Becoming Missional

Missional - Words Matter

2011-05-11T08:31:00.002-04:00

I read this article the other day from HolySoup

And the point was simple

"your Christian speak has certain meanings"

Some of it means something to you - and something different to others

I have been floating around the missional movement long enough to have seen a change

Missional meant an active, in-community focus

Now it seems to mean - whatever a church does that isnt in its building

Missional is not a church program - its a lifestyle

Missional Goal

2011-05-03T18:31:00.001-04:00

What's the goal of living a missional life???

Here's my definition

Practically living out God's mission in the world today.

We are His Hands and Feet..............

The time has come: Becoming Missional - coming back

2011-05-02T21:47:00.001-04:00

The decision is made.......

Becoming Missional shall once again be live and well.

And I have begun my book.........

Watch for more details soon!

What Would Your Church Do - a Missional Question

2010-03-10T23:13:00.002-05:00

A grant of $1 Million dollars has been given to your church. Stipulations on the grant allow you to do only 2 things.

1. Spend the money on a new church building.

2. Hire 3 couples at a cost of $52,500.00 per year to come into your community and minister. With compounded interest you would have these ministry couples in place for at least 7 years.

Which choice would your church make? why?

What is the missional choice?

Which Church is a "church" - Missional Question?

2010-03-04T23:12:00.006-05:00

I had a discussion with a friend recently about a church "plant" they are involved with that doesnt meet a particular denominations idea of a church plant.

1. Their church plant is a melting pot each week of: broken families, drunks, high teenagers, single moms, disabled vets and homeless and hungry. Each week they have no idea who will show up to the Bible study, but each week they get a chance to minister to those in need.

2. Then theres another church plant: each Sunday they have 65 people, half dozen families, some singles and some seniors. These members are stable and have been believers for years. Each week they come, give their tithes and offerings, praise a little, pray a little, listen to the sermon and leave.

Guess which church gets the denominations financing and support........................

church number 2!

Why is that?

What has happened to the church when doing ministry isn't considered doing ministry?

Missional - What it means to me

2010-03-01T11:36:00.002-05:00

Having been blogging about missional things for years now - Ive had alot of time to consider what missional means.

Here's my definition:

To be Missional is to live out your belief,
in your community - where you live and with who you live,
using all your gifting - freely and enthusiastically,
confessing your imperfection and realizing all are imperfect,
being Christ's hands,
seeing the needs as God sees them and responding accordingly,
living moment by moment in communion with God,
sharing my blessings with others,
helping others to see Jesus and ABBA,
growing daily in grace and knowledge of them.
Being who I was created to be.

Now I know thats not what many would say is a "good" definition. But this is what its become to me.

Missional is my way of life. I dont take it off and put it on. It "is" me. It's not my church. Although a church can be missional. It's people walking out a lifestyle. Missional is a choice I make.

Being Missional is Personal

2009-12-20T13:23:00.005-05:00

In the time that has occurred since I last posted it seems there's been a lot of arguing going on.

Big church vs small church
IC vs missional/emerging
Jesus vs Paul
traditional theology vs missional theology

I'm really confused by all of this. It seems that when I started on the missional path, the folks I met were content to travel their own personal missional road. Now some of them have a voice and they want to argue and fight about who's right.

To me the idea of a missional journey is personal and it sucks in those closest to me. I care only about what those I'm responsible for think and what God thinks. I'm not looking to be right - just faithful.

Conversation is great. Exchanging ideas is wonderful. But using the very breath Im given to argue about about who is "right" and who is "wrong" is heart breaking to me.

My walk is my walk. I'm thankful to everyone who finds it valuable to read my thoughts and I look forward to many conversations concerning God's Missional plan for you, me and His bride.

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Ok time for the Becoming Missional relaunch

2009-12-19T19:50:00.003-05:00

The site has been updated.

It's time to get back to the business of sparking discussion!

check back - sign up and let's see where the Spirit leads.

Becoming Missional Updates

2009-12-19T13:22:00.002-05:00

Updating the site has begun!

Soon the missional conversation will begin again!

So to Return

2009-12-07T11:33:00.001-05:00

I will be back posting soon.

Man I have missed this place!

Missional - wow

2007-08-15T23:23:00.000-04:00

Missional Hair

2007-07-10T14:53:00.000-04:00

When is hair not hair but missional hair?

When your daughter donates her hair to Locks of Love

Im glad my children understand how to love others. It makes me proud to know they see the need to show Christ's love. Even in little ways.

Been Awhile

2007-07-10T14:46:00.000-04:00

Been awhile Since Ive posted.

Needless to say - dealing with a serious issue from my past.

Hopefully in a time Ill be able to share the story of how what happened then brought me to my missional position.

For now please continue to pray for me and my family.

Thanks

Missional - A chance to do something

2007-05-31T12:14:00.001-04:00

Ran across this organization and thought I'd pass it along.

Worth checking out.

Our Beautiful Day

Missional - Its harder to compete with so much choice

2007-05-28T20:09:00.000-04:00

Check out this article:

GM dealers offer Toyota test drives

Now you can compare similar cars all at one place. Choice run rampant.

Whats it mean to the church?

Well first off it means we can't compete! We must stand on our distictives. Those things that set us apart from everyone else.

We can't be "similar" we must be distictive! If we are similar to something we will get shopped like every other product.

The church must stop acting like a product as well. The church is the sum of its people and its mission. Not its building and its programs.

What does your church stand out with?

Missional - Missional Blog Recommendation

2007-05-28T15:52:00.000-04:00

I have recently found this blog.

Check it out some great information here.

Volunteers In Service Blog

Great stuff

Missional - Missional Ministry and the Technology challenge

2007-05-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

Found this article the other day:

Report: 48% of Leisure Time is Spent Online

MarketingVOX: A report from Media-Screen finds that broadband users spend an average of 48 percent of their free time online in a typical weekday, reports the Center for Media Research. The percentage measures out to about one hour and 40 minutes.

On average, online broadband users devote 27 percent of their time online to leisure/entertainment, 27 percent for communication, 9 percent on information searches, 15 percent on personal productivity, and 12 percent on shopping.

Among younger users, 48 percent report they learn about new entertainment mainly through peer-powered sites like social networks, review and video sites, and blogs.

Two media activities - sending email and visiting sites for personal reasons - are more popular than watching TV.

You can find the original article here.

I think this has real significance for those individuals and churches seeking to be missional.

More young people surf the web than watch TV!

So part of the problem resides in the fact that we want to bring pre-believers into an atmosphere where in most churches we are technology challenged. The first thing these folks think is that suddenly they are beng asked to be part of a group who doesnt understand them.

What do we need to do? What can be done?

We need to not be affraid of Blogs, MySpace, Social Networking, emailing prayer reports and Bible study resources. Create ebooks and other resources.

It doesnt take much to record services as MP3's or video files anymore and put them online. Free services like YouTube and others host all this content free.

People are looking for an ongoing conversation. One that doesnt end when the service ends. But one that is a continuation. How can we do creative things to extend that conversation?

But the first step in tradtional churches who long to move missionally must be able to integrate technology in a seamless way that allows for new people to see thought, planning and consideration going into how technology is being used. And not just in the presentation during the service but in the use during the week and thepromotion of that ongoing conversation.

How can we use the powerful tool of modern communication to increase the scope, reach and quality of our conversations with those who are in our congregations?

Any Ideas?

Missional - The Missional Office Pool

2007-05-23T17:44:00.000-04:00

So a guy in my office was having a baby (yeah I know his wife was having it). So there was a pool. How much would the baby weigh.

Well everyone was taking weights and putting their $5 in and no one asked me to join. I got righteously offended and asked him why he didnt ask me. He said "I didnt think a preacher would play!" I said well how about this Ill take the last 2 weights and if I "win" you can have the money for the baby.

Well guess what.

I won.

Now ewveryone in the office today was talking about how I gave the office pool money to the the father of the new baby.

You know what? It didnt cost me much, but it did give me ample opportunity to tell people today, that the reason I did it was to bless someone else the way God has blessed me.

More than 1 person said, "I wish all people who say they are Christians did such things."

The opportunities are out there folks. Its up to you to capitalize on them.

Missional - Starts Small

2007-05-22T21:00:00.000-04:00

As you may know, we've accepted a position as Senior Pastor at a church in a rural county here in North Central Pa. We are excited and thrilled to begin this new journey.

It will be an opportunity for us to help a church become missional as well as live it out ourselves.

It began for me last week by meeting the local Convenience Store owner and the Postal Clerk. What fun!

Now Im working on how to begin to develop these relationships.

I have also discovered the local lake is a great place to meet others and talk. I have already been there to pray and consider God's beauty and God has brought a couple conversations about with folks because of that.

Im excited to see how God uses these things and develops these relationships.

Stay Tuned.

Missional - A Leadership Lesson

2007-05-21T17:30:00.000-04:00

“Ph.D. in leadership. Short course: Make a short list of all things done to you that you abhorred. Don’t do them to others. Ever. Make another list of things done to you that you loved. Do them to others. Always.” — Dee Hock

Missional Another example In My Neighborhood

2007-05-17T14:09:00.000-04:00

Here's another great example:

Missional In My Neighborhood

A determined caller asked, "What can I do to be missional in my neighborhood?"

