[STORY] NOVEMBER 09
A flurry of questions fired at...
STEVE TAYLOR
[NEW ZEALAND]

" Where are you at? Behind a desk, in Christchurch, New Zealand. Beside me builders saw, bang, crash - as the church builds a cafe and more community space. When I am not here (church pastor) I am at Laidlaw College, lecturing in areas of mission and leadership. It's a fascinating mix: being with people in journey of mission, yet reflecting in terms of the wider tradition."

[STORY] NOVEMBER 09
Ways into Small Missional Community
IAN ADAMS
[UK]

"Many of the small missional communities that I work with seem to be have flickered into life in the dreams of one or two visionary people. But there’s very good reason to seek company, even at this early stage. The project will almost certainly have greater vitality and resourcefulness if the vision is shared and shaped by a few others - perhaps even just 2 or 3 people who will be part of the project with you and who will love it and commit to it, rather than just you being the one person blazing a lone trail. "

[STORY] SEPTEMBER 09
A flurry of questions fired at...
BRIAN DRAPER
[UK]

"Where are you at? - I’m on some kind of threshold. Liminal space. And I’m trying to work out whether this is the passage to some place new, or whether I have to get used to living on the threshold. We are, after all, caught between a world that is passing, and a world that is to come. Uncertainty rules."

[STORY] SEPTEMBER 09
Ordained pioneer ministry in Rochester
ROB RYAN
[UK]

"An Ordained Pioneer Minister starts out building a fresh expression in Rochester. On September 6th I was ordained in Rochester Cathedral. I have an elaborate job title of 'Pioneer Curate'. I am the curate on the staff of the cathedral and I am being trained in everything that a Church of England curate needs to be trained in - such as learning how to deacon at the Eucharist, process, preaching, funerals, baptisms and so on. For some Anglicans that would be normal stuff, but coming from my 'low church' background of St. Mark's Gillingham alongside around 14 years of working with Youth for Christ it was quite a culture shock."

[STORY] SEPTEMBER 09
Break down the walls: can we, the working class, have oor church back please?
PAUL THOMPSON
[UK]

"I used to love seeing masel as part of the emerging church until about 4 years ago. However, three things, began to crack and slowly dislodge my identification with all things emerging - in both church and the wider uk society, and propel me back out into scotland. The resulting relationship between me, christianity and the land around me here has changed beyond all recognition.. my faith, my trust has returned again, not just in God but in my roots; the estates I grew up with, the place itself, the land, the people; its colourful mix of natives and newcomers, industries, even creation itself - lost friends regained - all of it is my church now..."

[STORY] EASTER 09
Church for the Night
JON OLIVER
[UK]

"A few months ago, some of the club chaplain team were talking about the big traditional churches dotted around town, and about how there is often a special 'something' about these places. Of course we all know that God is everywhere and that the church is the people not the building – but nonetheless there is often something tangibly distinct about these old churches which means that just entering these places, just being there, can be a spiritual experience itself."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 12.08
Sarah is seeking ways to run a church.
SARAH [HAWAII:US]

"Sarah, from Hawaii currently living in Cali, I am a Salvation Army officer in training. Which means in a year and a half I will be a pastor in the Salvation Army, I am currently in my first year of seminary..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 12.08
Debra has no idea what she is doing.
DEBRA [NEW JERSEY:US]

"I really have no idea what I’m doing, but I trust that God will get me where I’m supposed to be each day."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 10.08
Bens on-line Ministrey
BEN ECHEVARRA

"So who are you, where you from, what do you do in life? My Name is Ben, I’m From Somerville Mass whichi s just outside of Boston. I work as a chef, and currently I’m the youth pastor at a small Baptist church. I do this while I try to work on my own ministry..."

[STORY] 08.08
Experiments in Truth
MARK SCANDRETTE
[San Francisco, USA]

"It is bittersweet to recall the first few years that our family lived in San Francisco. We had moved to the city with a dream: to form a community of people who would take Jesus seriously as the teacher and revolutionary he intended to be..."

[STORY] 08.08
Mobile Property Moves More
William Yoder
[Moscow]

"Church pastor Leonid Kartavenko believes this to have been Moscow’s first evangelistic boat excursion. Evangelistic expeditions in the early 1990’s had chartered ships on the Volga and in Siberia. But evangelistic events whilst the boat was in-motion had not been a part of the programme.."

