Comments on: The Starfish And The Spider, Part 8: There Are New Rules To The Game http://bigcircumstance.com/2009/02/12/the-starfish-and-the-spider-part-8-there-are-new-rules-to-the-game/ Dave Faulkner. Husband. Dad. Methodist minister. Pseudo-geek. Music lover. Sat, 19 May 2012 08:34:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Dave Faulkner http://bigcircumstance.com/2009/02/12/the-starfish-and-the-spider-part-8-there-are-new-rules-to-the-game/#comment-2751 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:55:30 +0000 http://bigcircumstance.com/?p=1749#comment-2751 Stan,

Thank you for your kind and encouraging comments. Every blessing in your initiatives.

]]> By: Singinstan http://bigcircumstance.com/2009/02/12/the-starfish-and-the-spider-part-8-there-are-new-rules-to-the-game/#comment-2749 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:51:11 +0000 http://bigcircumstance.com/?p=1749#comment-2749 Dave – thank you for your analysis and comparative statements regarding the church of today and the concepts of centralization VS decentralization.
I just picked up the book The Starfish and the Spider about 3 days ago and I am almost finished with my first reading of it. It has concretely confirmed what I am experiencing in our “family” of Believers which God started within us, almost 3 years ago. These concepts have been within me from the beginning and we have been actively at work, attempting to architect the vision, cheerlead the people, and just get out of the way. Our Sunday morning gatherings are very interactive and our ministry is about 98% organic in nature. We believe that Jesus is the Head of the Church and He wants to teach us THROUGH each other. We believe that God is at work at the fringes as well as on the stage – and what He is doing, He is doing for the edification of His Body.
After reading your comments though it has spurred me on to approach the other 2% in this process of freeing the people up to minister. Thank you for your insight and your applications to the church of today. You saved me alot of time in doing the same thing and you have sparked many questions and analysis of my own as I read yours. Thank you and God bless you brother!
Stan Denman

]]> By: bigcircumstance http://bigcircumstance.com/2009/02/12/the-starfish-and-the-spider-part-8-there-are-new-rules-to-the-game/#comment-1320 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:27:02 +0000 http://bigcircumstance.com/?p=1749#comment-1320 Thanks for your kind words, Dave. I only wish I’d had time to reflect more before posting the various bits. Certainly I’d have liked to have pulled together the various themes that kept recurring. Still, if it’s been helpful I’m glad.

]]> By: DaveW http://bigcircumstance.com/2009/02/12/the-starfish-and-the-spider-part-8-there-are-new-rules-to-the-game/#comment-1318 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:10:54 +0000 http://bigcircumstance.com/?p=1749#comment-1318 Great series, will wonder at length. Thanks

Dave

]]> By: bigcircumstance http://bigcircumstance.com/2009/02/12/the-starfish-and-the-spider-part-8-there-are-new-rules-to-the-game/#comment-1317 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 18:28:09 +0000 http://bigcircumstance.com/?p=1749#comment-1317 Thanks, Peter. I wasn’t aware of Bishop Alan’s posts on the subject. Certainly there are decentralised aspects of the church (including the C of E) but there are still some profoundly centralised aspects. In Anglican terms, perhaps it is interesting to think of the Diocese and the Bishop, whose role as a central, unifying and authoritative (if not authoritarian in some cases) looks a lot more like the ‘spider’ approach. Well, must go, I’m typing this just before a lecture starts here at the college.

]]> By: Peter Kirk http://bigcircumstance.com/2009/02/12/the-starfish-and-the-spider-part-8-there-are-new-rules-to-the-game/#comment-1316 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:06:20 +0000 http://bigcircumstance.com/?p=1749#comment-1316 Thanks for this series. I was surprised to read today that Bishop Alan (not sure if he has been reading your series) thinks that “The Church is almost the ultimate Starfish, rather than Spider organisation.” He explains more of this in an older post. Certainly the Anglican Communion is starfish-like, but within his Church of England dioceses are trying hard to restrict any starfish-like freedom in individual parishes.

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