I love questions that seek to create opportunities to share the simple 'love' of Jesus. So I offered a quick list of suburbia ideas for the caller to consider for her 'neck of the Northern California suburbia woods'

I've always felt awkward when I'm resting at a stop light, trying not to look at the homeless panhandler (Icon of God) out my driver's side window. I know, I know..."they do this as a scam to make easy money off of guilt ridden passers-by." I don't care. I want to meet a need, and I want to do it cheerfully and loving.

Whenever I go to McDonald's or any fast food location of your appetite's choice, I buy multiple $5 gift cards.

Last week I purchased $25 worth and placed the cards above my car's visor. Now, whenever I see someone asking for 'some help', I quickly pull one of the cards out from the visor and tell them to go get a warm lunch on me.

If the light is longer than normal, it creates a conversation.

I now pray for "Jimmy" on a daily basis, and I look for him each Wednesday afternoon during my drive into the radio station. We've struck up a dialog each time I've handed him the card. He's confounded at the 'love in forethought' that goes into buying the cards. Last week a small break through...he told me to keep praying for him as I drove away.

Read the rest Here.

Missional - Missional Meet Up

2007-05-14T20:48:00.000-04:00

To my Christian and Missionary Alliance friends out there, if your going to Council and want to try to meet up, drop me an email.

Im pretty sure I'll be there, just not certain when yet!

But I'd love to get together.
So drop me an email!

Missional - A New Challenge

2007-05-13T21:14:00.000-04:00

Well My Wife and I begin a new challenge.

We have accepted the call to become the Pastor at the Holliday Alliance Church.

Please pray for us as we begin this new challenge!

Im sure you will hear much more about it over time.

We will be putting into practice all the things we have been discussing here.

A rural church moving in a missional direction. What an exciting time. Please pray for us and the church.

Missional - Church Cancelled

2007-05-10T21:02:00.000-04:00

Church Cancelled, Service Begins

Across the country, churches are closing their doors on Sunday mornings to serve their communities through the new four-week churchwide campaign called Faith in Action. Will you join them?

by Heather Johnson
from Outreach magazine, May/June 2007

Curtis Lake thought the flood of 1996—when eight inches of water filled his suburban home—was disastrous. But what the first week of November 2006 brought him and the other residents of Sumner, Wash., turned out to be much worse. Nearly 10 inches of rain fell on the town of 10,000 just south of Seattle. Seven rivers flooded. Streets filled with mud and silt. And this time, Lake's belongings sat under 18 inches of water. Also destroyed were 33 of the 41 mobile homes of River Park Estates, the senior living park he manages.

"We lost everything," Lake says. "And most of the residents just left."

But, to his surprise and relief, help arrived. Nearby Calvary Community Church (cccsumner.org) had cancelled that weekend's services to head out and serve the community as part of a new four-week churchwide campaign called Faith in Action. Little did the congregation know their service weekend would be so well-timed; Sumner had never needed so much help.

Early on that Saturday morning, a forlorn Lake stood surveying the damage at the River Park Estates' front gate, when more than 250 volunteers "just started showing up," he recalls. Volunteers set out to save salvageable items by removing mud and sifting through personal belongings. Clean-up crews from the church eventually emptied 49 trash dumpsters of debris collected at the mobile home park.

"You know, Calvary was just an absolute God-send," says Lake, who now chats with the church's associate pastor on a regular basis. "I saw those people there to help, and it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders."

Demonstrating Christian service is the heart of the Faith in Action campaign created by leading Christian publisher Zondervan (zondervan.com), Christian relief organization World Vision (worldvision.org) and church communications firm Outreach Inc. (outreach.com) [parent company of Outreach magazine]. The three organizations have put together a name and program to a movement that has been gaining momentum for more than a decade, starting with pioneers like Vineyard Cincinnati founder Steve Sjogren's servant evangelism ministry (servantevangelism.com) and Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Ark. (fbclr.org), with Pastor Robert Lewis. Eighteen years ago, Lewis led a focused, churchwide reorganization to make serving the community a core value of the church.

Faith in Action focuses a congregation's attention on local, national and global needs, as well as God's heart for service. For a full month, sermons and worship services, small group discussions and daily devotional readings, all lay the foundation for the campaign's culminating event—"Faith in Action Sunday" community service project(s) and the corresponding cancellation of regular worship services. Moreover, the campaign also has an intentional outreach focus, where unchurched friends and community members are invited to join in the volunteer efforts, serving alongside church members.

Read the rest of the article:

Church Cancelled, Service Begins

Missional - News of Missional Churches

2007-05-09T16:31:00.000-04:00

Ran across this article today:

Area churches reaching out to Upstate communities in new ways

Using simple tools, some newer area churches are making connections with their communities using candy bars, cookouts and home repairs.

LifeSong Church, The Point, Life Changers Outreach Center and New Destiny Outreach Center are reaching out and ministering to the community in unique ways.

These congregations are bringing the mission field home, making a big impact despite their small size.

Jeff Hickman and Brian George co-pastor LifeSong in Lyman where the motto is: "Being missionaries where we live, work and play."

LifeSong's presence in the community was felt months before its official launch on Easter.

Churchgoers volunteer at the Southeastern Children's Home, Greer Soup Kitchen and have monthly collection drives for organizations such as Miracle Hill Ministries and Middle Tyger Community Center.

They also have rehabilitated area homes through their "Community Transformation Projects" - all this from a church that draws 70 to 90 people for Sunday morning worship services.

Hickman and George, who oversees mission projects, encourage people in their congregation to invest themselves in the community.

"We want to become so intertwined in the community that the community would miss us if we were not here," Hickman said.

Hickman said he believes many churches have become more inward focused.

"They take all these tithes and offerings up, and most of the money churches spend, they spend it on themselves rather than taking and spending those resources that are being given for the kingdom of God."

Hickman differentiates between "mission-minded ness" and a "missional lifestyle."

He said there are many organizations or causes LifeSong could donate to.

"When we send our money to these things, that's being mission-minded. But a missional lifestyle is actually where we're not giving our funds for somebody else to do it, we're actually taking those projects upon ourselves to do," Hickman said.

Tennessee teenagers turned Lyman into their mission field when they helped LifeSong prepare for its launch. About 80 middle school students from Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., performed light construction work on the church. They also led Bible studies and handed out invitations to the church launch in the community.

"We believe that Jesus gave us a clear example that you go out into the community and you meet people right where they are, and you meet their needs," Hickman said. "Meeting their needs gives you an opportunity to be able to share his love and bring them to a personal relationship (with Christ)."

The church's vision comes from Luke 10:27, a verse imploring Christian believers to love God with all their heart and to "love your neighbor as yourself."

"We're getting back to the basics of what Christ teaches," Hickman said.

"I can stand up in the pulpit and I can preach all day long. I can go out and knock on people's doors and tell them all day long that Jesus loves them. Jesus didn't just preach to people. He actually showed them that he loved them because he met their needs," Hickman said.

READ the rest of the article:

Area churches reaching out to Upstate communities in new ways

THOUGHTS?

Missional Gold Mining

2007-05-08T20:45:00.000-04:00

Paying a person’s toll

Paying for someones food or gas

Giving out water

Mowing someones lawn

Shoveling someones walk

What other little missional gold nuggets are you doing for the community around you?

This kind of mining is showing love and that is Kingdom enriching.

Missional - Can Be any Size

2007-05-07T22:02:00.000-04:00

Just my thoughts but small does not = missional.

Missional isn't about how small you are or how big you are.

It's about how your impacting your community.

So can you be big and be missional? Sure! The same way you can be traditional, emerging, ancient or blended or any other form of church.

Missional depends not on form or size, but by the actions of the people in the body.

Missional - Missional Education on YouTube

2007-05-06T21:02:00.000-04:00

Allelon Has it own video channel on Youtube now, you can check it out:

Allelon Video

It's great addition to anyone's missional education.

Missional - Think of Church?

2007-05-05T12:03:00.000-04:00

Here's a good video on people's reaction to the word church.

Thoughts?

Missional – Dancing, Death and Missed Missional Opportunities

2007-05-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

I got very sad news today. A wonderful gentleman by the name of Van died this week. Van was in my kids ballroom dance class. Van didn’t have any family close, it was just him and his dogs.

A couple times a week he went to a local dance studio and danced. Everyone at the studio loved him. I only had brief encounters with him. But my kids got to know him. This past Monday in the middle of class Van collapsed. My wife called me and said I need to pick up my son, our daughter was home not feeling well. So I rushed to the studio.

Van was still being worked on. I prayed for him and then went about consoling the other students. Hugs and prayers were all around. I asked my son if he was alright and he said, “Yeah dad, I just started praying.” I’m thankful he knew to turn to his heavenly Daddy in a time like that. But I couldn’t shake the feeling I needed to do more.

This studio is a little community that needs to see Jesus. Im proud they see Him in my kids and not so proud of myself. Here is an opportunity to allow people I know don’t have a relationship with God, see Him. I’ve been to busy to see the opportunity. And simply found other things to do. I drop the kids and leave never really seeing the value of staying. I always had another book to read or friend to mentor.

