Archive for Todd’s Posts
English as a Bridge
Posted by: | CommentsWhat does it mean at Antioch Church when we say that English is a bridge language? Largely we are talking about how we use English and other languages in our corporate worship gatherings. While we will always attempt to integrate as many languages as we can as a part of how we celebrate in worship, we recognize that for our church English will always be seen as the overarching and unifying language. Now, for some multi-ethnic churches the bridge language may be different, but it seems inevitable that there must be a choice made.
At this point it works out like this. We are integrating Swahili and Arabic into our services through prayers by individuals. These are not translated. We also read Scripture in all three languages with translation being projected on the screen in the languages not being read at the time. We are verbally translating the Bible story phrase by phrase. We are still fine-tuning translating the main points of the sermon on the screen in both Swahili and Arabic.
We are still considering several other ideas. One is to use electronic devices for headset translation. This is a challenge due cost and the need for an extremely talented real-time translator. It also raises the question of how many languages can be supported with this technique. We minster in a neighborhood with 70 people groups and certainly can’t fully translate to all of the languages that might come to a service. Another thought is to provide translators in cluster seating during the service, so that, those who want to hear things translated, that are not translated from the stage, can be close enough to do so.
The realities of striking a language balance in a multi-ethnic church are always going to be difficult. It requires grace and understanding. It requires sensitivity to those participating. It demands careful and thoughtful planning by leaders. But, believing that the celebration of multi-ethnic worship is one worth pursuing all of the demands are worth it. One further note, this type of worship also demands that opportunities are given, in our case through weekly Family Groups, for gathering in a context where the language barrier is not issue.
Please feel free to ask questions or comment, or by all means, if your church has a handle on these ideas share your solutions.
Mission…what?
Posted by: | CommentsAre we doing missions or are we being missional? Yeah, yeah, I know…semantics right. It’s just playing with endings, but it’s all the same. Well, whatever you want to call them, I think the two concepts are different. Surely the thoughts I’m pondering are not new or original, but they have been rattling in my head and heart a lot lately. So here’s what I’m thinking.
If we are simply doing missions, then we are by definition relegating the mission to a task, action or program. So, we simply go on mission trips. We have a missions department or ministry. We organize people to sign up and get equipped to do something.
If on the other hand, we are living missions, i.e. being missional, then by definition our mission begins to define who we are. We are equipping people to be something. Missions is not something we do, but instead runs through the fabric of how we think, what we love, and how we relate to others. We see the church as a community of called out people living out the gospel in every aspect of their lives.
Jesus came to live the redemption mission. God didn’t send us a revamped program of how to engage Him. He came, He lived, He died, and He rose again. This is what the mission looks like. It is an “all in” affair. We can’t just do “missiony” things and declare ourselves faithful.
Like the description on the Kingdom of God, living missionally, living “for the sake of the gospel” is like yeast it permeates everything. In other words you can’t be a little missional, slightly gospel centered or a tad Kingdom minded. The gospel captures everything about us and therefore our response should be to live it out in every aspect of our daily lives.
Welcome to Antioch Anthology ch2
Posted by: | CommentsSo, we’ve changed the address. We’ve changed the format. We’ve merged some new and some old content. We hope all the change will simply make it easier for people to find and read what is hopefully helpful and encouraging messages from the leadership of Antioch Church in South Louisville, KY. If this is your first time here, we’re glad to have you. If you’re back, thanks for hanging with us and we hope you enjoy what you read and hear in the days, weeks, months and years to come. Our request is that you pray for us to be wise in what we share and that you would feel free to comment and share your thoughts. Dialogue is always more fun than monologue. So, have fun and enjoy, we plan to!