[STORY] 08.08
Safe place, truth space..
Janis Knox
[UK]

"It has been described as, ‘a safe place where terrible things happen!’"

[STORY] 06.08
A Mission-shaped Church for Older People?
CLAIRE DALPRA
[UK]

"How often do you hear the phrase "emerging church" mentioned in the same sentence as "older people"? Not often..."

[STORY] 06.08
Wilderness Meditation. Aoradh Christian Arts Project
CHRIS GOAN
[Dunoon,Scotland]

"It is almost summer! Even here, in the west of Scotland, the sun is shining, and the life is exploding all around us. Many of us will be longing to get outdoors- out into the wild places, because just being in wilderness seems to give us soul-space, and opportunities to connect again with the Creator."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 06.08
Hallelujah! I'm not alone
AMANDA [Washington US]

" Finally having some sort of support group to help share the ideas I’ve had for years..."

[STORY] 05.08
Living outside the walls of the church
JAMES PALMER
[Michigan US]

"By the time we were finished the thought of taking a job in the church was more than we could bear..."

[STORY] 05.08
Grassroots: God's Design for Redemption
KYLE ZWIEP
[Michigan US]

"And He said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 05.08
You're Number One
MICHAEL SPILLANE [Florida]

"Slowly awakening from a long sleep into the amazing possibility that the kingdom appeared while I was unconscious and I’m not sure what it all means..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 05.08
Gliding Like a Bird
BABETTE DU PLESSIS-CAROLINE [USA]

" I am gliding like a bird, he comes along side and swoops down, and says “rest a while”..."

[STORY] 04.08
Back to the estate
BOB LIGHT
[Southampton UK]

"...When we get round the word it's really inclusive. I don't stand up and preach to them, I actually sit with them and give them the opportunity to share what God is doing...."

[STORY] 01.04.08
In the WILD
MAY DITTUP
[Coventry UK]

"...in the spirit of the message I remove my trainers and socks and step into the building. It's clear that multisensory is the watchword here - I can hear recorded bird song, I can see some artfully-placed farming tools, the ground does indeed have a circle of soil to place your feet on and somehow even the authentic smell of farmland is present..."

[STORY] 04.08
Thoughts from Hartbeespoort
ANTON VAN ZYL
[Hartbeespoort :South Africa]

"...we must try to question every tradition that is part of our christian doings. Is the things we do really Christian things or are they church stuff?...."

[STORY] 02.08
Breaking up fallow ground
VANESSA, CARL and MALDWYN
[South Wales UK]

"...we felt it important to humanize Jesus so to speak and participate in breaking down the stereotypical barriers that the church has engrained..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 01.08
Becoming mission-shaped
PHIL GREEN [Bootle, UK]

"Church happens!! There is no need for a slick program or a practised sermon just believers meeting to seek God.."

[STORY]01.08
The Boring Wells Story - Scene 1
Adrian McCartney [Moneyrea, Ireland]

"Holes in the cheese - that was God's word to me. I read somewhere recently about the parish system in the Anglican church being a bit like a cheese sandwich - wherever you take a bite you get cheese."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 01.08
Unboxed Church
Glenn Kelley[New Jersey, USA]

"What's the big secret you're itching to share with everyone?
Church happens!! There is no need for a slick program or a practised sermon just believers meeting to seek God.."

[STORY]10.07
A transcendent vision
Sue Wallace, Visions [York UK]

"Last year, when the roof of our usual venue was being re-done, we migrated to York Minster crypt for a few months. We loved the space, and opportunities to meet new people that came from being in the Minster, although it was quite hard work doing a full service set-up every week..."

[STORY]10.07
Prayerfeeder
Stephen Dominy

"Prayerfeeder (http://prayerfeeder.com) is a simple, powerful and free internet tool, designed to help friends, families and communities pray with each other..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 09.07
Cooking tonight
Eric [Birmingham]

"Has anyone ever turned up out of the blue not knowing what to expect? What did they say? Yes, "are we seriously cooking dinner?"."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 09.07
Friends and laughter and silences together.
George[UK]

"What's the big secret you're itching to share with everyone? “Seek first the Kingdom of God”."

