Having planted a church, I’ve become convinced of something. New churches in North America must move from a purely pastoral mindset into a missionary mindset. However, in the evangelical sub-culture, the leader of any church, including a church plant, is supposed to first be the people’s “pastor”… that is, the church-planter is not supposed to be first the leader of a band of missionaries to affect a culture for Christ, but rather the care-taker of the people in the church.... Read more
Hi everyone! For the first week of Reintegrate, we are offering a prize drawing for each time you connect with the new ministry. Your name gets put in the hat for each of these actions on your part: Sign up for the Reintegrate Weekly Newsletter – see form on the bottom of right-side column -> “Follow” Reintegrate on Twitter (@re_integrate) “Like” Reintegrate on Facebook Link your Facebook account to Reintegrate’s blog through “Networked Blogs” GRAND PRIZE A Book of Your Choice ($20 limit,... Read more
Contemporary American Reflections on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together In American culture, we believe the opposite of what the Bible teaches. In America, the meek do not inherit the earth; they inherit our scorn. In America, the silent listeners get trampled over by the “go-getters” as they leap to the top of the heap. In America, we see ourselves as more important than we really are, too busy with what we have deemed “important matters” to bother taking the time to do... Read more
Gabe Lyons has written a very insightful article for CNN.com entitled, “Young Christians optimistic despite Christian America’s demise.” He writes, “While some megachurches are flourishing in suburban Christian enclaves, the number of self-identifying Christians has fallen 10 points over as many years. Each year, the Christian church experiences a net loss in attendees and the waning political influence of the movement is now more than apparent.” This decline in the number of Christians and churches is alarming to most evangelicals.... Read more
In the Western Church, we’re trapped in a worldview that assumes that we live and act in two separate domains, the “sacred sphere” and a “secular sphere.” We see prayer, evangelism, worship, and other “Christian activities” as the sacred part of life, that which has eternal significance. We see work, leisure, politics, shopping, and other “worldly activities” as the secular part of life, that which is only second-tier importance or of no eternal significance. Alan Hirsch, in his book, The Forgotten Ways, contributed to my understanding of the destructive... Read more
From Gideon Strauss. 1. Fall in love. College is a time to decide what matters most in life, and to order the whole of your life toward that deepest love. 2. Ask big questions. College is a time to review the biggest questions, to talk about them, read about them, watch movies about them, and figure out your own answers to them, in alignment with your deepest loves. Who am I? Where do I belong? What kind of person do I want... Read more
The “Missional Model” of church ministry sees mission as the mode of operation for Christianity. Mission means being sent. This has been the God’s model dating all the way back to Abraham, through Moses, into Jesus, and is now the model for us in our cultural contexts. God calls individuals and communities to love him and to obey his governance over all things, and then sends these individuals and communities to proclaim this Kingdom of God. But there’s a problem, and Alan Hirsch identifies it: “The Christendom template... Read more
“Christians need to learn to love institutions again, and they won’t get very far in transforming society unless they do.” It is an ongoing tension I feel. As I discuss my vision for ministry with good-hearted evangelical Christians, they are suspicious of my embrace of the University as a God-given institution. I explain to them that as a campus minister, I am called to be a blessing not only to the college students that I interact with, but also to... Read more
“A looming crisis for all American evangelical churches is that they cannot thrive outside of the shrinking enclaves of conservative and traditional people and culture. We have not created the new ministry and communication… models that will flourish and grow in the coming post-Christian very secular Western world. Our vision should be to develop campus ministries, new churches, Christian education/discipleship systems that are effective in those fields in North America.” – Tim Keller Read more
A look at the Moses Paradigm of “Called and Sent” [image source_type=”attachment_id” source_value=”2260″ align=”right” width=”140″ autoHeight=”true”] Walter Brueggemann, in an essay entitled “Evangelism and Discipleship” in the book The Word That Redescribes the World: The Bible and Discipleship explains that the paradigm for a missional community is that God calls and sends. God calls people into relationship with the Godhead, and then sends us on a mission to “go” into a an intentional life that sets aside our purposes and agendas for the sake... Read more
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