I've created the following list of steps towards moving a church to a more missional way of life.
I'd like your comments! I'm going to continue to develop each point, but I wanted you to see the overview and provide me some feedback.
Church Transformation Process
1. Personal change and awareness – “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Ghandi
2. Form a nucleus - “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead
3. build awareness and understanding in your small group
4. Identify your churches history (who you were in the past)
5. Identify Your churches present (who are you now)
6. Identify where your church will be if you continue down the current path (where are you going)
7. Identify what the church “ought to be” (where should you be going)
8. Repeat steps 4,5, 6 and 7 but focus on your community
9. launch out as a small group and experiment with missional concepts that are with in the hearts of your small group (accept failure, expect failure but fail till you succeed)
10. praise both success and failure in public – inform others what the group is doing, seeing and learning
11. expand the group as others are drawn to it
12. educate and train new members – remembering that everyone is a leader of other and an influencer of others - never stop learning as a group
13. don’t let success strap you down – experiment always
14. persist without exception – failure is not an option just another stepping stone to success
15. divide the group and multiply into other groups
What do you think?
missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,
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Thursday, October 19, 2006
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5 comments:
Jerry: Your point #2 can’t be emphasized enough. I’ve seen/hear of to many pastors who attempt to change their entire faith community instead of starting with a small nucleus. Failing to heed this point often leads to dissention and splits.
Hey Missional Jerry!
Thanks for posting on my blog a while back. It is great to see your blog as well.
You have a lot of good stuff on this post.
Just for fun, here are the steps I would express (though I really have an aversion to steps).
1) Understand the gospel, the kingdom of God, and what your place is in God's story.
2) Live it.
3) Invite others to join you.
4) Teach the gospel, and tell stories about living it to inspire others to start new missions.
Hey Jon!
I love your No.4 part about telling stories to inspire others to start new missions. I must admit as a young boy it was the stories I heard that inspired me to become the avid fisherman I am today. Within the stories though was what really hooked me (no pun intended), which was the adventure.
Stories of adventure have an unexplainable power to lure you into starting your own adventures, coupled with the genuine enthusiasm and compassion of the original story teller. Who should have greater stories to tell than the body of Christ? If life in Christ isn't the adventure of a lifetime, then I don't know what is!
Could we not also mess the adventure of our walk with Jesus, with our other passions in life? Any adventure taken with a new or old friend is a powerful cayalist that has the power to forge lasting, meaningful relationships over time, and more stories.
Thanks!
Thanks for the encouragement, Jarvis. I think it is telling stories that has really began to transform our church. It builds faith, and people begin to actually believe that they can make a difference. Imagine that. Once faith is restored, you just stand back and see what God will do.
Jerry,
Quick question if you have a chance. How are you defining "church" in this posting.
You wrote "moving a church" - in this context what is "a church"?
Thanks for your time - I will check back.
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