I wish that on Sunday I could do the funeral. But due to a previous commitment that will not happen. But that doesn’t lessen the overwhelming sense of responsibility I feel to a small group of people I’ve been given the chance to show Jesus too. Have I let them down? ..................It makes me wonder how many other opportunities I’m missing just because my selfishness still controls me.

I pray God continues to open my eyes that I may see the world the way He does. That I don’t miss these chances He gives to be His hands and feet.

Dance lessons aren’t over. But I hope my time of missing the chance to impact that small group of people is.

Missional opportunities happen all over. This has opened my eyes to some I’m missing.

What ones are you missing?

Missional - Research on Small Groups

2007-05-02T19:07:00.000-04:00

Here's some good research on small groups:

Check it out, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Smaller Passionate Groups Outperform Large Generic Communities

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Here's a Neat Way to Be Missional

2007-04-30T17:48:00.000-04:00

Seth Godin Shared this organization with his readers.

I think this is an incredible idea. You can do this as an individual, family or faith community.

Family to Family

What if every family unit in a church would do this. How many lives could it change?

To my blogging friends - spread the word.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Missional Ministry must be generational

2007-04-28T09:36:00.000-04:00

I believe on of the biggest challenges to missional ministry is the need for the ministry to be cross generational. A great value is lost when we focus on only one segment of the population:

The follow generations are the ones sitting in our churches today:

Traditional workers (born before 1946): They value loyalty and discipline, and they respect authority and hierarchy.

Baby Boomers (1946-1960): They have great expectations of success. Currently, this group occupies positions of higher corporate responsibility, and has the largest proportion of workaholics in history. This is also the generation that gave birth to the “Yuppie” phenomenon.

Generation X (1961-1979): This generation has the best academic training and international experience in history. They have begun to make a break with traditional patterns of behavior, demanding a more informal environment and abandoning hierarchical authority in favor of a more horizontal and flexible structure. They have pioneered policies that involve flexibility and conciliation. This generation is rich in entrepreneurs because personal initiative predominates within a context of skepticism toward large enterprises.

Generation Y (starting from 1980): Generation Y is the first in history to have lived their entire lives with information technology. It is not easy for them to understand the world without it. Like members of Generation X, their childhood was comfortable and prosperous. They are more individualistic than earlier generations and demand autonomy in their opinions and behavior. They emphasize personal activities above social and labor considerations.

As you can see there are vast differences between these groups. Add to that the environment i.e. urban, suburban, and rural and you can the mix of generational factors the church faces today.

If we are to have truly missional ministry in a community, when will be able to involve all generations. Each will be counted on to bring their strengths to the mission and contribute as God as gifted.

To many times today ministry is aged focused. We need more cross generational opportunities. Whets wrong with all worshipping together, learning together or serving together? We need the ability to pass on wisdom down and up the generational chain. Traditionals and Boomers need x,yer's knowledge of technology and our changing world. X and Yer's need their commitment to getting the job done, experience and determination.

True communitas can only come across the generations when we are all committed to a common mission with common purpose. Leaving groups behind does not create communitas it creates division.

How can we strive for our missional communities to be cross generational?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Creating Third Spaces

2007-04-26T18:09:00.000-04:00

Third Spaces are all about creating places where we can interact with pre-believers. Im finding all kinds of kewl ways people are doing this. What Im not finding is ways churches are doing this.

New church plants that use the concept of creating a third space first and then creating a meeting location for the church is a model for the future every plant should consider.

New church buildings need to be built in consideration of how to create a third space first. A place of service to the community and not another fortress for the church.

Here's a great example of what Im talking about for the Planting God Communities which I used with permission.

Our missional incarnational approach here in Turley, OK with the creation of 'a third place' as part of our planting got written up today in the Tulsa World. Here is the link where you can read the article.
A Third Place: Turley's New Community Center: Facility gives residents area to relax, socialize

I guess, since there is no mention in the article of me as a minister and of the creation of the center as a way that our church is serving the community, of how we are purposefully becoming "a guest in our own home" as a spiritual discipline, that it must be working. No seriously, when I first read the article, my old default mode of thinking went up and I thought "oh I wish they'd mentioned the church" but if they had, since we are not only serving people of existing religious affiliations but especially the de-churched and unchurched, I probably would have thought "oh I wish they hadn't played up the church so much." Such is the plight of the 50-something planter moving more into missional approaches to what it means to be church.

We don't have a sign that says the name of our church or even a flier out front that we meet in the space we have created (we did but I took it down); we do have a flier for the church that is available in the community information area but we also post information prominently about events that take place at other churches in our area; we do have a cross placed next to the cable television area but I have been debating about taking it out and just bringing it out, in a kind of processional, whenever we have our meetings (still haven't decided; there are pros and cons). Upshot is that people will find out about us first through our mission, our work together, and through conversation rather than some printed material, a sign, slogans, or worship service.

The fact that it all feels weird, disorienting to people's stereotypes of church, means we are on the right track I think. End. Ron

This is the kind of church concept that changes communities. Imagine what would happen if each church in the US decided to open such a place. Think of the lives that would be changed and the opportunities that would come to share the Gospel and build the kingdom.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Church in Action

2007-04-25T17:52:00.000-04:00

Stumbled on an article today and this quote just jumped out at me:

“Our dream,” says Russell, “is to be as much a part of the community as the corner dairy. A corner Dairy is an integral part of any community. It is a place that would be missed if it were to shut down and it meets a need in the area. Also, there is nothing mystical about a dairy, it is a normal and accepted part of life. This is what church should be, a normal and accepted part of life that meets people where they are at and at their individual level.”

You can read the rest of the post:

The Church on the Corner

it's my prayer that this is the goal of every church, especially ones who consider themselves to be or are trying to be missional.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional – Thought

2007-04-24T18:52:00.000-04:00

It’s hard to think missionally. It really is.

Most of us have been raised in church settings that tell us church is all about me. Church is about what I get and what my kids get. Church is something I do.

A missional way of thinking about church turns that upside down. It’s about turning God’s love on the people around us. Being His love to an unlovable people.

There’s the rub. We live in a world that preaches the religion of “me me me” and because we buy into that idea Monday through Saturday its very hard to turn it off on Sunday.

A missional posture to church is one that says “what can give” not “what can I get.” This means there will be times when church will not met my needs but it may meet the needs of someone else. Does that make the church wrong? Nope – it simply means that I’m learning church is not “all about me.”

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Only takes a Cell Phone

2007-04-23T16:16:00.000-04:00

Check out this article.......

Man gets 5,000 calls for YouTube posting

So you make a YouTube posting offering to talk to anyone about anything. 5,000 needy people call you. Doesn't that tell us something about engaging our world's?

A simple act of being willing to talk to someone sparks a huge response.

I was preaching yesterday on the fact that we are called to love the unlovable. This guy is out there living it out.

So what can you do?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Bob Roberts on Changing a IC

2007-04-21T21:07:00.000-04:00

Bob Roberts had some great thoughts on Alan's Blog about changing an Institutional church:

"Brad you have some really good words there man - and Peggy - I like what you said about visionaries being able to shift things. You’re right. I did this accidently at a couple of places before Northwood - the church I pastor. Don’t change the church - change the people. Since I knew I couldn’t change it - I didn’t try - I just got to know the people and began to reach out in the community - as some of the people accepted Christ - that changed the church and it was from the new believers - not me - that saved me and the church. When we focus on the church, we focus on the institution - focus on the people and you focus on relationships. Think Asian - relationships are everything. This is why I’m not interested in too much ecclesiology - Alan’s mDNA is the only ecclesiology I want. If your discussion is “we gotta change” good luck. They’ll all say Amen but do Justme. There’s another way - for lack of a better word - do missional. Don’t talk it - just do it. Find the neediest people in your area and get your people to tackle it. Don’t talk worship - it’s a Sunday event for God’s sake - that doesn’t make missional at home - house, building, 3rd space, upperspace, whatever. The people they reach as a result will be different and without trying - they’ll change the church. The old “church” people will allow it because these are the people they reached and they will value these new believers. This will do so so so much more than conferences on revitalization. Those conferences generally start out - we’re doing bad - we’re loosing - somethings gotta happen - everyone leaves depressed with a new org chart, constitution and by - laws, and new set of songs to sing on Sunday! mission, Mission, MISSION - drives ecclesiology that leads to reformation and renewal - NOT structure! Everyone wants “relational” even old traditionalist. Everyone wants to make a difference - even old traditionalist. The problem is, they see no spiritual skin in the game. It’s a rare church - even a near dead one - that won’t feed, clothe, or serve someone hurting in their community - all you need is to get those people doing “mission.” Will there be headaches? Yep - but now you’re alive, and all living things have to fight viruses, infections, disease, cancers, and crapola of all sorts. "

What do you think? How do you move an Institutional church to a missional stance?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional – Reaching Out with Art

2007-04-19T17:38:00.000-04:00

Seth Godin has this great post.

Artist in Residence

Now I ask the church…………. Why not an artist in residence?

Art to illustrate each sermon?

Commissioned art for each family?

Community showings

Art on Loan to public businesses

Art classes for the community

So many kewl things could be done with something like this.

