Doug Pagitt

BIOGRAPHY

Doug Pagitt  is the pastor of Solomon's Porch. Doug is the husband of Shelley and father of Michon, Taylor, Ruben and Chico. Doug is a graduate of Bethel Seminary. Doug is also part of Emergent - a generative friendship of missional church leaders around the world.  Doug Pagitt is an author in the Emerging Church movement and head pastor of Solomon's Porch in South Minneapolis.  He was born and raised in the Minneapolis area,  is a graduate of  Bethel College (1988 - Anthropology), and Bethel Seminary (1992 - MA in Theology).

100 W 46th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55419

About Solomon's Porch
(numbering and emphasis added)

There are many elements to our worship. Our desire is to create an atmosphere where we can collectively learn, pray, sing and be encouraged to follow God. We hope that you will be encouraged to participate with us.  Music - The music we sing is original to our community. It is our desire that our music tells our story of faith, encourages us to trust in God and help us to ask of God, depend on God and praise God.  Bible Reading - We believe that the Bible is the non-fictional story of God's involvement with people. We believe that the Bible can be the lenses through which we look to better understand our world and our lives.  Personal Story - Many weeks our Worship Gatherings include someone telling their story. It is our hope that these stories will help us to get to know one another and to encourage us in knowing that God still works in people's lives.  Prayer - We believe that prayer is an important way to communicate with and hear from God. As part of Worship Gatherings we utilize many means of prayer including; silence, song, historical prayer, and traditional prayer.  Communion - Each Worship Gathering we share Communion. It serves as an opportunity to remember what Jesus did through his death and resurrection and as an "appetizer" for the "Great Feast" in the Kingdom of Heaven. All who desire to follow Jesus are invited to participate.  Historical Pieces - In a desire to be connected to the historical church and the followers of Jesus who have gone before us, we use a historical piece in each Gathering.
Our Worship Gatherings are an expression of the Solomon’s Porch Community.  Our Gatherings are designed to be interactive and participatory. The set-up of the furniture is in the round to help us engage with one another during the music, prayer and discussion. So while it may seem a little odd to face people during church, give it a chance for a while and see how it grows on you.  The music we use in our Gatherings is “home grown” as an expression of our faith, so it may take you a while to pick it up, but go ahead and start singing along whenever you wish.  There are refreshments on a table in the family room that you are invited to enjoy.  Please feel invited to join in on any of the happenings you will find listed on the weekly announcement sheet. Please, especially consider a Wednesday community dinner. These dinners are hosted at Solomon’s Porcher’s homes and provide a great chance to meet and connect with others.  Again, welcome to our Community’s Worship Gathering
Holistic  Understanding that all areas of life are connected, including faith, time, family, work, body, money, intellect, et al.   Missional  Our belief is that God intends Christianity be a way of life which sends us into the world to serve God and our neighbors, so that God's will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. The church is never to be the withdrawn or isolated end user of the gospel of Jesus; rather, we receive it so that we may be equipped and sent into the world to love our neighbors and serve "the least of these." In this sense, Solomon's Porch doesn't have a mission; it is mission.  Christian  As Christians we see ourselves as a growing people who are learning to live life with God in the way of Jesus. We represent a generous orthodoxy, rooted in the Scriptures and consistent with the ancient creeds of the church.
Community  Desiring to share life with one another in a way that we become a living, breathing, local expression of the global, historical body of Christ.

