In the 70s and 80s, most computers were proprietary. That meant their stuff didn’t work on other computers. If you wanted a disk drive, you had to buy the specific one built for that specific computer. Same for software. I had three different Commodore computers - a VIC20, Commodore 64, and Amiga, and stuff didn’t work even between these computers. Basically, proprietary was a massive pain. But from the mid-80s onwards, most manufacturers took seriously the IBM compatibility factor, and by the early 90s nearly every computer was IBM compatible, or a Mac. Proprietary was all about control, and locking people in to a niche channel that kept profits high, and user options few. There was big money in producing proprietary equipment, because you locked a customer in to your options alone. All the big money in computers in the 70’s and most of the 80’s was in proprietary software and equipment. Wang computers, at it’s peak, had 30,000 staff and turned over 3 billion a year. By the late 80s, it was in desperate financial trouble. The turnaround was fast, and took no prisoners. Proprietary was dead.

The established church is in a vicious and fast turnaround right now. Many church leaders are wondering what God is doing, and why the church is in fast decline in the West. This is not a cause for alarm. The sky is not falling, and God is not abandoning His church. But He is changing it. Or, put a better way - restoring it. Jesus did many powerful things when he walked the earth, but one of the most significant things he did was to wrench control of the church from misguided religious leaders and place it in the hands of ordinary people. He then established and sealed that move with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul found himself planting churches all around the known world using ordinary people, not religiously trained people. It is the intention of God that the church be accessible to all, and in the hands of all, under the guidance of the Spirit, and Spirit-filled leaders. Elders existed at city level, not church level. There was no such thing as denominations. Kingdom was kingdom. Did the established church love the rebuke of Jesus? No, they plotted to kill him.

What we see today is kind of like the German idea of proprietary church in the middle ages (ecclesia propria, or Eigenkirche). Wealthy lords would establish churches on their land, where they would choose the leadership, so that the agenda was set not by the worldwide church fulfilling the mission of God, but their own priorities and intentions. The 20th century saw an explosion of denominations and works throughout the world, who for the most part have remained separate from each other and concentrated on building a proprietary brand. Even more established denominations have focused on brand building as a way of differentiating. But Jesus isn’t about differentiation, He’s about unity. An identity based on points of difference is a proprietary view. Jesus only established one church, and He reigns only over one kingdom.

It wasn’t Jesus’ will for people to carve off sections of the kingdom, make them proprietary, and limit entry (by race, socio-economic background, preferences etc). No churches I know of have this idea in their mission or vision statements, but it’s still the approach of many traditional churches - even if unintentional. Consider some of these challenges:

Entry barriers: “If you’re not like us, you won’t be welcomed.” Jesus got in trouble for hanging around with the rich, the poor, sinner and saint, and everyone in the middle.

Discipleship barriers: “If you don’t know the basics of Christianity, good luck working them out from a 20 minute talk each Sunday morning aimed at people who’ve been Christian 20 years.” Jesus told stories, made his points simple. He aimed it at working people, farmers and family people. He spent serious amounts of time with his immediate followers, giving increasingly interesting opportunities, discussion time, personal time. He discipled in homes, over meals, in public spaces, rarely in the synagogues or temple.

Leadership barriers: “We already have enough people leading everything, why not help us wash some dishes or stack chairs if you’re looking for a job? We can never seem to find enough volunteers.” Jesus sent out seventy. They can’t have been very well trained. They’d only known Jesus for maybe a year. But he sent them out, and they performed miracles and ministry in His name. Many churches have no room for new leaders, all the jobs are filled. This is a problem.

Multiplication barriers: “You can’t just start ministering to people you know, even if you feel God has called you to that. We need to identify the call in your life, then you have to commit to training in our institution for at least 3 years, and accept a placement to the location we choose.” Jesus sent those he ministered to off into their world to testify to what he’d done. The didn’t have to wear a special t-shirt, carry a certain brochure, or connect to a particular congregation.

Detail barriers: “You don’t believe in the [insert here] millenial view of Christ? Well, that basically precludes you from doing very much as long as you’re part of this church. If your view is [insert here], then you must basically misunderstand the gospel.” Jesus majored on the majors. Paul addressed theology as part of an unfolding personal journey of Christian maturity. Our understanding of God needs to improve as our responsibility increases. But many detail debates are not important, and never will be. And they certainly shouldn’t preclude people from ministering while they’re on a journey into God. Many of the most influential thinkers in Christianity who’ve shaped me don’t agree with each other on details, but they get on with the job of feeding the theologically hungry church anyway.

Financial barriers: “Our books, CD’s and training courses are reasonably priced.” The bible is free. God’s economy is based on generosity. Jesus never charged for his ministry, and neither did Paul. Workers in the kingdom should be supported, but by those who are already committed to the cause - doing so out of a cheerful heart - so that the pointy end of ministry (witness, discipleship, leadership development) is free (or close to).

Ecumenical barriers: “We’re [***lican] or [***tist] or [***ian] here, and we’re focused on our own goals. Other churches can do what they want, believe what they want, but they can do it alone without us. We’re focused on ***.” There is only one church. There is no room in what God is doing next for churches that aren’t kingdom minded - that don’t recognise God has established people across cities and nations to feed, encourage and challenge His whole church, and that no individual group owns any Chrisitan. We were all bought by the blood of Jesus for His purposes, not ours.

