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The Future of the New Church. Swedenborg Colloquium
By Kurt Simons | September 15, 2010
“Behold I Make All Things New” — How?
The Future of the New Church
Swedenborg Colloquium
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010
This symposium covered a wide spectrum of viewpoints on where the organized New Church should be going. (Please Note: Allow time, typically 10-30 seconds, for speaker files to download and begin playing. Page will be blank while this is taking place.)
Speakers
Topics: Issues, News | 6 Comments »
September 18th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
will audio for this event be made available online? I would love to attend, but am far away…
September 19th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Brian,
I think the meeting is being recorded and put online, but don’t yet know for sure. I will post details when available
October 2nd, 2010 at 12:12 am
I am new at the Swedenborg church but have read his writings for 40 years and hope to be at this symposium. I have attended so far 3 different church services at Bryn Athens and am somewhat disappointed but still intend to continue to come because I believe in all of Swedenborg’s teachings and want them more spread to the Christian churches. One problem I see is their tepid and at times even secular worship session. So far my impression is that more focus in the service should be given on the Lord Jesus Christ along with the proper and basic salvation doctrine — Swedenborg hits the nail on the head on this — and our Sodom and Gomorrah culture is in dire need of true salvation.
Also the right music and audience singing participation focused on our Lord Jesus is a powerful introduction to the service and allows the Holy Spirit to be present in a powerful way. Sermons then will be Spirit-filled and Swedenborg’s more basic teachings can of course be part of this to further explain Scripture. Leave the heavy stuff to the classrooms and symposiums for it too is important but will be over the heads of new people and mostly not critical to salvation – and getting people to heaven is the most important part. In a word the worship service should reach and uplift the peoples hearts filling them with the Holy Spirit and then the Lord will gradually work on their head.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:07 am
Amen Lou! Couldn’t agree more!
Swedenborg hits the nail on the head so clearly and so early in the history of the Christianity that I’m pretty sure he was one of the first Charismatic Christians, one of the first to restore the fullness of the Holy Spirit to the church and refocus our attention on salvation through every individual’s unmediated relationship with Jesus Christ, the one and only God.
Just as Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, so salvation and expanding the kingdom of heaven is the focus of every dedicated believer and every living Christian church. And at the heart of every living church is living and effective worship which is Spirit-filled praise, celebration, encouragement, and inspiration lifting, healing, restoring, and empowering those present to commit or recommit their lives to Christ in order to be born again and accept the gift of salvation that is so readily available to all. Lengthy and in-depth instruction and education really belong in the classroom — Sunday is for gathering together as a community to build up and send out all present with a heartfelt experience of God’s presence among us and an introduction to or reminder of His power to save.
And, just to be clear, there is nothing tepid or secular about true worship. Just because someone has heard or can repeat their education in the philosophy of religion or the facts of their theology does not make them a Christian or bring about their salvation. Christians are those who have personally committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and are dedicated to accomplishing His purposes, obeying His words, walking in His footsteps, following His example, and living His faith by doing His will. Like a friend of mine who was instrumental in bringing me to Christ often said, “To have faith IN Christ is really only accomplished when we choose to live the faith OF Christ.”
October 22nd, 2010 at 7:56 am
Lou, maybe you should enter the ministry and then you could form services in this way. Just an idea.
December 18th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
Not having been invited participate,I can´t make any comments.
I reside in Munich and voluntarilly staffed a soup kitchen for the homeless at a local Bedictine monastery. Anybody could staff, and anybody could walk in the door, participate in Mass, and take the Communion wafer.
“By invitation alone” sounds so “country club elitist” in my ears. I recall a quip by Groucho Marx: “I would not want to join a country club that would accept me as a member”.
I shall continue living the life of an eucumenical “Clowesian”, happilly participating in
the life of both a local Luthern Church and a
Catholic Benedictine monastery parish. Ora et
Labora.” (Worse, I am a “party book” carrying
member of the German SPD -Social Democratic
Party-Germany, and, oh how horrible, even have
contacts with the Greens. I am also a member of
the US expatriate “Democrats Abroad” and
subscribe to progressive Blog Sites such as “Think Progress” by the “Center for American Progress”
and”Treehugger”.
Anyhow, have a Merry Christmas, Kurt.
Kent Otho Doering, Munich