What do you think?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - are we remarkable?

2007-04-19T03:00:00.000-04:00

You need to take the time to watch this:

Be Remarkable

After you watch this, watch 1 other video on this site for a week. Get inspired get informed and then get busy.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Bolger interview

2007-04-18T17:27:00.000-04:00

You need to see this:

What is a Missional Church

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Prayer

2007-04-17T18:12:00.000-04:00

I think one of the most powerful tools in our missional arsenal is prayer.

Few people ever refuse prayer.

There’s no more intimate way to show your care for someone than to ask for their need and pray for them.

We need to build bridges into our communities that allow us to discover the needs of the people and pray for them. If you show you care enough to pray you earn the right to be heard in other aspects of their life.

So what creative ways can we reach out to our communities in prayer?

Here’s one House of Prayer

DO you have any others?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Small Groups

2007-04-14T22:31:00.000-04:00

What happens when missional small groups start?

Check out this post from my friend Mark.

Missional Small Groups

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional – When a Missional Church Gathers

2007-04-12T16:59:00.000-04:00

What happens when a missional church gathers itself together?

Someone recently posed this question to me, so I’ve spent sometime thinking about this.

When a missional church gathers itself together what might it look like?

The first quality I think it should have is that it should gather around its testimony. If the missional church is operating in its sent mode each week, then the people of the church should have testimony of how God is working. These stories should be a building block of the time spent gathered together. Testimony of God’s working is a powerful catalyst for propelling us forward in our mission. It gives us hope that God has not abandoned us and that each of us can be and are being used by Him for His Kingdom.

The second quality would be an attitude, atmosphere and applied sense of worship. We are in awe of the wonder, majesty, grace and all the other qualities of the King. We should approach Him with praise and worship on our lips and hearts. We gather to worship the King.

The third quality should be an incubator of learning. Using all the styles of learning we should creatively present the Word and ingrain it in the hearts of the people. Learning need not only be facilitated by top down learning methods but by, auditory, participatory and visual methods as well.

The fourth quality is fellowship. True fellowship should be nurtured and fostered. We can not be the body of Christ with out being in fellowship with Him and the rest of the body.

Another important quality is remembrance. We need to be reminded of Who God is, What He has done, What we believe, where He has brought us from and the reality of His Kingdom. Remembrance is a centering tool that allows us to place in balance the past, present and future.

One more that I can think of would be commissioning. The sending of the body back into the world to accomplish God’s mission in the coming week. “in your going, DO!” We send those gathered together back into their mission to build the Kingdom as God has called them to do.

I’m sure theres more but these are my initial thoughts.

What do you think?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional means helping those in need

2007-04-12T07:42:00.000-04:00

Please read this post.

A Friend in Need

I know where a part of my offering this week will go.

We are praying for you and supporting you John.

Missional – Do “missions-minded” and Missional go together?

2007-04-11T12:13:00.000-04:00

One thing I think is a concern with churches who are moving in a missional direction is that some feel that a missional mind does not include a missions-mind.
This is not the case at all. A missions-minded church is one who has a heart and practice of supporting foreign missions. Missions-mindedness is necessary for a missional church. It is the outgrowth of the church taking the last part of Acts 1:8 to heart: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." A church must have a missions-mindedness towards taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. It’s what Christ commanded for us.

I am aware of a church considered one of the most missional in the country who sends 25% of their income to foreign missions and has one-half of the congregation of 2,000 go on short term mission trips each year. Twice a month the church sponsors short term trips. They even have pre-believers going on missions trips and being lead to the Lord while there.

Missions-minded is essential to missional.

So what’s the difference?

Missional takes the first part of Acts 1:8 and makes it a reality: “and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,” this is the other part of missional, reaching your Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. If we ignore these then we are turning our back on the command of Jesus. It’s the same with foreign missions. They go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. The key becomes making them dance partners. A good dance occurs when both dancers are in balance, know their steps and roles and perform their own roles.

Matthew 28:19-20 says: “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” A better translation of the Go here is, “in your going, do!” As we go about our lives we are supposed to be carrying out the commission in our everyday life. A missional church will live out the mission of God in all aspects of its life. In it’s community and region and state and around the world.

The problem comes when we try to separate these things and only do one of them. We get out of balance and the dance begins to look awkward. The longer we stay out of balance the more accustomed we become to our dysfunction. This causes us to be incomplete in accomplishing God’s mission for His church.

A missional church views it’s town as it’s mission field, it’s county as it’s mission field, it’s state as it’s mission field, it’s country as it’s mission field and also the world as it’s mission field. All these in proper balance make up a missional church.

As you can see one can not be completely missional without being missions minded. The goal is to treat our communities with that very same missions mindedness and see ourselves as the missionaries. I believe that churches and the believers in them are called to have a heart for missions, to personally share the Gospel message, and to support those who take the message to others. Missional embraces all those things and more.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional translation

2007-04-10T21:22:00.001-04:00

How do we translate the concept of mission living into church life?

PS the comments so far are great!

Alan Hirsch has a post Here that deals with this

Missional People

2007-04-09T19:06:00.000-04:00

Jamie has a great post

The Community Coming To Be Known As Missional

Take the time to read it.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

The reason for Missional action.......

2007-04-08T15:19:00.000-04:00

He is RISEN!

He is Risen INDEED!

Missional - A Missional Sunday School Song

2007-04-07T15:17:00.000-04:00

I was a good kid growing up. Attended Sunday School every week, I even learned all the songs!

The other day in the shower I was singing one of those Sunday School Songs:

Be A Missionary Every Day!

Be a missionary every day! (clap)
Tell the world that Jesus is the way!
Be it in the town or country
or the busy avenue!
Africa or Asia, the task is up to YOU!
So, Be a missionary every day! (clap)
Tell the world that Jesus is the way!
The Lord is soon returning
There is no time to loose, so
Be a missionary
God’s own emissary
Be a missionary to day!

This got me to thinking…….. if I were to write this song today and teach it to my teenagers what would the song say? So here’s my new version.

Be missional every day!
Live and show your world that Jesus is the way!
Be it in your town and neighborhood
and driving on the highway!
wal-mart and McDonalds, the task is up to YOU!
So, Be missional every day!
Live and show your world that Jesus is the way!
The Kingdom is at hand
There is no time to loose, so
Be missional
cus God is missional
Be missional today

Yup that’s how I’d sing it today.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - State of Church Video Ver 3.0

2007-04-06T17:38:00.000-04:00

OK after some suggestions from friends and readers (Jeff, Jackie, Webb, Barry etc)

Here's my edited version.

If you like it Please share it.

I don't think it's to bad for my first effort!

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional or Not? Your Chance to Vote

2007-04-05T17:43:00.000-04:00

It's time for another addition of Missional or not.

Check out the link and VOTE!

King of Kings Statue

So how do you vote?

HT: to my best buddy Jeff for the tip.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - State of Church Video

2007-04-04T21:26:00.000-04:00

Here's my first attempt at some video.

Version 2.0

Which is better?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Frustration

2007-04-03T20:03:00.000-04:00

I frustrated with people who think missional and emerging are the same thing.

They arent - Im far more traditional than emerging yet Im very missional.

I believe every church should be missional, because actively participating in God's redemptive work is everyone's role.

So when I see the number 2 entry in Google for the keyword missional so messed up like it is here it really frustrates me. There is a bias and an agenda with some of the contributors.

The fact that the word has been around 100 years doesnt seem to matter. Only thing that matters is source cites that meet with their approval.

Let's be real here folks - there's little that is nuetral in the statements made there.

In this usage "missional" has rapidly entered the lexicon of the growing emerging church movement whose participants have co-opted the term for their own use, enabling participants in this movement to recognize each other across denominational lines. Different emergents may use the term with different nuances and connotations, but the term persists as essentially a postmodern alternative to the ecclesiology and missiology of Evangelical Christians. The practical outworking of emergent, missional living does not coincide with the emphases on propositional evangelism, teaching, and holiness found in historic Christianity. Missional believers are more inclusive than exclusive, refusing to identify boundaries that could be perceived as an "us vs. them" mentality. Within this atmosphere so-called missional believers seek to enhance the lives of all postmoderns regardless of their belief system or lifestyle.

Co-opted? from what? emerging and missional are not the same. Missions and missional are not the same.

What say you to helping Brother Maynard set the record straight?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Community means Belonging

2007-04-02T19:48:00.000-04:00

Sunday I got to teach my first week of 13 weeks of Sunday School class on Becoming more missional (thanks to those who helped me with the cir).

One of the things we mentioned briefly there was the idea of community.

I was following a motorcyclist tonite, everytime he passed another biker he waved. It was like he was friends with every other biker on the road. That couldn't possibly be, but there he was waving.

Why? Because bikers share a common bond and it doesnt matter who you are, if your a biker your in.

A friend of mine and I were talking sometime ago about the fact that fans are the same way. Show up at a staium full of tailgaters, throw on the proper team jersey and instantly everyone wants to share their drinks and food with you. Put wrong jersey on and you will get run out of the parking lot. But the right jersey means your in!

See to fans if your one of them it doesnt matter. Come on in and join the party!

