By Jonathan Kindberg
Some funny, head scratching, and bizarre recent anecdotes and
factoids that confirm, in the words of one of my friends, that there
aren’t any easy answers and models to base my ministry on:
-One of the kids has started bringing his Muslim Eritrean refugee
neighbor to our primarily 1st and 2nd generation Mexican church. One of
the youth has started bringing his caucasian, unbaptized, unchurched
girlfriend to church with him.
-In one week I spend half of my conversations with parishioners
explaining the dangers of Jehovah Witnesses and the next performing
services at key rites of passage: quinceanos, vow renewals, first
communions, house blessings.
-Of the adults in my congregation I am the youngest and the most pale
of skin. Of the whole congregation, the children outnumber the adults
(a great blessing) and yet often threaten mass chaos.
-Somehow we try to blend the catholic, charismatic, evangelical and
social action streams of the church: the same week we have a
(liturgical) healing prayer service followed by a workshop on the rights
of immigrants.
All in all, you never know what to expect from one day to the next and there are no clear steps to follow! Lead us Holy Spirit!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
¡Caminemos Juntos! A Consultation on Hispanic / Latino Ministry in North America
By Jonathan Kindberg
August 12-13, 2011 the Greenhouse Regional Church Movement will be hosting a special Anglican 1000 consultation on Hispanic/Latino Ministry in North America. The event will be in the Chicago area. Speakers include Archbishop Robert Duncan, Gabe Garcia, Pdre. Alvaro Jinete, Dr. Roberto Miranda, and more. Cost is $50. Scholarships are available. Contact Jonathan Kindberg of the Greenhouse Regional Church Movement for more information.
Did you know that by 2050 Hispanics will constitute 30% of the population of the United States? En el año 2050 Estados Unidos será compuesto por 30% de Hispanos/Latinos.
It’s time to begin to walk together. Ya es tiempo de caminar juntos. This gathering is aimed at bringing together Anglican ministry leaders working among Hispanics/Latinos in Mexico, The United States and Canada and those hoping to begin new ministries. Through building relationships with one another, conversation and presentations we hope to consider different ministry models on both the evangelical (“cristiano”) and catholic (“católico”) sides of the spectrum and to together create a unified vision for Anglican Hispanic/Latino ministry and church planting in North America. Esta consultación tiene como propósito crear una visión unida de misión Anglicana hacia la comunidad Latina/Hispana. A través de conversación y presentaciones queremos considerar diferentes formas de ministrar a esta comunidad, tanto “cristianas” como “católicas.”
August 12-13, 2011 the Greenhouse Regional Church Movement will be hosting a special Anglican 1000 consultation on Hispanic/Latino Ministry in North America. The event will be in the Chicago area. Speakers include Archbishop Robert Duncan, Gabe Garcia, Pdre. Alvaro Jinete, Dr. Roberto Miranda, and more. Cost is $50. Scholarships are available. Contact Jonathan Kindberg of the Greenhouse Regional Church Movement for more information.
Did you know that by 2050 Hispanics will constitute 30% of the population of the United States? En el año 2050 Estados Unidos será compuesto por 30% de Hispanos/Latinos.
It’s time to begin to walk together. Ya es tiempo de caminar juntos. This gathering is aimed at bringing together Anglican ministry leaders working among Hispanics/Latinos in Mexico, The United States and Canada and those hoping to begin new ministries. Through building relationships with one another, conversation and presentations we hope to consider different ministry models on both the evangelical (“cristiano”) and catholic (“católico”) sides of the spectrum and to together create a unified vision for Anglican Hispanic/Latino ministry and church planting in North America. Esta consultación tiene como propósito crear una visión unida de misión Anglicana hacia la comunidad Latina/Hispana. A través de conversación y presentaciones queremos considerar diferentes formas de ministrar a esta comunidad, tanto “cristianas” como “católicas.”
Friday, April 15, 2011
Kingdom Slacklining
By Jonathan Kindberg
With the weather finally getting warmer in Chicago, the children are
out in mass again in our neighborhood at Briar Street. After being
cooped up inside for the long winter months, they are now able to run
outside in the sun, play soccer in the company of their friends…and
scream their heads off.
This last Sunday was a beautiful day and so our team decided to put
up the slack line and grill outside. Quickly we were mobbed by a very
excited group of screaming kids who wanted to join in on this strange
new sport. For those of you uninitiated folks, slacklining is: “a
balance sport that uses nylon webbing tensioned between two
anchor points. Slacklining is distinct from tightrope walking in that
the line is not held rigidly taut (although it is still under some
tension); it is instead dynamic, stretching and bouncing like a long and
narrow trampoline” (thank you, Wikipedia). It’s great fun and a great
way to get to know a lot of our neighbors.
As we seek to get to know our neighbors who don’t yet know Jesus, we seek ways to build authentic, reciprocal relationships with them. One question we have found it helpful to ask (and one that I heard first from Bill Hybels in his book on evangelism), is: what do you enjoy doing that you can involve others in? This activity, whether it’s a specific sport or hobby, is meaningful in and of itself, but can take on a greater degree of kingdom significance when done in this purposeful way.
