Synergy evening on film and human relationships!

The next Synergy Evening is scheduled for this coming Friday, 16 May with an emphasis on film.

Lars Johansson, teacher in Philosophy and Religion at Örebro Theological Seminary, will speak about films that help us understand human relationships. You and your friends are invited for discussion and mingling!

Lars also serves as the Director of “Forum for Faith, Culture, and Society,” which publishes the cultural magazine Nod and also facilitates the Nod Academy, which specializes in distance-learning dealing with contemporary issues and Christian faith. Lars teaches on films in lectures and courses and has also assisted in publishing the book, Film and Religion (Cordia, 2005).

Entrance is free, and fika is for sale in our café.

Note: The seminar will be held in Swedish!

The café opens at 7 pm with the seminar starting at 7.30. Time will be allotted for questions, discussion, and mingling afterwards.

//The Synergy Team – Organized by New Life Church and Powerplay

The next Synergy conference will take place 14 -16 November 2008, watch the Synergy “teaser” for the coming conference here!

The church as we know it today will not survive the next decade and… the Synergy network continues to develop…

The Christian Daily called Dagen addressed the development of the Synergy concept and network in their paper. Yesterday night the time had come to start a series of seminars organized by the Synergy workgroup. Approximately 60 people came to listen to Andrew Redman who addressed Powers of Invention.

Unfortunately I was not able to stick around to get an idea how the seminar was received by the participants since I had to leave to catch up with some sleep to be able to get up at 4.00 am to catch my flight at the Arlanda airport to Kopenhagen where pastors Ulf and Jörgen picked me up by car to bring me back to Sweden to preach in their church in Kristiansstad and to meet with their leadership team and board. (What a way to get to church: with our car to the airport, to Danmark, to Sweden to…. And back) During the 1,5 hour trip we talked about the development of the Church in Sweden and soe of the challenges they faced.

I was warmly welcomed by many members of the church and found the very interesting phenomenon of an older, changing local church in a town with 70,000 people. The changes which are taking place in their church are the kind that are close to my heart; from a rather homogeneous more typical Swedish Free Church, they find themselves challenged and enriched by the growing presence of many immigrants and “New Swedes”. The congregation is slowly moving into becoming a multi-cultural church.

Praise God! My deep inner conviction is that most of our churches today should be multi-cultural churches to reflect the reality of the society in which we live. If we only reflect the “like children play best scenario” how can we ever be regarded a trust worthy and relevant church in our nation? I was so happy to find out about this church and it was a privilege to be with them and to encourage them to continue the way they were going. Hopefully wil they become a source of life to other new church plants in the near future?

My prayer and hope is that more churches will be able to allow themselves to face this kind of challenges and dare to wrestle wit the consequences of being Church today in 2008. Because let’s be honest: the church as we know of today (like-minded, middle class Svensson church) will not survive the next decade unless it quickly adjusts to the reality of society and the Mission of Jesus in our days!

That’s the Way I see it!

John

A foretaste of the coming Synergy conference in New Life!

A conference on the Arts in Stockholm Sweden, November 14-16, 2008

Check the website: synergy

Hello world!

I am found on WordPress.com (as you have already noticed)! Although blogging is not new to me, I had to connect with Dag Selander, a blog nestor, to see the (new) light! The title of the blog “Synergetics” means the world to me…

First, the idea of Synergetics developed as we were looking to describe the wonderful richness of expressions within the Arts during our conference and ministry which we organize in the church where I am one of the pastors.

Secondly, Synergetics is derived from the word”Synergy” which means: “The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects”.

Thirdly, life is not compartmentalized; it is a unity of spirit, soul and body… Just imagine how synergetic power can be released as I will address and open up thoughts and convictions on Christ, the Church, Mission, Leadership, Justice and the Arts! And imagine when you, who are reading this, will start interacting and responding to the issues at hand! What a power and force can be released!

Fourthly, Synergetics for me means action. This blog is not meant to be a “think tank” only… actually the fact is that my personality, my drive, my convictions and my visions are at the heart of this blog as I want to be an instrument to “Impact our world with hope”. (Which, incidentally is the mission of New Life church in Stockholm where I am pasturing). There are already too many philosophers and thinkers in our world… my conviction is that we need some doers! (J:T Studd : Just do it!)

I hope that you will find that this blog will help you to keep the fire alive; the fire for Christ, for Justice, for His wonderful Church, for our responsibility for the world we live in and, that you will be willing to take a leadership role in your life, to lead others into that same experience! 

For now, that’s the Way I see it!

John