Beautifully framed, Patrick. Your reading of Romans 16 as a Spirit-woven network affirms what I sensed long ago but lacked words for: I was living the Gospel before I recognized it. Today I call it Symbiotic Networks—or what I now see as New Wineskin networks: decentralized, Spirit-led ecosystems rooted in households, where relational infrastructure replaces control, communities multiply, vocation outweighs title, and the Church reclaims its identity as movement, not brand.
Like the early Church under empire, we face global fragmentation. The paradox: we must renew the Church from within and also build mediating structures that reconnect it with neighborhoods and civil society.
This grassroots model transcends Left/Right divides—prioritizing compassion, community, and the least among us. When churches foster community resilience, they can model an alternative to empire: decentralized networks of care, culture, and local economy. I’d love to learn more about your work and explore how I can support it.
Thank you Richard! You say it so much better than I have in my post. I am grateful for your comment. (And I love ‘new wineskin’ networks.) I look forward to more chats in the future.
Beautifully framed, Patrick. Your reading of Romans 16 as a Spirit-woven network affirms what I sensed long ago but lacked words for: I was living the Gospel before I recognized it. Today I call it Symbiotic Networks—or what I now see as New Wineskin networks: decentralized, Spirit-led ecosystems rooted in households, where relational infrastructure replaces control, communities multiply, vocation outweighs title, and the Church reclaims its identity as movement, not brand.
Like the early Church under empire, we face global fragmentation. The paradox: we must renew the Church from within and also build mediating structures that reconnect it with neighborhoods and civil society.
This grassroots model transcends Left/Right divides—prioritizing compassion, community, and the least among us. When churches foster community resilience, they can model an alternative to empire: decentralized networks of care, culture, and local economy. I’d love to learn more about your work and explore how I can support it.
Thank you Richard! You say it so much better than I have in my post. I am grateful for your comment. (And I love ‘new wineskin’ networks.) I look forward to more chats in the future.
Likewise, let me know if there is anything I can do to support you.