So if anyone is wondering what our model for church planting is, you now know the answer: kingdom slacklining.
As we seek to get to know our neighbors who don’t yet know Jesus, we seek ways to build authentic, reciprocal relationships with them. One question we have found it helpful to ask (and one that I heard first from Bill Hybels in his book on evangelism), is: what do you enjoy doing that you can involve others in? This activity, whether it’s a specific sport or hobby, is meaningful in and of itself, but can take on a greater degree of kingdom significance when done in this purposeful way.
So if anyone is wondering what our model for church planting is, you now know the answer: kingdom slacklining.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Youth Retreat - Spring 2011
This last weekend I led a youth retreat with the youth from Santa Maria (that I lead on Sunday mornings in Franklin Park) and from Iglesia. The Spirit’s presence was powerfully at work softening the hearts of the youth and the Lord answered many prayers for our time together. Thank you all of you who were praying! The main scripture for the weekend was Psalm 95 with an emphasis on invitation (“come”) and on the one who is giving the invitation, the Good Shepherd.
For many of these youth, this was their first time away from home for a night and for most the first time at a retreat. There were a lot of nervous parents and students Friday night as we left, but this soon melted in the excitement of a weekend away. Most of these students are still considering whether to fully commit to following Jesus as this is a very new concept for them.
God is raising up the second generation of Hispanics in Chicagoland and it is exciting to see! Praise the Lord!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Of Spanish and the Spirit
By Jonathan Kindberg
Our usual Sunday community dinners at Briar Street have been anything but usual. Each week we are excited to see what surprises the Lord will bring through our neighbors. This last week found us after dinner sitting in a circle in our living room with notebooks and pens in hand learning Spanish from Gerardo. We should have seen it coming when Gerardo, one of our Mexican neighbors, walked in for dinner carrying two plastic bags full of classroom supplies. He had markers (which later turned our living room windows into art canvasses thanks to one of the kids), notebooks, pencils and a large piece of foam board which he converted into a make-shift white board. It was quite amazing to see how much ingenuity and planning he had put into this.
At Briar Street as we prepare to launch weekly services hopefully by the end of the summer we have begun to study together the book of Acts with some of our neighbors. One of the first things we realized is that it is the Holy Spirit who really plants a church. In one sense, for any of us to call ourselves “church planters” is a bit presumptuous. It’s kind of like someone claiming they can make babies all on their own. We were also surprised to see that one of the first ways the Holy Spirit reveals his power is by giving the disciples the ability to speak in other languages. The book of Acts begins with this statement in 1:8: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses.” This power is then demonstrated through the reversal of the tower of Babel and the ability the disciples have to be witnesses in many different languages. It seems, then, that learning another language (such as Spanish) is an activity very in step with the workings of the Spirit.
Many churches in an attempt to reach out to their diverse community begin ESL (english as a second language ) classes. We are talking about eventually doing so ourselves as well at Briar Street Anglican Church. But I think it is worth noting that we began our ministry at Briar Street not by teaching English, but rather by putting ourselves under Gerardo’s teaching and learning Spanish. I think this makes the Holy Spirit smile.
Our usual Sunday community dinners at Briar Street have been anything but usual. Each week we are excited to see what surprises the Lord will bring through our neighbors. This last week found us after dinner sitting in a circle in our living room with notebooks and pens in hand learning Spanish from Gerardo. We should have seen it coming when Gerardo, one of our Mexican neighbors, walked in for dinner carrying two plastic bags full of classroom supplies. He had markers (which later turned our living room windows into art canvasses thanks to one of the kids), notebooks, pencils and a large piece of foam board which he converted into a make-shift white board. It was quite amazing to see how much ingenuity and planning he had put into this.
At Briar Street as we prepare to launch weekly services hopefully by the end of the summer we have begun to study together the book of Acts with some of our neighbors. One of the first things we realized is that it is the Holy Spirit who really plants a church. In one sense, for any of us to call ourselves “church planters” is a bit presumptuous. It’s kind of like someone claiming they can make babies all on their own. We were also surprised to see that one of the first ways the Holy Spirit reveals his power is by giving the disciples the ability to speak in other languages. The book of Acts begins with this statement in 1:8: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses.” This power is then demonstrated through the reversal of the tower of Babel and the ability the disciples have to be witnesses in many different languages. It seems, then, that learning another language (such as Spanish) is an activity very in step with the workings of the Spirit.
Many churches in an attempt to reach out to their diverse community begin ESL (english as a second language ) classes. We are talking about eventually doing so ourselves as well at Briar Street Anglican Church. But I think it is worth noting that we began our ministry at Briar Street not by teaching English, but rather by putting ourselves under Gerardo’s teaching and learning Spanish. I think this makes the Holy Spirit smile.
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