What we talked about in the class was the classic TV show "Cheers"

Remember the lyrics to the theme song?

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

One aspect of being missional is that we must be able to develop a sense of belonging in people around us. The sense that a life lived in loneliness is a life unfulfilled. God created us for community! We must build that sense of community in everything we do.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional U2 Praise and Worship

2007-03-30T19:28:00.000-04:00

Thanks Brad for the link.

Bono does worship.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Vacation - Voluntourism and Kingdom Building

2007-03-29T17:48:00.000-04:00

If you have noticed, I read alot.

Matter of fact I'd call myself and information junkie. The internet has made my habit worse, blogs havent helped. So suprise suprise when I found this article:

'Voluntourism' on the rise

Go ahead go read and then come back...........

Did you see this quote?

Like the 55-year-old Wood, many of the vacation volunteers are baby boomers, who have the money to spend and the time to donate as they edge closer to retirement. But with inspiration coming from a variety of sources -- be it 9/11, Hurricane Katrina or just having more disposable income -- participants range from teenagers to retirees. Voluntourism is catching on in college campuses, where many students would rather spend spring break doing something altruistic than carousing.

The church needs to understand that people want to praticipate and they will sacrifice and give up to be part of the solution. They want to get their hands dirty and see that they have made a difference.

Is the heart of what this article talks about missional? Maybe we should take a hint and move our churches in this direction.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Shift

2007-03-28T10:47:00.000-04:00

Take a minute today and read this post:

The People Formerly Know as the COngregation

Missional Living Must be Lived with Passion

2007-03-27T20:51:00.000-04:00

A key ingredient to a missional life is passion.

What are you passionate about?

While I dont agree with this gentleman's position but you have to love his passion!

No Impact Man

If you live with passion people are drawn to you. The want to discover what you are all about. Passion breeds opportunity to speak of the "Hope that is within you."

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Must Reads

2007-03-26T18:16:00.000-04:00

Some articles that you need to go read:

Missional in Suburbia

Missional and Consumerism

Big Missional Idea

Well get going!

Pray for a Missional Friend Please

2007-03-24T15:53:00.000-04:00

I just dicovered that a great missional leader suffered a devastating house fire this week.

Bob Cader has been a friend and encouragement to me even though we've never meet.

Please visit his blog and see what they are going through.

Then please commit with me to pray for them.

Bob you and your family are in my prayers.

Missional Jerry

Missional Link Love

2007-03-24T15:35:00.000-04:00

Brother Maynard suggested a need for some link love, so I though hey it saturday what better way to help the missional blogging community along.

So Here goes:

Here’s what we’re going to do. Think of between 3 and 5 blogs which you think are under-rated, under-appreciated, or under-valued. More people should be reading them, in other words. They need to be blogging largely on missional themes and topics, and they should not be on the list of leading blogs on these areas, say 150ish+ links on Technorati. Got your list? I’ll wait. If you come up with 7, that’s fine… you can borrow 2 from someone else. ;^)

You’ll find below a list of blogs that I feel deserve more attention. To participate, copy this list into a new post on your own blog, and add the names you have to the bottom of the list, and encourage others to do the same. Your list will be about twice the length of mine, and people who follow you will have lists three times this length. It could get fairly long, but that’s part of the point — each link will help boost the undervalued blog’s profile… and you might even get some link love from it too! Include these instructions (this and the preceding paragraph). When you’ve done that, leave a trackback or comment below, or link to this post so we can keep track of who ends up participating. Sound like fun for the weekend? Okay, here we go, in no particular order:

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Question Answers

2007-03-23T19:32:00.000-04:00

I only had a couple answers to yesterdays post. But they both deserve a wider read. Here goes:

The Missional Position said...

Is there a place for Marketing in a missional church?
Yes there is a place for Marketing in the missional church. There is nothing wrong with using advertisement and marketing to get the word out about your church. Unless this is the primary or solitary way you attempt to reach people.

Is there a need to recruit more talent into the local church?
I don't know that you 'recruit' people but you certainly use the mediums at your disposal to get the message out. Proclamation of the Gospel through word and action is the mission. But if you use create arts, marketing, technology in the act of serving and reaching your community you will 'attract' creative types. Creativity can be used to draw people that the traditional church has (at least been perceived to have) ignored.

Is there a degree of attractional that a missional church must have?
I think attractional takes on a new role in missional. Instead of using events, hype, bait and switch type tactics missional churches become attractional because of the power of God at work in the community through the acts of the church and its members. Jesus' ministry certainly attracted people. Some where looking for a show, some a sign, but he attracted them none-the-less. I think you can be thoughtful AND missional AND attractional. Just as missional churches will look different than traditional churches so will how we use and define attraction.

I'm not sure these questions have easy answers, but what do you think? I think they are great questions worth thinking through. Relationships, the gospel, healing, grace, forgiveness, unconditional love, belonging, service, all of these things are attractive, all of them are marketable attributes, all of them are the heart beat of missional living.

Thorough going modernists have eschewed all things PoMo at the sake of maintaining cultural relevance. We as missional minded believers, leaders, and churches can not in turn completely divorce ourselves from everything that smacks of modernity. There is a balance and a thoughtfulness that needs to take place.

questions like:
what are some common sense rules we can apply to marketing within the missional church framework? listing your church in the phonebook is marketing, word of mouth is marketing, press releases are marketing.

what is a reasonable percentage of the missional churches budget that can be spent on marketing, what priority do we give, what amount of time and resources does it get? not the lions share of course.

what will missional marketing look, sound, feel, taste like?
maybe missional church marketing will be more grassroots, less conventional, less slick/corparate/commercial. maybe it will resemble guerilla marketing. maybe churches share resources similar to the creative commons movement to create artwork and design work that is culturally relevant and also cost effective, time saving so the missional church can use marketing without it draining but a fraction of the churches resources that can go to other areas.

these are my thoughts. i think about marketing whether i like it or not. It is simply being thoughtful and intentional about creating and shaping your communities perception of your church. The first resource in marketing is certainly your actions and your people and relationships. But if you simply think that people will get the message you think you are implying then you lose an opportunity to shape an explicite message as well.

Webb Kline said...

Now there are some fine remarks, missional position. I can't really add to them other than to reveal how some of these points are put to work in the framework of my own missional endeavors.

Marketing? Jerry, as you know, the Christmas Project and the church-outreach offshoot from that is much bigger than a good concert. It's intent is to #1. Raise money for our mission work. #2. Communicate the missional vision and challenge people all over the world to become the hands and feet of Jesus to those without hope.

The genre we have chosen appeals to the widest audience and is the most emotive in terms of being able to convey the passion of our mission.

This is, I suppose, marketing. I believe that the best way to market our missional wares is by engaging in them in ways that the public can begin to grasp what missional is all about.

Talent recruitment: This has perhaps been the most profound missional success story we have. Attractional mentality tends to utilize talents from within the institution. Is it any wonder that Christian arts seldom mirror the quality of that found in secular society? Duh! Secular projects don't limit themselves to a small resource pool. Likewise, if we seek talent and skills from outside our religious structures, we not only find the kind of talent we are looking for, but we are making disciples and leading these people into missional Christianity without them ever having to be weaned off of attractional ways. I can think of few methods of discipleship that can match the on the job training these folks are getting while working with us.

Degree of attractional? Well, of course the Christmas Project is an attraction. But it is an attraction that leaves people challenged to act, inspired to be Jesus to the world, invites them to join forces with us to change the world and equips them with the insights and information on how to go about doing it.

I haven't found anyone yet who hasn't found giving some or all of their time to bringing love, mercy and compassion to those who need it to be the purest, most realistic form of expressing their faith they have ever known. Few people outside of mainstream Christendom want to reject that kind of religion, rather, they want to embrace it. So, i would say that the attraction must be what we are doing. The attraction has to appeal to the innermost desire of the human spirit, which can only find purpose and fulfillment living outside of oneself, making the world better for everyone.

The problem with IC is that is tends to build an attraction that on the sinking sands of self gratification rather than on that which will build God's Kingdom.

So its time for more input from you. What do you think?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional n Marketing Question?

2007-03-22T17:51:00.000-04:00

Is there a place for Marketing in a missional church?

Is there a need to recruit more talent into the local church?

Is there a degree of attractional that a missional church must have?

Im not sure these questions have easy answers, but what do you think?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Question

2007-03-21T20:15:00.000-04:00

What book have you read in the last 6 months that has had the biggest impact on your ministry and why?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Point Worth Repeating

2007-03-20T17:30:00.000-04:00

I get asked very often by leader where missional movement starts in the church. The answer I always give is the same. You see when someone asks that question they are looking for the magic bullet. That thing that will take their church or group and propel them to the next level. The problem is there is no magic bullet.

Becoming missional isn’t a program you start, it’s an attitude you live.

So where does a leader begin? Fortunately I have answer for that!

A Missional movement begins with you! Your life lived before others is what sets the ball rolling.

The key to moving your church or group missionally is you. With the help of the Spirit your actions and life will be the spark.

As you live it, teach it, talk it, do it others will become curious and move towards the Spirits leading. Your role then is to create a space for them to grow and develop their missional desires.

Where does missional start? With You!

