Open Source Article Instructions

You’re invited to co-write an article. This is an experiment; I have no way of knowing if it will work or not. But it should be fun. Here are the details:

Go to the EditMe site containing the article. (Bookmark this page!) Register using the menu to the right. Follow the links to the article. To edit the page, use the menu on the right side of the page (Page -> Edit).

Let me know if you have any questions. Don’t be shy. Get in there and get involved. If you have a blog, post on this so we can get others involved. A couple of notes: If this article is ever published, or makes any money, proceeds will first pay for the direct costs of the EditMe service, and will then be donated to World Vision Canada. Here’s how the article starts, although you can edit anything I’ve written:

The Death of the Modern Church And Why It’s a Good Thing These arenít easy days to be a pastor, or a committed churchgoer. Letís face it. Things arenít going too well. Many of us have sensed a growing and inescapable sense that the modern church ñ the church of programs, buildings, budgets, and meetings ñ is at least losing its effectiveness, and just may be on life support. Things have gotten so bad that itís not entirely surprising to read a Southern Baptist Leader write, ìA growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a reason. They are not leaving because they have lost faith. They are leaving the church to preserve faithî (Reggie McNeal, The Present Future p.4). The church, or should we say the old way of doing church, is dying. And hereís the thing: thatís not at all bad. The church as it existed didnít deserve to live. Long may something else live in its place. The End of Christendom For a long time, weíve been accustomed to Christendom as the norm. Christendom describes a society in which the Christian faith ìis the dominant religious and cultural forceî (Charles Bayer, A Resurrected Church p. 10). Within Christendom, one can assume that the teachings, values, music, and ethos of the church shape society. The modern church is a product of Christendom, and itís doubtful that it can survive without it. All around us, Christendom is ending…