Week 17 Christocentric.

Week 17 (yep, somewhere along the lines I've miscounted and lost 3 weeks!)

Working just now on a presentation about the missio dei. Trying to highlight that Christ is the centre of the mission of God and hence what we do and how we do it needs to have a core christocentric DNA.

Here's some of my initial thoughts - would value some input and expansion:

 Christocentric worship. We lift Christ up in our worship and as that happens non-believers are drawn mystically to Christ. This includes not only sung worship (the urgent need to examine our song lyrics and ensure they have Christ as the object and not our emotions); but is essentially seen in the sacrament of communion.

 Christocentric teaching. Our task is to preach to people’s greatest needs – knowledge of Christ. Care needs to be taken that we do not preach felt needs; that we do not elevate the Bible to a place of worship. We preach Christ ….that in the handling of the Word, Christ is present. Christ is bigger than a sermon, than an illustration, than a drama, than a media clip. Everything needs to be brought under his redemptive use.

 Christocentric leading. Our church governance surrenders to the headship of Christ. Vision and values are fully connected to Him. We do not attach Him to our vision and values. The question here is ‘who leads the church?’

 Christocentric atmosphere. It is the presence of Christ that makes the church a safe place. Our welcoming environment draws on the belonging Christ invites people to have. [Belong, Believe, Become] A Christocentric welcome is a grace filled welcome. Can the people Christ came to save, belong in our churches.

 Christocentric scope. It is Christ who defines our audience. That audience is everyone. Christocentric scope expands our Un-churched Harry & Sally. In particular for most communities this expands us to a definitive multicultural scope.

 Christocentric spirituality. The church is a community of character more than belief. Christ is our spirituality. Beyond a program, a group, a study, a discipline, we are inviting people to define themselves by being ‘in Christ.’

 Christocentric eschatology. Christ is the climax of all things. Whatever our ending theology, it must glorify Christ and share in his ending of time. It is therefore glorious not mediocre or minimal; it is salvic not escapist; it is the climax of everything – the church, the planet, the world. This is Christus Victor. This is Christ’s Gospel that we live now.

 Christocentric ecclesiology. The Church is One – diversity is our cultural reality, unity is our historic reality; the Church is Holy – like Christ we are fully divine yet fully human; The Church is Catholic – wherever Jesus Christ is there is the Church; the Church is Apostolic – local, present leadership shares in what has been handed down in the life of the Church through the centuries.


How different would our churches be if this DNA saturated everything going on.

Anyone able to add or dialogue with me on this - helpful.