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Complexity Theory as Model and Metaphor for the Church

No doubt, most churchgoing Christians have at one time or another, while sitting in a pew on Sunday morning, posited the question “Why am I here?” They are not asking this question in the grandiose sense of “What is the meaning of life?” Rather, they are pondering “Why am I here at Walnut Street Church this morning, interacting with fellow Christians, singing hymns, reading Scripture, and breaking bread? What is the purpose of the church? And how does Walnut Street Church fit into the broader context of God’s Kingdom?” In an attempt to address such questions, it might be profitable to consider an equally vexing problem in science. It is a problem that is beginning to be solved (to the extent that it can be solved), and it may provide some useful metaphors, if not outright models, for understanding our roles as individuals in the church, both the church local (i.e., Walnut Street) and the Church universal (i.e., God’s Kingdom).