Migrating to New Church Paradigms
Photo: Brian Guest
As we all know, many people are not satisfied with their own church experiences and the number only seems to be growing. Those of us with the palms of our hands on the railroad track feel the vibrations of new paradigms of church approaching. (just had a flashback to the movie Stand By Me 
)
Wolfgang Simson talks about the steps of migrating from the old paradigm to the new one. In his talk, he assumes that the new paradigm to which people are moving is the house church paradigm. While I do resonate with much of the house church movement, I hesitate to assume that it will be the only new paradigm of church that will flourish in the following generations. (NOTE: I misunderstood Wolfgang here. Please note his response below in the comment section.) However, I do agree that we are in desperate need of new paradigms for church expressions. Here is the diagram the Wolfgang uses to portray the steps people take in adopting a new church paradigm.
(Click on the image to go to the original article.)
Point – 2: This is where most Christians are today as this new move of God unfolds. This is the point of “happy clappy” churchianity where most people are content with where they are in their church experience. When you talk to them about the need for a new paradigm their response is basically, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Point – 1: This second point or step in apostolic migration represents people who are no longer satisfied with “happy clappy church” as they have known it. These are people who have heard from God about more authentic expressions of church. They have begun to move in their spirits, but their bodies and their money have not yet moved. They are frustrated pilgrims. Some will move to the next step, while others will not.
Point 0: This third step represents frustrated pilgrims who have finally left the old paradigm and are now “out of the system,” but they do not yet know that there is a new paradigm to move into. And there is a reason for this. God knows that it is easier to get a person “out of the system” than it is to get the old system out of the person. For this reason God engineers the wilderness as a place of to the old, a place of “religious detoxification” where God deals with our “baggage.” It is in the wilderness that God seeks to heal our hurts, wounds, bitterness, anger and other personal “baggage” left over from our journey out of the old. Not everyone “survives” the wilderness experience to emerge healthy at the next Point. Some people are unable to “let go” of the past (past wounds, hurts, betrayals, etc.) in order to embrace God’s future plans.
Point + 1: This is the stage or point at which people choose to leave the past and the wilderness behind and to “cross over the ” into the new paradigm of what God is doing. This requires both a leaving (of the old) and a cleaving (to the new). It requires us to “uncovenant” with what has gone before, and to make a new covenant with God’s new unfolding paradigm. It is often at this point that a person’s commitment or lack of commitment to the new paradigm is revealed through statements like, “You mean I must do house church exclusively?” Such a response reveals that the person hasn’t yet caught the vision of God’s new paradigm and is still trying to “straddle” both worlds (the old versus the new). It means they aren’t quite ready to emerge from the wilderness because they haven’t yet fully died to themselves and to the old.
Point + 2: Welcome to the new paradigm that God is raising up in our day. At this point you have died to yourself and the past and have embraced the new thing God is doing. Your work isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning.
Where are you on the continuum of migration? Which of these 5 points do you most resonate with?
Comments
Hi Joel,
I am at about -1.5. Pretty happy where I am, realizing that it is not perfect, but not clamouring for a new paradigm either. I do have concerns about people who move to point +2, and then realize that they are back at -2, only with a new paradigm, and the cycle begins again.
My husband and I are at 0 right now and it’s getting scary.
Mike, yes your church community does sound like a good one from the little you have told me before. That’s great. Your insight about the whole cycle starting all over again is interesting. Perhaps someone climbs back to at plus +2 but then they begin seeing the other side of the mountain and begin the descent down the other side! Interesting. I also think that some people “progress” to a zero, and then may climb back to a “-1″ sometimes. What I like about the idea though, is the assumption that changes happen and it’s not always a bad thing.
I was in the wilderness for a while and now I am somewhere above the valley between -1 and +1 (just hovering in the air!)
Can’t quite decipher where I am exactly right now.
Issy, thanks for your comment. 0 is OK! Many people have been there before (myself included) and, more often than not, good things come as a result. Soon, I plan to post some resources to help people that are in the wilderness.
