Patrick Oden :: Blog :: Late to the Missional Bandwagon

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=221

There are a lot of bloggers listed below and a whole lot of interesting thoughts being said. I’m trying to make my way through those over the next week and have already been pushed farther. I mentioned in a comment that I think reading through these blogs has been more worthwhile than a number of seminary courses I’ve taken. Gathering these all together, discussing one per session, would make for an amazing class for a church or anywhere.

Pat Loughery from In the Coracle has written a very, very interesting and unique post on the example of St. Aidan. He didn’t make it on the ‘official’ posted list because he was late to the party, but his post is very well worth highlighting.

Those who have followed me for a while know that church history is near and dear to my heart. It is, next to Scripture, one of the most important sources for understanding God’s work in this world, and yet it is also one of the very least focused on in all but the historic churches. There is even a distrust of church history, which is curious because God has defined himself in Scripture as the God who works in and through history. And he didn’t stop working when the Apostles died.

I love to see church history brought out in these contexts. I think maybe I’ve become discouraged about applying such things more directly, letting the influence come out in other ways but not bringing up my inspiration. Pat pushes me to maybe get back into being more direct.

By the way, if you’re interested in reading more about Celtic missionaries work on a more thorough level have a go at Light to the Isles by Douglas Dales, or the book Pat noted, An Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Bede.