imagining how the church can reorient around mission

These are the coolest and eeriest pictures of winter along the Spokane River.  The river is absolutely raging right now creating a misting effect over the falls.  That coupled with the current cold snap has created some amazing images.  You can check the article out at Spokesman Review. read more

Here is a candid discussion about Porn from three seasoned guys who each have rich theological backgrounds.  It really highlights the the needed balance of grace and repugnance concerning the sin of pornagraphy.  Let me know what you think???

 

When our senses are heightened we usually experience things in a way we have never experienced before. If you fast for an extended period of time, say for over 24 hours, the first bite of food you take after the fast sends your taste buds into a frenzy. The banana you peel in your hand suddenly becomes a BANANA!!!!!! in your mouth. Well over the past 12 months God has heightened my sense of pain. For over a year now I have dealt with chronic low back pain. And while the pain is miserable, I find myself praising God for the way He has literally opened my eyes to the things unseen by heightening my sense of pain. And I had one of those insights in church on Sunday that I would like to share with you.  read more

I get the pleasure of being a part of Christian Associates’ North American Engage this weekend in Portland, Oregon (Portlandia – You Gotta Watch This!!!).  What a pleasure it is to meet and encourage a crew of folks who have set there sights on multiplying missional communities in some of the most amazing cities of the world.  We have people interested from Germany, the UK, Norway, and Latin and North America.  If you would make a note to remember to pray for them as they get poke and prodded a bit and as they further investigate the next steps for their lives (a weighty proposition, indeed) it would be deeply appreciated!

If you follow “The Drum” you have realized that it was deluged during the month of January by guest bloggers.  These fine people (18-22 year olds) were students of mine from Whitworth University who were in a course I teach called, “The Missional Church (Hey, back off. I named it before it was faddish).”  Their assignment was to publicly blog throughout the term.  I shamelessly volunteered mine for the exercise.  That wasn’t all they were to do, but we felt a little global exposure would be healthy as they processed the grand narratives of missionality in western culture. read more

This is a short excerpt from my dear (and brilliant) friend, Al Tizon (you can find him at Word and Deed or on FB at Evangelicals for Social Action): read more

Last semester I had the opportunity to take Evangelism and Discipleship with Kent McDonald. It was a great class to take and I highly recommend it to anyone in Missional Church. One of the things we discussed was based around Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission). This passage is the foundation to this missio dei concept we have been looking at. Our whole mission is to go out and make disciples. Kent did not like the phrase commission because it pertains too much as a duty or some sort of chore that we have to do. Instead, he chose to name it as “The Great Connection.” Sure, the whole point of mission is going out and spreading the good news, but it also requires us to have a deep relationship with the disciples we are creating. It should not be a one time thing, but an ongoing process. Incarnational relational ministry is something that should be directed toward “The Great Connection.” Jesus did this with his disciples. He did not only tell them a whole bunch of religious facts, he also ate dinner with them, talked with them, and just hung out with them in general. If there is any intention of spreading the Kingdom of God to the city there needs to be a relational aspect to the mission.

Brian

At first I didn’t know what to think about this whole blogging thing. How is it going to help us learn more about missional church? What is the point? Then, once we started, I really didn’t like it. People got fired up. People got offended. Was this productive? Was it worth the hurt feelings and harsh comments? But now, at the end of the class and the end of the group blogging experience, I think I finally get the point. Our posts and comments have created the dialogue that we, as fallen, opinionated humans need in order to learn how we can and should be the people of God in the world. Now my biggest question is this…how do we keep that going once we’re done with this class and no longer have a blog to rely upon for our conversations? The answer, I think, is for all of us to be face-to-face bloggers in our own context. Pretty simple idea, pretty difficult to carry out. But how? Be honest. People were honest about the world, church, and so many other things in their posts. We have to continue to do this in order for the church to grow and progress in society. If we are to ever make an impact on the world we must continue to look at how things are going, honestly say how we feel about them, and then grow from there. Being incarnational and missional are things that I still do not fully understand and if I stop being honest and asking questions about that then I may never know. Also, be open. We need to be willing to listen to the ideas of others. That is the one thing I have appreciated so much about this experience. Not only does everyone have to read through my posts without interrupting, but I have to do the same for them. Agree or disagree, you still have to listen. We need to do this in life. Conversations about the church and the problems (and joys!) we see within it are conversations that shouldn’t just happen on the internet. I feel challenged to carry out this blogging experience in face-to-face situations. Hopefully that will help me and those around me to better understand what it means to be missional, incarnational, and the church of God in the world.  Sean

“Mission begins with a kind of explosion of joy. The news that the rejected and crucified Jesus is alive is something that cannot possibly be suppressed. It must be told. Who could be silent about such a fact?” says Lesslie Newbigin in his book, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society. read more