools were set up reflected their religious reasons. The government was to enforce God's commandments and every child was taught the Lord's words along with their curriculum. Harvard was established to train local boys for the ministry.
First of all the careers should make sure the service users are made more than welcome. To find out the best way if communicating with the service user, e.g. sign language, or the preferred language they choose to talk. Also careers have to understand that different service users have different beliefs and that it should be respected so if they have to go to church careers have to let them as everyone has their own rights, also careers have to let them follow their own religion. Also both careers and service users have to make an agreement on a ‘care plan’ and make sure it is followed by both service users and careers, for example this could happen in a care home as everyone has to understand others and follow the care plan that has been decided for every individual.
Many examples in the book made me consider perspectives that I had never thought of before. In my opinion, this book definitely stirred up a reassurance of my place in society and what can be done to liberate the oppressed. I believe the voices represented in this book can cause negative reactions from some churches because it goes against what is and has been normal. Churches would not really like to change the view of “white” Christ to be a diverse Christ of another race because it would change certain aspects and power. The church is called to be one diverse body of God, but as churches can remain dominant to one race, it becomes difficult to incorporate diversity into what already is established.
Each type of chaplaincy has its unique characteristics but overall a chaplain’s duty is to provide for the spiritual wellbeing of those he is serving, no matter which field he chooses. In each different field chaplains are able to fill a role that full time pastors cannot. Since chaplains are out among those they are ministering too, they have a level of access that pastors do not. However just like pastors, chaplains must have a personal conviction for the work they do. “Outside of assurance of personal conversion to Christ, no other spiritual conviction will help a pastor in his journey more than a firm conviction that God has called him to preach.
Effective missionaries are lifelong learners of culture, working to understand where their people currently are so they can lead them to a true, yet truly enculturated, understanding of the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. They understand that the core of the Good News can come wrapped in different packages and expressions. That is all to say, this book by Reggie McNeal resonates with my passion for people with a missional faith. That we should be more missional. To survive as a church in this modern western world, we need a huge paradigm shift of being missional.
They were selfish, and only kept the Indians around until they had what they needed from them, then they shunned and isolated them from their own lands. They were only interested in getting what they needed from the Indians so they could establish their colonies, especially their land. One of the major tribes that tried to befriend the English were the Powhattans. They were interested in helping the English in areas such as trade and setting them up with land. They also offered to join as allies against neighboring tribes.
Churches need to go beyond just talking about social justice issues. Instead they need to get involved by doing mission trips, presentations, making flyers and initiating change starting with the world around them. We as a church and community have to be the voice for those who do not have a voice in today’s world. We have to inspire others to want to make a change and we have the power make a difference, it just takes one act and we can reach goals of stopping social injustice. Prayer really does make a difference, because with God on our side we can achieve anything.
Spain and other countries thought they had to get rid of the Indians, so they killed many of them, and pushed them away from their home lands after they got whatever they needed from them, but the French sought out a different approach. They wanted to have a good relationship with the Indians, and therefore were a lot friendlier. One of the biggest things that brought the French and Indians together was trade. France was very interested in furs, spices, and other things, while the Indians were intrigued by the goods that the French had brought over. The Indians and the French even established a region around the Great lakes that was known as the ‘Middle Ground’ were they could trade and negotiate with each other without anyone imposing on one another.
“[The church] should be purified of their unregenerate members…heretical clergymen…bishops and archbishops, but they were nevertheless churches and must be embraced as churches” (Morgan 31). These non-separating Puritans made it their goal to create a superlative Christian community in the New World. In doing so they hoped to serve as an example to encourage reform within the Church of England. Morgan, author of The Puritan Dilemma, describes the non-separating Puritans overall view of the Church of England to be more positive than negative. “[The church] had bought the means of salvation to many of their members and might still do so” (Morgan 31).