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Misional Links

2007-03-19T21:07:00.000-04:00

A couple Links for you:

Church Creativity

Problem or Solution?

Missional Church - A Response

2007-03-18T20:03:00.000-04:00

In a post about the missional church below, my friend Webb Kline had some great thoughts in a comment.

I want to feature some of that here and respond to it:

Webb's comments in italics and mine are below.

While Sunday mornings may not look that different on the surface, I think that in content they would be vastly different.

For one thing, a missional community would have so much to share pertaining to what God had done through the week, that the testimonies themselves would transform the emotional level of the service.

Picture a service that starts with worship - leads into community testimony and report time and flows back into worship.

The praise would mirror much of this excitement.

The tithing would go through the roof because the people would be engaged with the mission and therefore more compelled to give.

People would give with a sense of purpose - knowing what was going on and feeling involved in the actual ministry.

I think Sunday school would consist more of building missional strategies, serious prayer for the people they are reaching and for the work being done; there would be more problem solving discussions, vision building, and overall encouragement.

planning, training releasing brilliant! :)

Youth groups would no longer place emphasis on trying to make Christianity look cool to kids, but rather, it would challenge them, engage them missionally, inspire radical faith and commitment to changing the world. The youth would be perhaps a missional church's most dynamic and anointed missionaries.

inspired radical teens released to be Jesus to the community

Building projects would be shelved until it could be determined what best served the growing missional needs of the church.

Fund raising would become much more motivated. Churches would begin to grasp the for-profit business ideas which not only would raise serious finances, but that could also become an integral part of the missional work.

Taking community and building buildings to meet needs? radical

Getting from point A to point B would be, for some, an insurmountable challenge and more than a few churches that try it would split over the change. But, the end would more than justify the means.

What would stand in the end would be a church full of strong, dedicated disciples of Jesus for whom unconditional love, compassion and radical servant-hood was all they lived for.

Maybe I'm a dreamer, but it is all I live for, and if I can do it, I see no reason why a whole church can't do it. I'm certainly nobody special. People just need to be led to the water. And if they drink this kind of water, they will thirst no more; I promise. ;)

Webb

Webb Im a dreamer too - I long to see a church that takes seriously transforming itself into a missional community light.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

MIssional Thrill Seekers

2007-03-17T19:01:00.000-04:00

Once again Seth Godin has a great post, check it out:

Thrill Seekers

When it comes to church leadership there are way to many "fear avoiders".

Lord, please give us the courage to seek the thrills of kingdom building.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Church of the future

2007-03-17T00:27:00.000-04:00

The reality of the future church is that it is going to take on many forms. Many of these forms will be new expressions, some will be hybrids and some will be institutional churches that have morphed.

Much of what is written about missional churches of the future is written concerning new forms, but I am fascinated by the transformed IC churches.

What will a transformed church look like? How will it get there?

Some thoughts I have on this.

In IC’s that move missional, I see a balance between the part of the congregation that is comfortable and the part seeking change. Much of that balance maybe found in that most of the missional ministry will occur outside of the “normal” ministry time of the IC. Sacred cows such as the Sunday morning service may not change to much. Style maybe updated but the concept of church on Sunday morning isn’t going to disappear in those churches.

The missional aspects of the ministry will occur at other times and in other spaces. This will place larger demands on the pastoral leadership. The pastor will need to empower the missional minded folks to go, grow and prosper while time is spent ministering to other parts of the church body.

Missional pastor will have to balance and bridge a multi-culture body. Not cultural differences based on race or ethnicity, but generational based. The web2.0 generation is vastly different than most that has come before and it will be challenging to bridge those groups into a cohesive body.

The church needs generational unity in the body. We have much to learn from one another. The challenge will be in uniting together in a common cause for the furtherance of the Kingdom.

What other ideas do you have about how transformed IC’s will need to function in the missional world? What other challenges are and will pastoral leadership face?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Compare and Contrast Number 2

2007-03-15T18:21:00.000-04:00

Today while cruising CNN I ran into this article:

Global warming gap among evangelicals widens

And then my buddy Malcolm shared this video with me:

While I don't agree or disagree with everything in both of these pieces, I do have a question.

Your pre-follower friends, which of these 2 messages do think does more to bring them closer to God and build the Kingdom?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership, bono,

Missional Interview Hirsch and Frost

2007-03-14T19:34:00.000-04:00

Here's a link to an audio interview with Hirsch and Frost.

Exiles Living Missionally

Check it out and give me some feed back.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

What does this Mean for the Missional Church?

2007-03-13T18:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks to JR for pointing this out:

What does this mean for the Missional church?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Six Months of Missional Posting

2007-03-12T17:28:00.000-04:00

So I just passed my 6 month blogging anniversary.

I want to thank everyone who visits. You are the reason I continue on.

I have seen a marked increase traffic and links from across the web and that continues to encourage me.

I hope Becoming Missional continues to evolve into a place of resources and encouragement for churches and individuals to live out Christ's mission on earth. Folks it's about Kingdom building and I'm glad you've given me the chance to speak about that.

There's more to come: interviews, the eBook, training materials and hopefully good thoughts.

Keep emailing me and please pray for me.

Thanks
Jerry

Missional Church and Organic Gardening

2007-03-12T17:25:00.000-04:00

Last week I found an incredibly good post and I have to share it with you.

The Organic in Organic Church

It's worth the read.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership, Organic church,

Missional - More on Homelessness

2007-03-10T22:43:00.000-05:00

Hi Jerry-

I am responding to you in email because I've been reading your blog. You've hit a grand slam to me.

I volunteer a couple days a week at a local shelter here in southern Oregon cooking for the poor and homeless. As an outgrowth of that, I wanted to cast some positive attention to the problems of homelessness. I've got a site I've just completed this week called the Homeless Camera Adventure which allows some homeless to present a visual essay of their daily life. My attempt to for the rest of us to be able to view homelessness through their eyes.

Homeless Camera

If you find it of any benefit, would you consider a mention in your blog? Being a new site, it does little good if nobody knows it exists.

Blessings-
Richard Morley

Ok Richard here you go. Great Idea and Glad to help.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership, homeless,

Missional Compare and Contrast

2007-03-09T18:22:00.000-05:00

Words can't really express what these 2 videos do:

Watch both and then share your thoughts.

And Now:

You might say they dont have a thing in common, but I believe they show the difference between what the church thinks is important and the reality of what is important.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Simple Missional Ideas - Homeless

2007-03-09T08:22:00.000-05:00

HT to Todd: for pointing to this link!

Here's a sample of a list of 35 ways to help the homeless by Justgive.org:

1. Understand Who the Homeless Are - Help dispel the stereotypes about the homeless. Learn about the different reasons for homelessness, and remember, every situation is unique.

2. Respect the Homeless as Individuals - Give the homeless people the same courtesy and respect you would accord your friends, your family, your employer. Treat them as you would wish to be treated if you needed assistance.

3. Respond with Kindness - We can make quite a difference in the lives of the homeless when we respond to them, rather than ignore or dismiss them. Try a kind word and a smile.

4. Develop Lists of Shelters - Carry a card that lists local shelters so you can hand them out to the homeless. You can find shelters in your Yellow Pages.

5. Buy "Street News" - This biweekly newspaper is sold in almost every major American city and is intended to help the homeless help themselves. For every paper sold, the homeless earn five cents deposited in a special savings account earmarked for rent. What an impact!

6. Bring Food - It's as simple as taking a few extra sandwiches when you go out. When you pass someone who asks for change, offer him or her something to eat. If you take a lunch, pack a little extra. When you eat at a restaurant, order something to take with you when you leave.

You may read the rest of the list Here!

What would you add to this list??

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership, homeless,

Missional Program Video

2007-03-08T23:48:00.000-05:00

Have a look. Good stuff here.

Missional Community - Dee Hock's Thoughts

2007-03-08T07:43:00.000-05:00

Community is a powerful glue.

When we find it in a group, we latch on to it no matter where it is.

It seems that leaders of the church are treating developing community as the holy grail of Kingdom building. I think there's some truth to this.

Here's a great article by a very provacative futurist Dee Hock:

Community Values

Have a read and give me some feedback on what you think, Does Dee Hock make some valid points?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership, Dee Hock, Community,

Missional Strip Club????

2007-03-07T20:35:00.000-05:00

Ok I know this has made a couple other blogs and Im drawing a blank for who should get credit!

But check out this article:

Strip club lends church a hand

Sad isn't it that the strip club owner sees the value the church is providing to the community, but the City Councilman doesn't.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

A “Big Idea” for all Missional Churches

2007-03-06T17:32:00.000-05:00

I read a lot of books every year. Over the last 3 years I’ve averaged about 100 per year. Typically I read in only 2 categories: church/future church and business/ future business, sometimes I toss a little history in there.

Rarely do I find a book that crosses both lines. But yesterday I found one. It’s a book that takes a concept being found across the business world, accepts it as a truth that can be used for God and then sets out to show you how to apply it.

Big Idea by Dave Ferguson is just such a book. Daves “Big Idea” can be boiled down to each week teach one concept, truth or idea throughout your church. From the Sunday service, to Sunday School to home groups and youth group and teach it well. The thought is it is easier and more effective to remember and then be encouraged to apply one idea.

