Tag: Missional
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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…
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The Scandal of American Evangelicalism
I was not there, but I am now wishing I had been, at least for R.C. Sproul Jr.’s address. The Layman Online reports that Sproul prophetically challenged those gathered for 2012 Ligonier National Conference “… about the true scandal of the evangelical mind.” Developing his message from 1 Corinthians 1.18-31 Sproul briefly outlined the Christian faith,…
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Gospel Clarity for Missional Calling
The article below by World Harvest Mission‘s Josiah Bancroft is a tremendously insightful and clear explanation of the relationship of the gospel to culture. Not only is this an important understanding for the mission field overseas, but Josiah explains why it is essential even within the local church in North America. The video above is…
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6 Rules of Cultural Engagement
Jesus said: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10.16) When the Lord calls us to himself he also sends us out. It is a package deal. No exceptions. We are expected to engage our culture. It is part of our…
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Lessons from The Externally Focused Church
Although everyone outside the Church is a potential ministry focus, the Externally Focused Church moves intentionally toward two groups: Those on the margins The City – from Externally Focused Church These are important points to remember when designing an outreach strategy for the local church. The first, people on the margins of society, probably…
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Mission @ the Heart of God
There are the five parts of the Bible: The God of the Old Testament is a missionary God, calling one family in order to bless all the families of the earth. The Christ of the Gospels is a missionary Christ; he sent the church out to witness. The Spirit of the Acts is a missionary…
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Moving Toward Missional
Some questions I have wrestled with over time: Can someone live missionally without a conscious embracing of missionalism? I suspect “No”. It is possible to engage in activities, but without a conscious approach there is no “mission”. Such a life is more frenetic, aimless, and haphazard. Mission requires intentionally carrying out a preconceived plan and/or…
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5 Key Missional Questions
In this video Jonathan Dodson answers important questions like: Who are you? Is the Gospel dangerous? What does risk look like in following Jesus? How are we called and equipped for the risk that comes with mission? How does entertainment prohibit mission? How does the gospel compel risky mission? You can also read Dodson’s follow-up…
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The Original Missional Calvinist
John Calvin often gets a bad rap. But David Mathis offers us another perspective. In the Introduction to a book he co-edited with John Piper, With Calvin in the Theater of God, Mathis writes: “Calvin so believed in the importance of the everyday activities of Christian life and mission that he had a strange but…
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Traditional Conservative & Missional Values
One of the fundamental principles of being missional is contextualization. In short, contextualization simply means to take into consideration the context where one lives and serves. With all the noteriety that missional practitioners serving in clearly post-Christian areas have gained, it seems some, desiring to follow the example of these leaders, all too readily foresake the principle of contextualization. It is…
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Unity, Liberty, & Charity
I was disappointed recently when I read an old post on the Aquila Report, You Will Hear Crickets. The author, Anthony Bradley, is a professor of Ethics at Kings College in New York City, and apparently has some aversion to the missional church movement. Bradley opens his article: So I’m beginning to wonder if it’s…
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Get the Gospel Right
If pressed for a quick summary of my philosophy of ministry, I would probably express it something like this: Get the Gospel Right Get the Gospel Out Get the Gospel Out Right Without a message there is no mission. Unfortunately, it seems, many are so zealous to get about the mission that they make little…
