{"id":143,"date":"2010-05-11T11:24:59","date_gmt":"2010-05-11T11:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leedscd.wordpress.com\/?p=143"},"modified":"2010-05-11T11:24:59","modified_gmt":"2010-05-11T11:24:59","slug":"the-rise-of-the-new-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/realisedevelopment.net\/index.php\/2010\/05\/11\/the-rise-of-the-new-church\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rise of the New Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although I am a humanist I have been impressed by the courage and commitment shown by many of the new churches in Leeds as they take on disused warehouses, old factories and other low cost previously commercial space to set up large evangelical churches often with broad and future thinking social missions.<\/p>\n

This does not mean that I\u00a0think\u00a0they are ‘good thing’. \u00a0I love the way they help to build social capital. \u00a0And I love the way they engage people in\u00a0thinking\u00a0about the future and hope. \u00a0I also love some of the very practical projects that\u00a0they\u00a0run to make our communities better places to live.<\/p>\n

It is just the religion that worries me. \u00a0And the ‘business model’ that implies a double bottom line measured in cash and souls.<\/p>\n

[vimeo http:\/\/vimeo.com\/11501569] <\/p>\n