Oh I am most definately at point -1 No doubt about it…I am tied to the old system at this point because it happens to be what I do on Sundays. In my herat I am at 0 though!
Hi Joel, just a quick thing: I am not saying the “the house church” is the new paradigm to whioch we all have to flock; what I am saying that a kingdom shaped church – of which house church is a vital part – is the future. Its all about moving from an ecclesiocentric worldview to a kingdom-centric life and move on from there. Blessings, like your site,
Wolfgang Simson
Wolfgang, I have edited the post to say that I had misunderstood you. While I personally think the house church model is great and has SO much potential, I know that it is not really about the church. I love how you phrased it, “moving from an ecclesiocentric worldview to a kingdom-centric life”. I’m sure that there are house churches that are still not choosing the right priorities, just as many traditional forms of churches are making the same mistakes.
By the way, for the benefit of my readers . . . Wolfgang Simson’s book “Houses That Change the World” is a book you would really love! I appreciated many things about the book, but one of the things I benefited from is his exploration of the Apostle,Prophet, Pastor, Evangelist and Teacher roles that are necessary in EVERY church community. Here is a link to some of his writings: http://www.simsonwolfgang.de/html/welcome.html
On another note, “Wolf” is an awesome name!
Thirty years ago I was a -2. I had just “felt” the “call to the ministry” and was in a Pastoral Ed major in college. Within 1 year I was at -1. When I heard what a Pastor was to do and be and saw what the scriptures said a Pastor should do and be I saw glaring contradiction all over the place. I went to my first church as a youth pastor determined to follow the truth and not succum to traditions pressures. Within 2 years I was “asked to resign”. What that means is I am asked to tell the church folks God is calling me to blah – blah and so I am leaving. This is asking me to lie since I have heard no call to anywhere else. I lied. I am now at 0. I have learned many more reasons why institutionalized faith is systematized lukewarmness. At this point I make the decision to move from “expecting the right to be paid” to “refusing the right to be paid” to help others grow spiritually. 1 Cor. 9 I see freedom and rewards from serving “free of charge” like Paul modeled worth far more than a pay check and a title. I will be at 0 for 15 years being a good layman volunteering in an almost mega church. Year after year I learn new ways institutional forms nullify God’s commands but I am unwilling to show the Word to anyone. Finally God shows me I am pouring thousands of $ into the offering plate each year to buy expert driven programs that benefit mostly me and other wealthy saints. I have been pooling rather than giving. Only a small percentage of my giving is going beyond my self (25% of less). Finally God gives me courage to speak to the pastor, staff, and lay folks showing the simple scripture. Within 2years we are labeled “divisive” by the Board chair and the Admin Pastor. We realize it’s time to start living what we believe as well as talk it so we got out of institutional forms and began to build what I now call 100% church. 1. 100% of giving goes beyond me and my family. (No pooling, just giving.) 2. 100% two-way-mutual communication (no lecture – God never speaks in one-way communication.) 3. 100% one another oriented relationships (no pyramid of power) 4. 100% reproductive leadership (No titles or turf. It’s all given away to others.) That’s a beginning. I guess I’m at +2. I am sure there is probably a +10 out there so I am keeping my heart open for further transformation. My heart grieves for the saints I know stuck at -2, many of them pastors and missionaries. I marvel at how slick and subtle the institutional form substitutes men’s preferred traditions for God’s truth, and calling it all truth. The web of deceipt wrapped around this form is sticky, tight, and glittery. It’s easy to buy into it, get stuck and love it. Not any more for me and my family.
Tim, thanks for sharing. It’s really too bad that people have to put labels like, “divisive” on anyone. How many “divisive” people are really trying to be divisive, I wonder? My guess is that, more often than not, they are just trying to be open, honest, and helpful.
I have talked with people who have been in similar situations as you but were not able to make the leap to “act out what they believe” because it would mean that they would lose their paycheck. It is hard to just go and find a new job (especially these days) when you spent a long time in training and preparing to work in the institution – it almost leaves you with no skills to find jobs outside of the church. So, it’s great that you have been able to do that! Your “100% Church” sounds awesome!