{"id":6625,"date":"2012-02-09T15:03:27","date_gmt":"2012-02-09T15:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/for\/?p=6625"},"modified":"2012-02-09T15:04:04","modified_gmt":"2012-02-09T15:04:04","slug":"%e2%80%98open-source-church%e2%80%99-concept-explored-during-first-session-of-theologian-in-residence-lecture-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/featured\/2012\/%e2%80%98open-source-church%e2%80%99-concept-explored-during-first-session-of-theologian-in-residence-lecture-series\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Open Source Church\u2019 concept explored during Theologian-in-Residence lecture series"},"content":{"rendered":"

What \u201copen source\u201d means in relation to faith and church life was the focus of the first session of the Theologian-in-Residence lecture series Tuesday (Feb. 7) at Tusculum College.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Landon Whitsitt, author of \u201cOpen Source Church: Making Room for the Wisdom of All,\u201d is leading the annual series, which is co-sponsored by the Holston Presbytery and Tusculum College with funding from Ron Smith.<\/p>\n

As a person who grew up in the personal computing and Internet age, that experience affects his world view, said Whitsitt, stated clerk of the Synod of Mid-America. Similarly, he said, those experiences also affect how he and others who have grown up surrounded by and using technology see their Christian faith.<\/p>\n

Emphasizing that there is no right or wrong way to \u201cdo\u201d church, he said that the open source church is not for everyone. By describing the concept of the open source church, Whitsitt continued, he hopes to provide an insight to how the Internet generation views their Christian faith and perhaps help churches who have small numbers of younger people in their congregations understand how to connect with this group.<\/p>\n

The open source church concept was inspired by the open source software movement. For software developers, open source means freedom in two ways \u2013 in gratis<\/em> (no payment required) and in libre<\/em> (freedom in speech and expression, the ability to edit and use the software as desired), Whitsitt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ideas of gratis<\/em> and libre<\/em> are woven into the Christian DNA,\u201d he continued, noting writings by Martin Luther about Christians\u2019 freedom in Christ, which is a gift of God, and their duty to serve others. \u201cIt is a way to describe our relationship with God and each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the open source software movement grew, it became apparent that definitions of freedom varied between developers, and one developer decided to create a definition of open source software. His definition, which includes 10 points that have to be met for software to be called open source, was embraced by the computing community and has become the standard.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Rev. Landon Whitsitt introduces his subject of the \u201cOpen Source Church\u201d during the first session Tuesday of the Theologian-in-Residence lecture series.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

After reading the 10 tenants that open source software must meet, Whitsitt said he thought they could be adapted into a good expression of the way that those of the Internet age see the world and Christian faith.<\/p>\n

Calling them the \u201c10 commandments of the open source Christian world view,\u201d Whitsitt said the first is \u201cthou shalt freely give what thou hast freely received.\u201d \u201cSoftware exists to do something, and the gospel exists to do something,\u201d he said. \u201cThe point of the gospel is to set people free.\u201d The church and Christians are to share the message of the gospel \u2013 God\u2019s love is free to all and people should not be made to pay for it, he said. He described payment as some type of requirement to be met and gave an example of requiring people to say a specific prayer before they are considered to have faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThou shalt not restrict access to Jesus Christ, the Word of God\u201d is the second commandment. \u201cJesus is God in a way that I can understand,\u201d Whitsitt said, and people should be given access to Jesus to understand Him, but that way of understanding should not be dictated to them.<\/p>\n

The third is \u201cthou shalt celebrate the incarnation (of Jesus) by celebrating contextualization,\u201d he said, explaining that there has to be freedom to deliver the gospel in different ways as environment and culture dictate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThou shalt respect the integrity of the work and person of Jesus Christ\u201d is the fourth commandment. No one can claim to definitely know the mind of Christ and what He is doing in the world, Whitsitt explained.<\/p>\n

The remainder of the commandments involve not excluding or restricting individuals, ministries or groups.<\/p>\n

The fifth is \u201cthou shalt not exclude any person or group. \u201cWhen we exclude a group,\u201d he said, \u201cwe are saying that it does not have anything to offer. This encourages us instead to keep the long vision and stay humble. We have to realize God knows what is going on and we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, the sixth says \u201cthou shalt not exclude any mission or ministry.\u201d While a person may not personally like a mission or ministry, it has value if it is bringing people to Jesus, <\/strong>to experience the freedom He brings, Whitsitt added.<\/p>\n

The seventh and eight regard the truth that the gospel is for all people and that no one theology is correct to the exclusion of all others. \u201cThou shalt extend the benefits of the gospel to all\u201d is the seventh, and the eighth is \u201cthou shalt not restrict the benefits of the gospel to a particular theology.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ninth commandment is \u201cthou shalt not deny the truth and benefits of other religious traditions.\u201d \u00a0When asked about how that could be reconciled with Jesus\u2019 command to go and make disciples and His statement that He is \u201cthe way, the truth and the life,\u201d Whitsitt pointed to writings by Presbyterian theologians that interpret the Great Commission passage to not be about conversion, but about disciplining, and that the understanding of the \u201cway, truth and life\u201d statement should be understood in the context of the situation, in which disciples were being excluded from Jewish religious life.<\/p>\n

Because time did not allow for a fuller discussion of the issue, Whitsitt encouraged the attendees to read and investigate further on their own.<\/p>\n

The tenth is \u201cthou shalt not restrict the benefits of the gospel to a particular group.\u201d Whitsitt explained that no one can say that Christ is only for a particular group or a particular denomination.<\/p>\n

Whitsitt will continue his discourse about the open source church next Tuesday, Feb. 14, when he will focus on the basic principles of an open source church and its different levels of participation and responsibility. The series continues on Feb. 21 and will conclude Feb. 28.<\/p>\n

The sessions begin at 10 a.m. in the Chalmers Conference Center in the Niswonger Commons on the Tusculum College campus. There is no charge to attend the lecture series, but reservations are required as lunch is provided in the college\u2019s cafeteria. To register or for more information, please call 423.636.7304 or email eestes@tusuclum.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What \u201copen source\u201d means in relation to faith and church life was the focus of the first session of the Theologian-in-Residence lecture series Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Open Source Church\u2019 concept explored during Theologian-in-Residence lecture series :: Tusculum University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/featured\/2012\/\u2018open-source-church\u2019-concept-explored-during-first-session-of-theologian-in-residence-lecture-series\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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