[STORY] 08.07
Boring Wells
Paul Rowden [Belfast, Northern Ireland]

"As long as I stay true to what I believe Jesus would have me do then I am going to be seeking out the poor and oppressed and feeding the hungry and releasing captives and helping the blind to see where-ever I can. If that is what Christ was here to do then I will give it a go too..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 07.07
We be jammin.
Ness [Wales]

So, if you had to describe the church/project/experiment/thingy you are currently involved with in one sentence, what would that sentence be? "community folk jam evening in a pub with spiritual input"

[STORY] 07.07
Isaac Everett: musician, composer, audio designer
Becky Garrison

"Isaac is a musician, composer, audio designer, and the co-founder of Transmission, an underground church in New York City. His recent album, Rotation, weaves pop, glitch electronica, acid jazz, and traditional liturgical melodies into a unique but familiar tapestry of urban spirituality ..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 07.07
You DO know God has humour, right?
Mackan Andersson [Sweden]

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 04.07
Change is here to stay
Jonathan, UK

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 04.07
Mom, coffee slinger, writer
Gina, Clio, MI

[STORY] 03.07
Ambient Wonder
Norwich, UK

"...we wanted to be a place where people who didn't know what they thought or felt about God could experience something spiritual in a way that relates to the rest of their lives..."

[STORY] 03.07
Joining the tribe...
Jim Gilmore interviewed by John Drane (Pt1)
Los Angeles USA

"...I think the debate about women in church leadership is overrated because I don't think there should be a debate. The rest of Western culture has figured out that there isn't a thing in the world a man can do that a woman can't do just as well. So why are we in the church lagging behind?..."

[STORY] 02.07
Plant, struggle, collapse?
John
UK

"I'm beginning to think this emerging church thing is just for those who are lucky enough to have someone ordained looking after it. The rest of us plant, struggle to sprout, but ultimately aren't fed..."

[STORY] 12.06
Dangerous Living
Si Johnston
Coleraine, Northern Ireland

"Part of maintaining a healthy spirituality and perspective on life involves punctuating it with moments that might allow us space and time. For many, the Soliton Sessions are becoming a space to allow just that..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 12.06
My Habit of Planting Churches
Matt [Tasmania ]

"I had these ideas evolve over a couple of years, only to find that my ideas are already out there..."

[[STORY] 11.06
Urban Nights - Church on the streets
Kingston UK

Urban nights is simple, a team of workers sit outside the church on a Thursday night giving away Hot chocolate and cakes (Baked by the people in the church). Over the weeks and months they build great relationships and friendships with each other, talking about different issues and problems the young people face, as well as get them involved in local issues and concerns.

[[STORY] 11.06
Have you been to church lately?
ASH
CapeTown, South Africa

"Church isn’t necessarily all about stained glass windows, a “worship” team and shiny polished wooden pews for me. They call me post-modern, emergent and a bunch of other things…but I’m just an ordinary Christian, a ragamuffin saved by God's grace..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 10.06
Love, honesty, action
FRED SHOPE [South Carolina ]

"I believe the emerging church is the next work of the Spirit to revolutionize the Church, sort of a new Reformation..."

[STORY] 10.06
Malt Cross Vision
DAVE WARD
Nottingham UK

" We have always had the intention to the café bar being a “safe place” in the city and people often comment on this and have actually called it a sanctuary. "

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 10.06
A tin hat and prayer support network
TIM MOORE [Derbyshire UK]

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 10.06
Liberating and Real
BETH [South Wales]

[STORY] 09.06
A line from Jubilee
ANN
Jubilee, Hartley Valley, Australia

" I have never "pastored" such a small group, nor enjoyed church so much. It has been hard to adjust to the idea of smallness."

[STORY/INTERVIEW] 08.06
Urban Harvest
KENN KILAN Caloundra CityHarvest

"I have resisted telling our story for some time now as I feel, along with many others, that it's too early to come to any conclusions about the emerging church."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 08.06
Follow Me and Catch People
BEK Parkes Austrailia

[STORY/INTERVIEW] 06.06
Fron non-church to emerging church?
LOWELL SHEPPARD Nagoya, JAPAN

"...The church in Japan is small, and virtually irrelevant. The non church movement however, is evidence of the Mission of God being expressed in Japan and deserves a second look by missiologists ... this is only part of the story of the church in Japan that can provide some light on the struggles we are facing in the West..."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 06.06
Cause, Commitment, Journey
ATHSTA fron SYDNEY AUSTRALIA

[STORY/INTERVIEW] 05.06
Experiencing God, struggling together
REVOLUTION, Inverness UK

"...The church in Inverness is quite traditional, formal and middle class. These kids are none of these things. We talked to lots of churches and there was no church that was willing or ready to take on a group of wild young people..."