Things of Imporatnce:  (1) God - Our gatherings are mostly about God. Because we believe God is to be the center of life and that God adds texture, taste and depth to life, we gather to learn, experience and share God in many of the ways Christians have for thousands of years.  (2) Jesus - We worship Jesus as the Lord and Savior for all.
(3) Story - We all come with one, participate in each other's and are part of GodÌs story. So share a piece of yours, hear some one elseÌs and allow the story of God to help you better understand both. (4) Participation - Our worship gatherings are not meant to be a show or a concert. They are designed as an interactive experience. So join in, share what you have and take a piece of what those around you have to give. (5) Community - We desire to be a people who share life with one another. We seek to find ways to connect. Our desire is that you will meet other people who will become a part of your life as you are become part of theirs. (6) Ideas & Input - This church is a church of people, not an event created by the leaders. We hope and desire to help you make your dreams come to life. So if you have a ministry idea, a community idea, a worship idea, please share it. (7) People  - This may sound simple, but we really want to spend our time, energy, money and all we have on people.
Covenant Participants  We at Solomon’s Porch desire to arrange our lives so that we can personally and corporately live with God in the way of Jesus.  We believe that is best accomplished as participants in community with one another. While there is significant work required to intimately share our lives, we are convinced that it is the best way to live.  This living of life together will take on many forms within our community. One of those forms involves being in a committed relationship with our church. While this is not intended to be a prerequisite for participation at Solomon’s Porch, it is the best way to be involved in the life of the church and the lives of the people of the Solomon’s Porch.   If you consider Solomon’s Porch your church, then please consider involvement as a Covenant Participant.
Covenant Participants' Agreement   Solomon’s Porch Covenant Participants agree to: (1)Be one who seeks to live life with God in the way of Jesus (2)Seek to live life consistent with the generous orthodoxy, ancient creeds and Scriptures of the church  (3)Stay reconciled with the people of the Solomon’s Porch community (4)Involvement in the life of Solomon’s Porch including Prayer, Participation and Finances (see financial life of Solomon’s Porch link) (5)Invest in the ministry and dreams of Solomon’s Porch (6) Covenant Participants will be expected to attend Covenant Participant dinner meetings normally held every five week before the Worship Gathering. (7) Covenant Participants must attend a half-day interactive Overview Dialog focusing on the ministry, history, future and passion of Solomon’s Porch. These dialogs are intended to provide deeper understanding of Solomon’s Porch and to serve as a way to connect with others of Solomon’s Porch.  Covenant Participants will be added after each Overview Dialog.
Voting Participants  A Voting Participant is a Covenant Participant willing to take on the added responsibility of making decisions around issues outlined in the Legal Constitution of Solomon’s Porch.
Role of Voting Participants  Give approval of major expenses and acquisition of debt.  Ratify new Voting Members.  Nominate and elect Leadership Group Members
Vote for removal or hiring of the Pastor. 
Criteria for Voting Participants  Be a Covenant Participant for at least 6 months.  Participate in the duties outlined in the constitution for voting members.  Participate in the Annual meeting.  Be at least 18 years of age*Voting Participants will be added twice per year (normally 6 months following becoming a Covenant Participant) with the ratification of the current Voting Participants.
Leadership Group   The Leadership Group consists of those selected by the Voting Participants of Solomon’s Porch to give leadership regarding issues of overall church matters, finances and staff. The Leadership Group also assumes the legal board responsibilities of the church.   The Leadership Group will consist of up to 12 people
Leadership Group Members will serve two-year terms and may serve two consecutive terms.  Leadership Group Members must: Be a Voting Participant  Demonstrate leadership consistent with the Biblical and Historical church example.  Be willing and able to serve the term to which they are nominated*Leadership Group Participants are nominated by a nominating group of Covenant Participants and approved by the Voting Participant.
 

WHAT HE BELIEVES

Listening to the Beliefs of the Emerging Church
“Because theology is connected to real life, answering particular questions, concerns and opportunities of the day, it will be ever-changing. If it is not so, then it may well not be theology - it may be dogma, history, or a collection of random facts, but not theology. Theology is the living understanding of the story of God in play with the story of our lives” (121).
“I think it is worth saying again that theology is not the same as the story of God. Far too often, in my opinion, this becomes an issue, and when one disagrees with our theology, we can too easily assume they have abandoned Scripture or the story of God. Theology is explanatory - answering certain questions or addressing certain issues. But it must never be confused with the life of God or the story of God” (123).
“We are called to be communities that are cauldrons of theological imagination, not ‘authorized re-staters’ of past ideas. What we have in our communities are not simply people who need to have the gospel applied to their lives, but people who need to know their situation and what the Good News of God means for them. So our job as leaders of communities is not simply to apply the well-founded answers of previous generations’ questions or assumptions to the lives of our people, but rather to guide, extract, and join with the hopes and aspirations deeply embedded by God in the lives of our people” (127).
Faith Undone
"During a recent Life Development Forum we offered a session on Christian practices. In one of the four weeks we introduced the act of making the sign of the cross on ourselves. This gesture has become a very powerful experience for me. It is rich with meaning and history and is such a simple way to proclaim and pray my faith with my body. I hold the fingers on my right hand in the shape of a cross, my index finger lying over the top of my outstretched thumb. I use the Eastern Orthodox pattern of touching first head, then heart, then right lung followed by left. Others in the group follow the Roman Catholic practice with left before right." ( p. 51)
Emergent Manifesto of Hope
"I don't think it is possible to tell the story of faith from the posture of sameness and stability .... Ours is a story of the expanding life of God generating new creation ... of collective faith." (pp. 75-76)
"Since the church has been one of the main perpetrators of parental fear-mongering, it's only fair we take up the cause of creating a culture of parenting that is less about what we don't want for our children and more about what we do want." (p. 52)
 

Random quote:  “There is no acultural Gospel or Good News, there is only Good News within a context.”  “Every place is as suitable for the Gospel as any other.” 
"Truth is always played out in a situation."