For this class (MC500: The Church in Mission) we are to:

write, on the average, 50 words for each class session attended. These 50 words are due at the start of the next day of class in paper, by e-mail, or on your personal blog. The topic will be, “My thoughts on the last class session.”

This is my personal blog.  And these are my 50 words:

It was good to be back in a classroom after taking so many IDL and online courses.  I particularly appreciated our discussion of the shift from Church to Kingdom in Mission.  I think this may be one of the more significant aspects of the ideological shifts taking place across the Christian spectrum.  It certainly has been a key aspect of much of the emerg(ing)(ent) conversation and in missiological circles (see “The Three Eras of Mission History Robby Butler” in Mission Frontiers).  Kingdom is not a human effort – something that we build (we can’t), we can live a certain way as the people of God that allows for the Kingdom to come – we are a sign, instrument, and foretaste (ala Newbigin).  As we discussed this I couldn’t help but think of gardening/farming.  I don’t grow tomatoes, rather I attempt to provide the right environment (soil, water, light, etc…) whereby tomatoes can grow.  Seems that there was a parable that Jesus told about such things too…

(well I went over the 50 words, but hopefully that’s ok)