Tag: Missional Church
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The Value of Ministries of Mercy
It seems that Micah 6.8 is quite clear and straight-forward in its summary of living as God’s People in this world: He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?To do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Yet, for some reason, many Christians, and too many churches,…
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The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times
Dr. Os Guinness speaks to Acton Institute, a message titled: The Power of the Gospel No Matter How Dark the Times. This message, though long, is powerful, and is related to a post I published earlier this week titled: Culture Shaping Power of the Church.
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Culture Shaping Power of the Church
Os Guinness, in his excellent book, Renaissance, concerning the church in midst of the present challenges unprecedented in Western Culture, notes the culture changing and culture shaping power of the gospel, when the gospel is both declared by God’s People and is actively shaping God’s People. When many of our churches are caving in pursuit of…
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Illustration of a Healthy Church
If our congregation were to be a church with the gospel, plus a group that enjoys being together in community, but we were not on mission to reach out to our neighbors and the Nations, for the sake of advancing Christ’s Kingdom, then we would just be another social club for people to attend. Gospel…
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Top 3 Needs of the Church Today
The late great John Stott was asked: “What are the top three needs of the church today?” Here is Stott’s prophetic three-fold response: The church’s most basic need is to remember what kind of community it is, and in particular its double identity. For God calls his people out of the world to belong to…
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Turning Consumers Into Missionaries
In this video, Hugh Halter offers some helpful suggestions about turning church consumers into people who live on mission for and with Christ. While this is a long video, in the current climate of American church culture, I found it worth taking the time to consider. I broke it up into viewing sections – watching…
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Getting Through Challenges to Missional Community
As we have been encouraging the small groups in our church to add a more intentional outward face, I thought I would post this piece by Jonathan Dodson that provides a solid three-legged-base counsel concerning missional communities – which is what small groups embracing an outward face are in transition toward becomming. *** The popularity of missional community is…
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Here AND There
We don’t just go to church, we ARE the church …sent out by the power of the Spirit to BE the church. This illustration above represents two aspects of being a faithful church: Attractional – those elements of a particular congregation that draw people into the church community. Among these would be the quality of…
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The Missional Puritan: On Mission With God
Hey, this Missional thing is nothing new! Listen to what the old English Puritan, John Owen, wrote in the 17th Century: God has work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority. It is not enough that we be just, that we…
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Center Church
I picked up Tim Keller‘s newest book, Center Church. It hit the bookstore shelves this morning. I have as yet read only a few chapters. But as expected it is an excellent expression of holistic gospel-centered ministry. In short it is a book about forming a Theological Vision for ministry, and living out that vision…
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What If We Omitted Gospel, Community, or Mission?
The refrain from an old song says: “Two out of three ain’t bad.” But would this be true for a church, or a Christian, who incorporates 2 out of 3 of the core values: Gospel, Community, Mission? Consider these thoughts, framed as a mathematical equation: Gospel + Community – Mission If we have a Gospel…
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4 Possible Paradigm Shifts for the 21st Century Church
I am not sure in what context or venue he said this, but billionaire financier Warren Buffett is credited with having noted: “In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” Whatever the initial context, there is much wisdom in this insight that can be…
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Contextual Asessment Starter Questions
One of the greater frustrations I have experienced in the church I serve has not come from the people within the church as much as it has from well intended (I presume) outsiders and fringe folks who espouse a missional approach. This is surprising because I want to embrace a missional approach. But much of…
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Lost Art of Discipleship
Sometimes we need to face up to difficult questions. Michael Horton, in his book The Gospel Commission, asks some really tough ones that every church, every church leader, every church member needs to ask themselves: Instead of reaching the lost, are we losing the reached? Or are those reared in our own churches being truly…
