This week I’m going to be giving away a free signed copy of Chris Guillebeau’s new book The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future! Chris Guillebeau is a solopreneur, meaning he’s been working for himself for a number of years, mostly as a professional travel hacker and writer. His first book was named after his popular blog entitled The Art of Non-Conformity. Chris spent time working with Mercy... Read more
This may be a step in the right direction, or it might just be an inoculation from experiencing a real missional shift in a congregation: The latest megachurch to cancel a Sunday service to go out and serve its community is the 3,000-member Experience Life Church in Lubbock, Texas. The megachurch is participating today in what’s called Servolution, started by Louisiana-based megachurch pastor Dino Rizzo, or what they’re calling “For The City”: “Instead of just GOING to church, we will... Read more
Congratulations to Ed Stetzer and Philip Nation on the publication of the new Mission of God Study Bible, which came out yesterday from Broadman & Holman Publishers. Ed is giving away a free copy of the new Bible on his blog this week, as well as beginning a new series of blog posts where he’ll be sharing some excerpts from the many contributors (all of whom appear to be safely conservative evangelical). The first excerpt is from an essay by... Read more
From Seth Godin’s blog yesterday: “Here’s what doesn’t work: hacking around and ignoring what doesn’t work. “Here’s what also doesn’t work: doing your best with your work and then dismissing the elements that don’t work as experiments. “The best experiments are experiments on purpose. They are done with rigor and intent. They are measured. They are designed to either fail or create an approach that can be scaled. “Great experimenters measure their results. They probe. They fail on purpose. And... Read more
In the June 2012 issue of The Mennonite magazine, Ron Adams, a Mennonite pastor in Madison, Wisconsin, argues that the word “missional” is too problematic and suggests we should replace it with “bearing witness.” Here’s what he says: “Missional is not about program … Missional is not what your congregation’s outreach committee does. Missional is an adjective that describes God. Being missional means figuring out what God is up to and then joining that work. Missional is our calling. “Even... Read more
… Native Americans, according to Randy Woodley, who writes, “Native Americans, [who] have been the recipients of American church mission longer than any other people in the world and having scrutinized the message and the messengers for centuries, have something to say. The perspective of this book is rooted in redemptive correction and in putting out a call for true partnership through the co-creation of, not just new theological ideas, but the creation of whole new theological systems.” Here’s an... Read more
Here’s a fascinating new interview with Alan Hirsch, of the Forge Network, conducted by Sean Gladding for Asbury Seminary, a United Methodist seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. In this first part of the interview, Gladding asks Hirsch if he has any hope for the mainline (specifically the United Methodist Church) in making the missional shift, and Hirsch responds by referring to the example of the explosive growth of the underground church in China: “The forms of the church, and that’s the... Read more
Kathy Escobar, co-pastor of The Refuge in Colorado and leadership team member with TransFORM Network, had a great post yesterday about where she sees the Church in North America headed: “i think new forms of church will look a lot more like holey dinghies than cruise ships or pretty sail boats. “they will be rag-tag groups of misfits thrown overboard & dreamers who-couldn’t-stand-being-a-tourist-on-the-big-ship-anymore & pioneers who know there’s something better out there beyond the horizon. … “here’s my hope in... Read more
The new Missio Alliance network — a collaboration between Northern Seminary, Ecclesia Network, Virginia Baptist Mission Board, and George Fox Evangelical Seminary — has announced its first regional and national events: Regional: “The Future of the Church: Emerging, Neo-Reformed, Missional?” featuring David Fitch; June 13 at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY National: “The Future of the Gospel: Renewing Evangelical Imagination for Mission” featuring Dallas Willard, Scot McKnight, David Fitch, Jo Saxton, Roger Olson, MaryKate Morse, and others; April 11-13, 2013,... Read more
Cris and Philip Zimmermann are brothers in Germany, who have started a business called crippledJesus, based on the theological ideas probably best expressed by Teresa of Avila in her poem “Christ Has No Body.” In this short video, they explain the idea between the cross necklaces they are producing (with the help of handicapped workers) and selling as a way of supporting their missional churches (in Mainz and Frankfurt, respectively): What do you think of this cross necklace/missional business idea?... Read more
Missional Shift
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