From Boundaries to the Center: Embracing Centered Churches for Authentic Faith (Unified Series)

Voxology

Society & Culture, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 January 2022

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover how shifting from bounded and fuzzy church models to a centered church approach can transform your faith community. Mike Erre and Tim Stafford dive deep into the distinctions between bounded, fuzzy, and centered churches, exploring how focusing on Jesus at the center fosters authenticity, inclusivity, and genuine discipleship.

Key Takeaways:

• Lines that Shame vs. Invitations to the Center – Understanding how bounded churches use boundaries that shame and exclude, while centered churches focus on inviting everyone towards Jesus without judgment.

• Authentic Community and Uneven Discipleship – Exploring how centered churches allow for uneven discipleship paths, encourage questioning and doubting, and foster genuine relationships without the pressure of conformity.

• Moving Beyond External Behaviors – Discussing the pitfalls of focusing solely on external behaviors and the importance of heart orientation and relational posture towards Jesus.

• Redefining Doctrine and Beliefs – Examining how centered churches use doctrine to clarify the center rather than as boundaries to exclude, allowing for diverse understandings within the community.

• Embracing the Messiness of Growth – Recognizing that while centered churches may be messier and lack rigid rules, they create space for real growth, transformation, and authentic faith journeys.

Resources Mentioned:

• "Centered-Set Church" by Mark Baker

• Paul Hiebert's Work on Set Theory

• Tim's Diagrams of Bounded, Fuzzy, and Centered Churches

• "If I Should Fall Behind" by Bruce Springsteen

Join us as we explore how embracing a centered church model can revolutionize your faith experience. Subscribe, leave a review, and follow the Voxology Podcast on social media to continue the conversation.

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to hello@voxpodcast.com, and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

Our Merch Store! ETSY

Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify

Support the Voxology Podcast on Patreon

The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey everybody. Tim, Stafford, Michael Erie coming at you in the Voxology podcast. Welcome to this episode. Thank you so much for allowing us to be a small part of your life. Timothy, how are you doing today? I'm doing very well. Thank you for asking.
0:19.8	What? That, that answer alone should
0:26.1	clue us in that something is off already. That's a, that's a scary thing. What time did you get up
0:32.5	to work out today? 445. 445, ladies and gentlemen. Dark and early, as they say.
0:38.9	Yes.
0:39.9	And it was core day today.
0:40.7	It was like 37 degrees, I think, when we got up.
0:44.9	Yeah, yeah.
0:45.9	So Timothy, Timothy's hit.
0:49.6	Yeah, you've done more today than I will do all day.
0:53.2	Today.
0:55.2	Anyway, welcome to a Voxology Podcast.
0:58.9	We have so much material to get through today.
1:03.3	We're just going to jump right into it.
1:04.6	No chit-chat.
1:05.9	No chit-chat.
1:07.4	I want to first thank Caitlin and Kathy and Samuel and Rachel for their support through Patreon. We have, man, we have an amazing community of people. This is a non-profits crowdfunded endeavor. And so we're really grateful that people see value in it. And so we
1:29.4	wanted to thank you guys. You can find out more about us and more about Patreon by going to
1:35.8	Voxology Podcast.com. There you can sign up for an email or a newsletter. Give us your email.
1:43.9	I set up for a newsletter. There's a survey there that has been
1:46.8	super helpful. Hundreds of you have taken that so far and we're very grateful and there have been
1:51.6	some really cool confirming and surprising things that we've been hearing from you. And anyway,
	...

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