The Missional Rhythms of an Embedded Church
12/03/19 • 50 min
In this episode, we talk with Renee and James B Notkin who are co-Pastors of Union Church in Seattle. Union Church is a church plant located in the South Lake Union Neighborhood in Seattle. In planting Union Church, the Notkins were looking to develop a missional church model that would provide weekly opportunities for three basic discipleship commitments:
· Remain in me
· Love one another
· Go into the world
This led them to a pattern of life together in which the format for their Sunday gathering followed a regular four week rotation of worship, small groups, and service.
In living into this vision, what Renee and James B didn’t expect was that the neighborhood would experience cataclysmic transformation. A decade ago, South Lake Union was an underdeveloped semi industrial stretch of land nestled between the Seattle Center and Lake Union. And then Amazon decided to locate their headquarters there. Seemingly overnight, their church was a few blocks away from the busiest intersection in Seattle.
In this conversation, we discuss how Renee and James B look for opportunities to find points of connection with their new neighbors, to care for those who might be overlooked in a time of economic growth, and to continue to provide vital programs for the congregation.
Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.
More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.
Related Resources
Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America by Daryl Gruder
Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:
Missional Theology
Third Place
Show Credits
Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe
Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions
Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer
Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative
In this episode, we talk with Renee and James B Notkin who are co-Pastors of Union Church in Seattle. Union Church is a church plant located in the South Lake Union Neighborhood in Seattle. In planting Union Church, the Notkins were looking to develop a missional church model that would provide weekly opportunities for three basic discipleship commitments:
· Remain in me
· Love one another
· Go into the world
This led them to a pattern of life together in which the format for their Sunday gathering followed a regular four week rotation of worship, small groups, and service.
In living into this vision, what Renee and James B didn’t expect was that the neighborhood would experience cataclysmic transformation. A decade ago, South Lake Union was an underdeveloped semi industrial stretch of land nestled between the Seattle Center and Lake Union. And then Amazon decided to locate their headquarters there. Seemingly overnight, their church was a few blocks away from the busiest intersection in Seattle.
In this conversation, we discuss how Renee and James B look for opportunities to find points of connection with their new neighbors, to care for those who might be overlooked in a time of economic growth, and to continue to provide vital programs for the congregation.
Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.
More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.
Related Resources
Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America by Daryl Gruder
Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:
Missional Theology
Third Place
Show Credits
Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe
Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions
Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer
Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative
Previous Episode
Commercial Enterprises as a Church
In this episode Chris Barras, the Lead Pastor of Area 10 Faith Community shares about the entrepreneurial heart and spirit that drives how his church has taken shape in their neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Coming from a background in management at Starbucks, Chris has an ethos for developing "third places," a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg to refer to the places you spend time outside of your home and your work. In other words, the place where you meet with friends and neighbors.
The church meets at the Byrd Theater, a historic theater in the heart of the neighborhood. Renting this space for their main worship service has both freed and forced the church to be creative in the ways they find and use ancillary space for church ministry and needs. With a need for Sunday nursery space, but not wanting to have an empty storefront for the rest of the week, the church opened Coffee & Cartwheels, a combination coffee shop and indoor playspace that both adults and kids can enjoy.
Additionally, the church has now opened 2810, a community gathering space that houses church offices and places for their small groups to meet, but operates as a public event and meeting rental space throughout most of the week. Chris also shares about some of the general business mechanics of starting LLCs and managing these spaces.
The episode wraps up with a discussion of the loneliness that Chris encounters in Richmond and a call for churches to develop places for people in their communities to connect and talk with one another.
Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.
More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.
Related Resources
Cities of God by Rodney Stark
The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg
Home from Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler
Sidewalks in the Kingdom by Eric O. Jacobsen
Suburban Nation by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck
Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:
Infill Development
Third Place
Walk Score
Show Credits
Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe
Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions
Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer
Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative
Next Episode
The Embedded Church in a Rural Setting
In this episode we talk with Matt Canlis who is the Pastor of Trinity Church in Wenatchee, Washington. A few years ago, Matt was a Pastoral Assistant in Scotland and discovered the parish model of pastoral ministry. He learned how to engage the people of his parish by walking around and visiting with them in their homes, schools, businesses, and pubs. He also learned to structure his week so that he wouldn’t be at the mercy of his own or his congregation’s expectations.
After his time in Scotland, Matt and his family were called back to the United States to serve at Trinity Church in Wenatchee, Washington. In this transition, Matt has been deliberate about continuing the parish ministry model and his weekly rhythms in this new context.
Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.
More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.
Related Resources
Livegodspeed - check here for Matt’s new book Backyard Pilgrim coming in 2020
Jesus and the Victory of God by NT Wright
Under the Unpredictable Plant by Eugene Peterson
Find these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:
Belonging
Embodiment
Hospitality
Localism
Parish
Proximity
Shalom
Show Credits
Hosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy Proppe
Edited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice Productions
Theme Music by Jacob Shaffer
Artwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative
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