I think this meshes so well with our culture today. We bombarded with so many competing messages all the time that it paralyzes us. Churches that adopt this idea will eliminate that.

The book gives practical advice about starting to plan services in this way. That is a helpful section of the book.

I found that this book takes ideas from people like Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin and brings them to a practical conclusion for the church.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a way to help the message of the Church cut through all the clutter of the information overload our culture is experiencing. Excellent book, short read but more than worth it.

Great book.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership, big idea,

Role in the Missional Church

2007-03-05T16:46:00.000-05:00

I was asked recently how I view my role in the Missional Church (with a capital C.)

I thought this was a great question that deserved an answer, so I thought I'd answer it here.

My role: I see myself as one who rakes up the dry kindling of the missional spirit in the church and then touches it with hot embers and fans it!

Im a faciliatator, vision castor, people motivator, sounding board and friend.

So now I ask you - Whats your place in the missional church movement? What is God doing through you to move it along?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Turnaround

2007-03-03T16:30:00.000-05:00

Im curious.........

What characteristics must exist in an IC (institutional church) to make them a good candidate for a missional turnaround?

Some current IC's are going to survive and thrive the form will not completely die. But Im curious what will the characteristics of one that transforms or morphs into a missional focused church.

I know that many IC will survive as continuing manifestations of the mega church model or a traditional model. But many in order to survive are going to have to morph.

So brainstorm with me........ what ingredients are already in place in those churches that will make the change.

Yes, I know it will be Spirit led, that's a given, but what is in the primordial ooze that will grow this transformation?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Connections Wanted!

2007-03-02T17:40:00.000-05:00

Im looking to connect with pastors in traditional church settings.

If you read this blog and you pastor what most would consider a traditional church, I want to hear from you.

Email Me – its anonymous – I promise not to tell anyone.

I’d like to pray specifically for you and your church. Simple as that.

So email me, tell me who you are and a little about your church.

And I’ll pray.

Drop me a note.

Missional - Risk and Creativity go Together

2007-03-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

I got a great email from another friend, he adds this to the previous discussion:

Hello Jerry

I'm still following the blog, although I've not commented recently, and I'm finding it a really cool way to keep looking at new thoughts and ideas. It's also remarkable how close we are. I knew that I was one of many before, in theory, but it's great to see how many others there are out there…

I've been especially interested in your "Risk-aversion" and creativity blogs. I suspect you deliberately put the "Risk" post just before the "Creative" one to show how risk is an integral part of creativity. It is a risk to step out and paint live, to a set timescale. It could have gone horribly wrong. Maybe it did for that artist and maybe he's made many attempts and "failed". Well done him for getting up again and finding a new way to worship…

The church dislikes risk, and I think there's a direct link between that and our lack or creativity, And why we use a liturgy from 1600? last "updated" sometime last century. Even when I worked with a large "Forward thinking" "charismatic" missions organization I found repeatedly that ideas were turned down because they were a risk, especially when these ideas involved storytelling or theatre or anything except music. And if something you tried "Didn't work" then that was it: you never got to try anything else. I never did know what the definition of "Working" or "Not working was" but it didn't matter because I wasn't able to try. I also noticed that all the testimonies were "Success" focused as well. They all had a happy ending where the person speaking came deeper with God or the problem was resolved. I almost never heard a testimony of someone who was still having troubles/doubts/issues, so you ended up thinking you were the only "failure".

I learned how hard it is to work in a place like that so the team I'm working with now are being drilled to try stuff. And we've made mistakes, and some could have been avoided. It's hard for a team member who made a mistake onstage to get up again, and take on a fresh challenge, but they never get another chance and never get encouraged to try again, what's the point?

Thanks for the continued blogging.

Andy

So what do you think of Andy's insights?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Opportunity for the Church – Eliminate Homelessness

2007-02-28T17:43:00.000-05:00

This story caught my eye on cnn.com today.

CNN Homeless Report

There’s lots of talk about being missional and doing missional things as a church. But here is an opportunity for the church to actually do something.

There is an estimated 380,000 churches in America and 754,000 homeless.

That’s 1.94 homeless for every church.

So here’s a radical idea:

How about each church this year adopt 1 homeless person and get them off the street?

And then next year they do just 1 more.

Pretty simple, huh? A 2 year plan to eliminating homelessness in America.

I challenge you to go read some of Scott's Story here: Turning it Over
Scott had support of a church. Read his older posts and see exactly how hard it was for him. Should it really be that hard?

It's time we take part of the Missional War Chest we have and do something Kingdom worthy with it.

Now consider the witness for the Kingdom this would be? Don’t you think the people who like Jesus but not the church, would begin to take a different view of the church?

And for all my friends out there in house churches and simply churches and the like: What’s stopping you from doing the same thing?

Missional living requires risk, creativity, dreaming and expanding the Kingdom. It would be an amazing thing to see God’s church step up and make a difference in the lives of these people on the margins.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership, Homelessness,

Missional Means Baby Steps

2007-02-27T20:11:00.000-05:00

I believe my missional life starts with baby steps.

kindness
bread sticks
a cup of cold water
a smile

I also think the simple missional things can be the most rewarding.

What was your first missional baby step?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Creativity

2007-02-26T19:39:00.000-05:00

God is a God of creation.

I asked in a post awhile back were had the creativity in the church gone?

Well Im happy to be able to share this video with you.

This shows there are still some creative people out there.

Pretty cool huh?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Risk and Risk Aversion

2007-02-25T19:43:00.000-05:00

I think one of the biggest hurdles for believers and churches alike is an aversion to risk.

We are afraid to get out of the boat. Jesus has called us to walk to him and unlike Peter we just cant do it.

What's holding us back?

For some I believe its growing up in a church culture that only applauds success. We give props to ministries that "succeed" and we don't applaud effort. So once someone fails and notices that no one supported them through the failure, they never try again.

Show me a church, group, or company that supports its people through failure and into the next attempt and I'll show you a group that understands people. People fail. Reality check here folks. People fail!

So as Tom Peters says, "Fail forward FAST!" We need to encourage people who are in our church, home group, house church, simple church, organic church or whatever, that it's ok to try and it's ok to fail, as long as they get back up and try again!

Others are risk adverse because of what they think they might lose. But lets be honest, can you really lose anything when it's Christ calling you out on the water? Is your plan really better than His?

To my friends in this missional movement I have a word of advice for you: take a risk! Listen to the Spirit's voice and go. Do not hesitate or wait, just be a Nike commercial and "Do It!"

My prayer is we take Kingdom risks and cast off the chains that have prevented us.

What missional risk is God telling you to take? and why or why are you not taking it?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Thank You - to my Missional Audience

2007-02-24T22:57:00.000-05:00

Just want to say thank you to everyone who visits.

Traffic and readership has grown significantly over the last month.

I appreciate everyones input via email.

I also appreciate those of you I've gotten to know who I would call my friends.

I started a list but it would be too long.

Thanks for supporting this blog and encouraging this challenged writer and thinker to contribute to the conversation.

Thanks everyone.

Real World Missional Example

2007-02-23T18:12:00.000-05:00

Have a look at the following link, you'll see that simple kindness makes an impression.

Missional Guerillas

So what Guerilla Missional Mission have you do recently?

HT: Seth Godin

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Tool from Google

2007-02-22T18:02:00.000-05:00

Those who are trying to get their thoughts out and published, Google has a new tool for you.

I haven't tried it yet but I'm certain it has some value.

If you try it let us know about you experience,

Googles Missional Tool

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Needs Discipleship

2007-02-21T16:26:00.000-05:00

Webb Kline's email sparked a deep response from a shy one of my non-blogging friends. The Bassmaster Ray had this to add to the discussion:

There's still something missing—Something that most people still doesn't talk much about anymore, if at all. There's a word that is hard to find today in the church and in all the talk about ‘Kingdom’. It's discipleship.

The tsunami in the Indian Ocean a few years ago perfectly illustrated what I'm trying to convey. When the tsunami hit that area in the Indian Ocean the entire world threw money at the problem. At one point "they" actually said, "stop sending money." What they then pleaded for they never got, at least in the volume they needed. It was people, to give their time. Time...…. The church has become detached from the fruit of long suffering, or patience. Long suffering with those who need someone, anyone, to sit with them, to suffer with them, to cry on, to talk to, to help put their lives back together—to give them Hope, over time, with patience.

It's become easier to throw money at every problem that arises because even the church at-large has come to believe that money can solve most if not all the worlds’ problems. No amount of money can comfort the broken hearted, or release spiritual captives, or give true and lasting hope. It takes people, with long-suffering, in it for the long-haul, who will see that these pre-believers, wounded believers and new-born babes make it. Make it to adulthood. Spiritual adulthood, so that we stop perpetuating generations of people trying to build the Kingdom with ‘detached’ believers. Detached form the pain and reality others experience and suffer, day-in, and day-out.

Building the Kingdom can be hard work, and draining at times. I suspect we have made it harder than it needs to be. Harder because the message too often given is: Receive this box of food and say this prayer and you’ll be okay. Good-bye.

