Tag: Missional Church
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Being Sent
This past Sunday I offered a brief exposition of John 17.6-21 & John 20.21, explaining what it means to be “sent” into our community and world in the same way God the Father sent Jesus into our world. These texts demand that we understand, as John Stott says: “Our God is a missionary God.” They…
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Deep Church & Ordinary Means
Unbeknownst to me when I posted earlier today, two of my long-time friends interviewed Jim Belcher, author of Deep Church, earlier this year for their podcast: Ordinary Means. In this interview Jim introduces and discusses his book with two guys, Matt Bohling & Shaun Nolan, who unhesitatingly identify themselves with the Traditional Church. Great discussion… To listen click: Deep Church.
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The Deep Church
At the suggestion of a friend, I recently read Jim Belcher’s Deep Church. I was not disappointed. This is thoughtful and thought-provoking book. The subtitle really captures the theme of this book: A Third Way. With all the discussions about “how” to do church, and the polemic approaches of the Traditionalists and the Emerging/Emergent, some of us…
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Won’t You Be My Neighbor
A group of pastors invited the mayor of their city to discuss his dream for the city, along with the issues that were hindering that dream from becoming a reality. The mayor came with a list of pervasive issues that the pastors in this group were eager to address: at-risk kids, elderly shut-ins, dilapidated housing, and hunger. But before addressing…
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Is “Missional” Just “Evangelistic”?
In his book The Present Future, Reggie McNeal reveals the contrasts in the different ways leaders can think about the church and its ministry. McNeal reveals the different paradigms that pastors can have as they fulfill their ministry in the church. Being missional is first a shift in thinking about the nature of the church.…
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A Missional Church IS…
A missional church is rooted in the purpose of God, and understands that God is on a mission to reclaim a People for himself and restore a Creation to it’s orignal beauty. This is known as missio dei – Mission of God. A missional church recognizes that our culture in North America is no longer an…
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Missing the Missional Mark
To read something I disagree with on the Internet is not an unusual thing. When what I disagree with comes from a source that I respect – highly respect – it makes me somewhat uncomfortable. When the source I respect seems to oppose what I hold, well that is just down-right disappointing. But that is the…
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Ambition
I’ve been listening to the audio of sessions from Acts 29 Network’s 2009 Bootcamp: Ambition. While not everyone will find these talks of interest, I think they are challenging and stimulating for those of us in ministry and church leadership. Ministry for the Long Haul & Ambition (Matt Chandler) Decoding Your City & Ambition (Kevin Cawley)…
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Characteristics of a Missional Church
As our church begins to explore what it means to be a missional church, it might be helpful to hear the insights of one of the most effective practitioners and proponents of the missional approach to ministry. In the above video Tim Keller, of Redeemer Church in Manhattan, explains some of the key characteristics of…
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Mere Marketing Misses the Mark
This had to be one of the more irritating telemarketing calls I can recall. Some guy cold-called me at my church office yesterday and wanted me to give him a blow-by-blow of our Outreach strategy. He had a service to sell that would “enhance” our attractiveness to the community. To listen to him it sounded like a can’t…
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Radical Reformission
Long ago I shamelessly pilferred the word “Reformissional” from Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church and Acts 29 Network. The word seemed to encapsulate what I was about. The word is a hybrid of both Reformed and Missional, two parallel tracks that both decribe and shape my philosophy of ministry – and even, to a large degree, my…
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Odyssey of Church Outreach
Outreach and evangelism are among the most important responsibilites the Christian has to his/her community. They are also perhaps the most intimidating. A friend of mine, who is not a pastor, took over the the outreach ministry of his church. He was aware at the outset that this ministry was in need of an ovehaul. During the ‘heydays’ in this congregation most…
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On My Reading Table: The Tangible Kingdom
Recent travel has made it difficult to get to a number of things – like posting on this blog. I have one more trip to make this week, then I should be settled in for the better part of the Summer. Posting on the blog is not the only thing that has been put on…
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Mission: The Fourth Mark of the Church
A number of years ago, when the well-known conference speaker Ralph L. Keiper was preaching at a missions conference in Deerfield Street, New Jersey, he told about a little girl who had come to see him early in his ministry. She was about eight years old. She had been to the church’s daily vacation Bible…