LINDSEY HOWIE and DAVE SAUNDERS are interviewed by RICHARD BROMLEY to talk about Revolution - a spiritual community of young people based around relationships rather than membership.

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 05.06
Like a 3 week old puppy
SCOTTY B - from K2C
OKLAHOMA USA

[STORY/INTERVIEW] 04.06
A spirited exchange
JENNY McINTOSH interviewed by PAUL FROMONT

'Spirited Exchanges' co-founder Jenny talks with Paul about how personal experience led to the creation of an organisation engaging with people who have left or struggle with exisiting models of church.

[STORY] 01.04.06
Paradise on earth?
Wyndup Beach, Wales

"Adam waves at me from across the sand dunes, he is wearing a dog collar, sports sandals and nothing else. Welcome to NUDES - the UK's first naturst beach mission."

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 03.06
Out of my gourd!
ELLEN
USA

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 03.06
On a journey
PAUL
UK

[STORY/RESOURCES] 02.06
40
SI SMITH
revive : Leeds UK

What exactly did Jesus do with those 40 days in the wilderness? A new CD-Rom resource brings a fresh perspective to a familiar story through comic art.

We chat with illustrator Si Smith of Leeds church revive.

[STORY] 02.06
Is this discussion any good?
VARIOUS
Global

'Alternative-Emerging' is an email discussion list that grew out of the UK/Australia/New Zealand alt.worship communities. We asked its members what they valued about being on the list. Maybe you'll like to join them...

[The second in our mini-series of how digital technology is resourcing and transforming the emerging church.]

[STORY] 01.06
Bona Fide Fire
SHANE TUCKER
Dreamers of the Day : Northern Ireland

Where art, faith and culture meet and mix...an opportunity to be refreshed, renewed and re-created...
Shane talks about starting with a fire inside...

[STORY] 01.06
Virtually Emerging [1]:
Metacultural workshops
AARON CAVANAUGH
Christian Radio : Internet

The emerging church has siezed the opportunity offered by the internet to explore, discuss and incubate ideas unconfined by traditional boundaries of location and social situation.

Over the next few months we're gonna look at a mix of the established and some fresh ideas [because YOU might want to join in!] - we begin with one of the latter: Aaron tells us how he's offering online workshop space as part of the ChristianRadio.me.uk project.

[STORY/RESOURCES] 11.05
Asking, not answering
PAUL HUTCHINSON
Ikon : Belfast : Northern Ireland

A moving mix of soundscapes, poetry, beats and song combine in this unique collection of twelve tracks from Belfast based Ikon alternative worship group. We interview Paul, one half of 'Stray', the duo behind the CD from 'an emerging community, becoming Christian'.

[VIRTUAL CAFE STORY] 10.05
Thin places, strong coffee
BREE DENNIS
Taree : New South Wales : Australia

Bree pops into our virtual coffee shop to tell us about being part of a traditional church exploring new forms of worship for the community.

[STORY] 10.05
Christ - Creativity - Community
TONY HARDY
C3 : Stockport : UK

"Emerging church is not just for the emerging generations!" Tony tells us about church based around 4 creativity groups and a wide range of ages.

[STORY] 10.05
Light in dark places
ANNE DANNEROLLE
Lighthouse Project / Hull Community Church : Hull UK

When your church is a refuge for drug addicts, prostitutes and the homeless, perfect-life theology becomes worthless. Anne tells how real life is painful and messy but still has room for hope.

[STORY] 09.05
Playing in the Bath
ALEXANDER CAMPBELL
UK

Swish buildings, weird sub-cultures and restrictive structures - who needs 'em? Certainly not a group of people in Bath exploring what it is to be a 'simple church'. Alexander Campbell (simplechurch.co.uk) tells all...