Chris Yaw Interviews Christopher Martin: Why Your Church Needs the Restoration Project
Taken with permission from ChurchNext.tv
You were made in the image of God - is it time for some restoration?
That's the tag line for Episcopal priest Christopher Martin's latest project: The Restoration Project - which aims, through sequential classes, small group discipleship, and personal rules of life - to deepen the spirituality of local congregations.
In this interview Christopher talks about the importance of these factors in building robust congregations.
Watch the Full Program BELOW.
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Synopsis
Christopher Martin is signing up churches from coast to coast to embrace a new (yet very old) way of making disciples. Here are my notes from the interview.
A Hunger for Spiritual Practices
Christopher pegs the success of his project, which has been years in the making, on the hunger many Christians have for going deeper with God.
Slowing It Down
Christopher leads his congregation through a Bible reading journey together - deliberately sticking to what's happening, week after week, in the same Bible book, instead of skipping around from topic to topic.
Put a Bible in the Pews
It's one of the best moves Christopher's made in his congregation: putting Bibles in every pew. And here's where to get 'em cheap: www.biblesbythecase.com
About Christopher Martin
Christopher is an Episcopal Priest currently serving St. Paul's parish in San Rafael, California. This is where he began developing the Basic A, B, C, Ds and the Rhythm of Life. These two structures were based on his experiences and those of his colleagues at the previous churches where he served including All Saints', Beverly Hills; Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford; and St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle.
In 1997 he founded Gathering the NeXt Generation (GTNG), a network of GenX clergy that led the church to end its bias against young clergy. He has led a variety of workshops and gatherings focused on giving the post-Baby Boomer generations a meaningful and transformative voice in the church. He loves to hike, read, feast and sing.Christopher holds degreed from Yale University and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Much more importantly, he met Chloe Drake whom he married and with whom he has two boys, Harper and Simon.
Books Christopher Recommends
The Harper-Collins Bible Commentary
Confessions - St. Augustine
A Guide to Living in the Truth - Michael Casey
BONUS
Christopher's work has been greatly influenced by the work of Gordon Cosby at The Church of Our Savior in Washington, D.C. Click here for an inspirational brochure on that ministry (beware, it takes a bit of time to load).