What then separates us from the Welfare system in this country? Here’s some food, possibly some health care, maybe even a little money, and then you’re on your own. I know a lot of pre-believers who see the church as just another feel-good welfare system. They say, “I have no patience for the church. Soon as I walk out the door I never hear from them, unless I come to them, here, on Sunday.” If the church is going to be a healing agent, then we are going to have to inoculate at the point of infection. Anti-venom does no good in the medicine cabinet, or even in the syringe—it has to be injected, and remain, until the healing is complete.

This is not an easy 3-step program. It’s hard—really hard. To stick it out sometimes with those hurting and suffering, especially when there is no one else but you to reach out to a particular person. I’ve bailed. At the point where I had taken on so much of another person’s pain that I had nothing left to give, and there was no one to relieve me. I think I now understand a bit what it feels like when a lifeguard has someone they are trying to rescue drag them under. If there had been others with me, we could have rotated and combined our efforts. We could have shared in the long-suffering, together, and divided the burden. Many hands (and hearts) make light work. We can’t make it alone on this journey, and we shouldn’t expect others too either. I need you, and you need me—it was meant to be, and I’m grateful for that.

Discipleship. Long-suffering. Interdependence. Kingdom.

So what do you think? I believe discipleship and patience are 2 keys to this new missional paradigm. Without them the whole thing falls apart.

We must not throw money at things without being there to live it out with the people.

Your thoughts?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Powerful Missional Email - From Webb

2007-02-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

My friend Webb Kline sent me the following very long email. Its outta character for this blog to have such long posts, but I felt Webb's words needed to be heard.

I'd like to say ahead of time THANKS Webb for sharing, I couldn't agree more.

Sorry we missed you today. "The Great PennDOT St. Valentine's Day Storm Boondoggle of '07" forced my into having to work all weekend. Been a time of profound revelations though. Maybe its nothing. I'm tired and didn't want to post, but I had to get the ideas out of my head. See what you think.

Woody came back from Ukraine and went to a leaders conference of local UMC pastors. He presented a video of the Ukraine mission to them. He went there very frustrated as the conference doesn't even acknowledge the Ukraine Initiative on its mission website.

He laid all the cards out on the table and to his surprise, most of the pastors agreed that they needed to get their congregations involved with the initiative. They prayed about it and it looks like we are finally going to get some support, not just financially, but in recruiting volunteers form these churches as well. Presented with a real-life situation, these pastors were very moved to mobilize to help these kids. Bingo!

Here is what I think I am seeing, and I began to get into it on your last blog post:

As I contemplated the snowstorm goof-up, I realized that PennDOT had grown complacent because there hadn't been any real snow-events for the last couple of years. Many employees never had to work a storm like this one. They had the equipment and the head knowledge, but it wasn't until the stormwas upon them that they had to do something about it, and there was a lot of communication breakdown, people untrained for the crisis, supply cut-backs, probably because the global warming governor didn't think we would need them. Plus, they did away with all the independent contractors. They weren't ready for it and we all paid the price.

Okay. Now look at the church. In a time of relative peace and prosperity, the Church became fixated on itself, on buildings, attractional programs, etc. Training was focused on attractional ministry, not on missions. The Soviet Union broke up, democracy took the place of tyranny in many places around the world, and while poverty and starvation existed, much had been done to alleviate it, and racism was at an all-time low. Combine this with the fact that what problems did exist in the world, the western church was largely isolated from them. They didn't really have a lot of reason to be missional--at least on the surface.

But, in the last 35 years, while the church was growing deeper and deeper in debt to its attractions, more self-consumed, self-obsessed, the world's problems exacerbated at a rate far-beyond our comprehension.

1. Abortion was legalized, while we were sleeping.
2. At the same time, drug abuse skyrocketed.
3. The homeless situation in the US went through the roof.
4. The Soviet Union broke up, but it wasn't really a good thing after-all.
We took their democracy for granted, but the people didn't know what to do with it. Alcohol and drug abuse in former Soviet countries skyrocketed, along with prostitution, AIDS, and extreme poverty and homelessness.
Millions of children now live on the streets. Add to that the Chernobyl incident and we have hundreds of thousands of children born with birthdefects, millions orphaned by parents who succumbed to thyroid cancer and other Chernobyl-related illnesses.
5. HIV/AIDS went from nonexistent to out of control in a few short years, the church not doing a thing about it at first because it thought that only gays and drug abusers were affected, and it was easy for them to develop compassionless theology that sent the afflicted to hell without the church having to get involved.
6. Famine began to sweep Africa and Asia.
7. Floods in the Caribbean and South America, brought on by impoverished people creating an environmental crisis by deforesting and derooting the landscape for cooking fuel, took many lives and threatened many more.
8. Militant homosexuality got a foothold on society, perpetrated by Christendom's theologies of hate, intolerance and judgmentalism.
9. Fundamentalist Islam began its reign of terror.
10. Not limited to our small war with Islam, it has taken horrific tolls in places like Darfur, Southeast Asia, Georgia, Bosnia, Sarajevo, Chechnya, not to mention Islamic countries of the Middle East.
11. Meanwhile, child prostitution is epidemic in places like Thailand and Cambodia, Africa, the Orient, the former-Soviet Bloc countries.
12. Earthquakes, Typhoons, Hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, floods, volcanoes, droughts and famines are killing off people all over the planet in numbers that make the biblical pestilences seem mild.

What makes these things more overwhelming is the fact that the information about them is so much more available than it ever was thanks to the internet. The Church is now without excuse.

So what am I getting at? I am thinking that we have been self-consumed with church-as-usual for so long that we don't see the humanitarian crisis that is now at our doorsteps. No one else in the world has the knowledge, wisdom, divine guidance, unconditional love, and faith to confront the things that threaten all of civilization except for God's people. It's up to us. It'snot a matter of attractional vs. missional, emergent vs. traditional--it's a matter of God preparing his Church to enter an entirely new paradigm, a missional paradigm where we are collectively called to confront the needs ofthe world which are consuming humanity. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. No one in this age will ever see any kind of relevance in Christianity unless the Church comes to the rescue. The Church on a humanitarian mission from God is not only the best witness of the mercy and grace of Jesus we could ever bring to the world, it is the only one that will ever make sense to them.

Woody's encounter with a bunch of traditional pastors and their response, got my attention. They can be as traditional as they want to be, and we can be as emergent from all that as we want to be, but what we have all got to realize is that we all have our work cut out for us and it is not, nor is it ever going to be work-as-usual from here on in. I believe that the sooner God's Church can realize that missional is not just another movement, but aprophetic call about the destruction of civilization if we don't rally to the cause, the sooner we can begin to pool our resources to rescue humanity. God has spoken forth a new paradigm, we all must now find our place in it.

We must somehow diffuse all this us-against-them talk and mobilize the church to action. Yeah, that's easier said than done. But, we simply have to run with what we have to work with and those who God is calling will get on board with us, or they will act in kind in other areas, inspired by our message. I'm just going nuts reading all the good ideas, but seeing little fruit.

Sorry for the rant. I had to vent somewhere. Maybe I'm just overtired from having just driven 900+ miles and knowing I have but a short break before heading for Pittsburgh, but something tells me there's more to it than that.

What do you think, bro? Should I get a therapist?

So Now what do you think? Does Webb need a therapist?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional Church Example- This church is trying

2007-02-19T18:08:00.000-05:00

I think this church is trying to be incarnational and missional.

Have a look and tell me what you think.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Missional - Leap of Faith

2007-02-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

Read Mark 10:46-52

Bartimaeus discovered that his leap of faith was throwing off his cloak. A blind mans cloak was his life. It sustained him and was his bed. He used it to gather what he begged. But when he heard the voice of Christ he threw off that cloak, never intending to need it again. That was his leap of Faith.

Joe Kittinger in the summer of 1960 made another "leap of faith"

You can read about his leap of faith here.

So here's my challenge for you.......

God is calling missional leaders to throw off their cloaks and take a leap of faith. What leap is He asking you to make?

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership, joe Kittinger,

Missional Movement and the Jesus Movement

2007-02-17T09:52:00.001-05:00

Once again Scot McKnight has a great post about this.

Having not been involved in the J movement I can't say much. But I have some thoughts.

1. All movements that have their roots in scripture and the work of the HS are similar. They must be! As they come from Him.

2. The idea that being anti-institution is some how a fad is not supported by fact. Other societal institutions are moving towards a flat structure. Get used to it.

3. The establishment of paid Clergy has not benefited the modern church.

4. The walls of the church have become a prison to enclose and inhibit the work of God.

You can read Scots article here.

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,

Ministry Need

2007-02-16T17:49:00.000-05:00

Please pray with us.

We have the opportunity to purchase a Panasonic PVG gs 300 mini cam

Its a $600 camera and its being made available locally here to us for $300

We want to have something like this to shot video of the ministry in Philadelphia and the seminars we do.

Although its not a ton of money. Its more than we have atm.

Pray with us that God provides the ability to pick this.

thanks

Missional? You Decide Take 2

2007-02-15T17:51:00.000-05:00

I wonder what your thoughts are on this one?

Missional or not missional?

you decide

Gospel of Propane

It's worth registering!

missional, missional church, Missional Living, Leadership,