Morph: Becoming an In-Carnational Church

Using the idea from Eddie Gibbs' book on 'ChurchMorph', what is the definition of Morphe? How can a church live in culture with purpose and power. He uses the following terms:

TRANSITION - The intentional move of a church from its internal DNA into the external DNA of the culture it is in. How a church can do in-carnational ministry effectively is a key to becoming a contemporary church.

SPECIAL EFFECTS - The ways in which we use the unique traits of a church and its mission.

DECONSTRUCTION - This is the point of breakdown and breakthrough. Unlearning certain things and learning others. Deeper learning comes through the unpacking of ideas and truth so as to re-imagine them in a newer light and language.

Some great thoughts. Add to this and give me an example of how a church can Morph into its setting with greater effectiveness.

Comments

  1. According to what Gibb's discusses in his book 'ChurchMorph', the definition of Morphe has to do with a change of pragmatics within the church in order to more effectively reach the culture that the church finds itself in. I believe it is necessary for a church to be constantly evaluating how they are reaching the people of their community for Christ. In order to improve the functionality of the church in regards to its mission on the earth, a church must be willing to consider changing the way they do things in order to reach out and be a greater influence in the society and culture that surrounds it. As mentioned above, this may include a church intentionally moving from its internal DNA to its external DNA, aka Transition. Also the church needs to understand the uniqueness of its members and be willing to utilize the various gifts from within to align with the church's vision and impact the culture. A church must also be willing to deconstruct itself by unlearning certain things to learn deeper things. This concept may seem abstract, however the idea is for the church to be willing to see things in a newer and deeper light through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because the mysteries of God are infinite, the church must also be willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and make room to learn new ideas. Sometime this can be simply an act of defamiliarization, which is the ability to see a common and, sometimes cliche, message in a new light without losing the deep truth within the message. A church as a whole must be attentive to the Holy Spirit and discern where it is leading within the culture. This discernment starts with the leaders of the church and emphasis to prayerfully seek God's will in any given situation. Juxtapose this with a teachable and obedient spirit, and the church will always be able to effectively impact the world around it no matter what changes culture throughs at it.

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    1. You explained Morphe so well in this post. I really liked what you had to say about Deconstruction. And just to add to your post, Deconstruction is a huge part of the Morphe. Not only does it take away to learn deeper things, but it is a huge moment for a church to be introspective, and look at what has been important to them. While the process might hurt its for the better to transform it to become more effective. It's a moment of reflection, and hopefully taking away what may be hindrance can be reconstructed, so that the true gold can shine through! You did a great job Michael.

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  3. This morphe word is not that just be explained in words. I would say that we could more reveal it by in-carnation than by just sentences. Some times things are harder to explain than to do them. The word deconstruction is important in the morphed church. Because as much as we need to add to the remixed church we also need to get rid or deconstruct the things that were not part of the morphe. Most of the time we see what to add in order to change but there are things that we need to be destroyed.

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  4. The term Morphe, has to do with what the church does in order to connect with the people and culture that surrounds it. Since culture is always changing, the church must always be changing in it's practics in order to engage with people to the fullest. The first term he uses, "transition", is one of the most important parts of a church living with purpose and power. He also mentions in-carnational ministry, which is the heart of transition. In-carnational means to go where the people are. People and culture are always changing, therefore, we have to be changing in order to meet them where they are. I also think that the idea of deconstruction is really important when it comes to being a Morphe. In order to move ahead, sometimes the best thing to do is to unlearn what we know from the past. One example of a way a church can Morphe into its setting with greater effectiveness would be to have an active presence in things outside of the church that are already taking place. For example, partnering with a after-school program would help the church to morphe better.

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  5. Morphe is the idea of adapting to the environment. It is the way the church changes to continually serve the surrounding culture. This process happens when the church becomes incarnate like Christ did for us. In order for this to happen there must be a transition where the church realizes there must be change. Following that, a deconstruction of what used to be incarnational to what would now be incarnational needs to take place. Deconstruction is a moment where true values are re-discovered and in return reinvented. This is the process of Morphe.

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