Many churches will not be able to continue on the way they are currently, because they are too committed to a proprietary view of church. Some mainline denominations probably won’t survive at all (yes, that’s my prediction). The more committed we are to proprietary goals under the headship of Jesus, the more resistance His Spirit will bring to bear on us until we break into submission under his leadership and authority - in humility and acceptance of His power and will.

Epoch Community is a true open-source church. We have no denominational attachment to proprietary goals, but we are kingdom minded and support and work with other churches and organisations in our city. We are open to everyone from any background or perspective. Our homes are open to each other. Our ministry and witness is personal, and customised to the individual based on what they need and where they are on their journey, not a one-size-fits-all approach that only works when everyone is the same and in the same position. Our material is all free, from teaching materials to books and articles. Leadership is open to anyone who meets the biblical criteria of leadership and is willing to submit to a kingdom oriented accountability. Our only source material is the bible, and the direction of Spirit-filled leadership. We gain insight from church history (all streams), and current Christian thinkers (from all denominational perspectives) because they are gifts from God to the whole church - not to a single proprietary brand. We are open to rebuke and admonition from respected leaders from outside our group, because Godly people have been established by God for the whole church. And finally, we are committed to Jesus’ kingdom plan for Canberra and supporting all those working in the field to achieve it, whether they are part of Epoch Community or not. Open Source Church - I believe it’s what God is building next.

If you’re not currently actively part of a community of believers in your area, I’d love to meet you. Ring me 0437 000 437, or come to my house for a community gathering on Thursdays (7:30pm for 8pm) or Sundays (2pm for 2:30pm). You’ll be welcome, challenged, encouraged and part of something cool.

At our team meeting a couple of weeks ago we tasked Ben Frommel with coming up with a couple of pointers to keep bible discussions on track, and on topic. We’re not called to debate scripture, but to understand and apply it. We’d have put these pointers up sooner, but Ben lost his original set of notes in a phone-sync accident or EMP or something... but he has kindly put these notes together hurriedly (I received this at 12:46am) for our benefit.

When you’re involved in, or leading, a bible discussion - keep SOAPA in mind.

Ben’s Notes:

Scripture
Start with reading scripture. It is important that we don't read our own ideas/thoughts/traditions/philosophies into scripture but that we start with scripture and form our ideas from that.

Observation
Thoughts about the passage. What went on? What stands out? How does this link to other themes in the bible etc.

At this stage it is important to be aware of some basic hermeneutic (bible interpreting) principles e.g.

• Scripture interprets scripture
• Cultural context
• Context of the passage etc.

Application
At this stage we want to think about how can we take what we have heard and understood from the word and actually make it a reality in our lives. Do we need to change something we are doing? Do we need to do something new? Do we need to confess an area we have been sinning in? Etc.

In Luke 8:19-21 we read the following story:
19 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to see you.”
21 Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

And so what Jesus is saying is that following him requires obedience - it's more than just hearing and understanding what Jesus wants from us but it's going to that next step of obedience - of applying the word.

Prayer
As followers of Jesus we can't be dependant on ourselves to change. At this stage we are asking Jesus through prayer to come into the situations of our lives and to help us be obedient to the word.

Accountability
It is almost impossible to live the lifestyle Jesus is calling us to, if we try to do it alone. We need other people challenging & encouraging us and holding us to the standard Jesus set for our lives.

There is so much going on in the worldwide church right now that it’s hard to keep track. To actually process, ponder and assimilate all the information is even harder. But when we’re faced with the task of reaching a modern city with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to be intentional about finding ways to get this information seeded into our hearts and our world. I need your help to find the bright spots, and I need your best ideas. I need your thoughts and insights into christianity in Canberra, and more broadly in Australia. God is creatively building his church, through you and me, and we need to remain sensitive to both His Spirit, and one another.



That’s what AspireDE is all about (DE stands for Daily Email). This is an email that will come to you every Mon-Fri, containing a range of current thoughts, articles, podcasts and training material from sources around the world. It might not be what you’re used to though. Here’s some odd features of AspireDE.

1. It’s for leaders and thinkers. Paul said in 2 Cor 11:28, “besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.” AspireDE is for people who feel the same burden as Paul. It’s for those who want the church to grow, think about the gospel in the context of the modern world, and who can’t go more than a day or two without returning to that Holy Spirit placed burden for the church.

2. It’s not an RSS feed or blog. I need your feedback. If you are thinking about issues related to our generation and the gospel of Jesus Christ, I’m sure you’ll have opinions about the material I send. I need to read your replies. It can be two lines or an essay - I don’t mind. I do want you to be inspired, but I want you to inspire me even more. I really want to hear from you regarding at least one posted article every week or so. Hit reply, and let me know your thoughts. If I set up AspireDE as an RSS feed, thousands could subscribe - useful to them, but not to me or the Canberra church. This way we’re all winners!

3. Your most interesting thoughts will end up on the Epoch Aspire blog. Why keep the best of our thinking secret? Every week or so I’ll place summaries on the Epoch Aspire blog with your thoughts woven in.

4. Material is sourced broadly. We’ll be covering theology, culture, leadership, strategy, and lots more - and from many perspectives. You will be shaped by ApsireDE, because we’ll be sourcing the best of the best. It’s like a daily devotional on steroids.

5. AspireDE is disruptive to the enemy’s plans. So much information so widely available can actually hinder the gospel in a city. Great thinkers, like you, if not sharing their thoughts strategically as part of Jesus’ church - can come to nothing. The enemy keeps us separate. Canberra needs the best of the best focused, united, and inspired together.

So if all the above sounds good to you, subscribe below: