Owner: Missional Challenge URL:http://missionalchallenge.blogspot.com Join Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:52:37 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Here is the Missional Challenge - Aligning every believer with the mission of Jesus! Most Christians in America don’t understand the mission of the church. It's all about proclaiming the Good News of Jesus!!! Site statistics:Click here
S.T.E.E.P.E.R. Trends in the U.S. 2007-03-27 07:47:00 Recently, our OC U.S. team had a lengthy dialogue on significant trends in the U.S. using the STEEPER trends framework. I was unfamiliar with this approach, but I found it very helpful.So, I thought I would post the same questions we discussed and see what everyone out there who reads this blog sees as trends. Please consider the following categories and post your comments!Social:Technological:Economic:Environmental:Political:Ethnic:Religious:After a few comments, I'll add from our team discussion as well....Here are the key questions:What are the significant trends in the U.S.? (using STEEPER outline)How are those trends affecting church leaders?What are the implications of those trends for your ministry?________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere! Read more:Trends
Compassion in INDIA 2007-03-26 21:54:00 When I was a child, we sponsored a child with World Vision. Recently, my family has begun to support a child in Sri Lanka. This is a great opportunity to minister to the physical, educational and spiritual needs of children who are less fortunate, and often poor, neglected and under-privileged.While in India, it was an incredible blessing to visit one of Compassion
International’s ministries and see how child sponsorship and church partnerships are making a difference. The Wesley Child Development Center is serving the needs of 253 children in a poor area of Chennai that was devastated by the Tsunami. A small group of our class was able to see firsthand how the Gospel is transforming lives.Compassion is a church-based ministry. They work through local churches. Although they don’t sponsor schools, all sponsored children are required to go to school. There are nearly 240 projects in Southern India serving 56,000 children. After school, students come to the project and participate in
Multiplication Movements in Southern India 2007-03-26 08:14:00 Joshua Pillai is the Director of DAWN South India
. I met him in the coffee shop in the lobby of the Nakshatra Hotel in Secunderabad, India. When I arrived at the airport that morning, I discovered that my flight had been changed and wouldn’t depart until after midnight. I headed back to the hotel to connect with BGU classmates and get some rest until it was time to return to the airport. While enjoying a cup of coffee with Viju Abraham and Jim & Sara Caldwell, Joshua Pillai entered the lobby. Viju introduced me to him and after just a brief conversation, I sensed that this was a divine appointment. In fact, upon further reflection I began to wonder if my flight was changed because God wanted me to meet Joshua and learn from his story.Joshua had pioneered and pastored a church for seven years with the Assembly of God in India. He worked very hard, but after seven years the church had grown to “only 200 people.” In prayer, he confessed to God that he wanted to pastor a church o Read more:Movements
, Southern
BGU INDIA Course - Students 2007-03-26 08:10:00 One of the best parts of my trip to India was connecting with students from around the world. I thought it would be really great if you could meet them – so I created a video where they could all introduce themselves. Here it is…Here's a list of my incredible classmates...Radi Atallaa IskanderAlexandria, EGYPTJohn Michel Colorado Springs, ColoradoDean Johnson British Columbia, CANADADeborah Loyd Portland, OregonGeoffrey Hsu San Diego, CaliforniaBert de Ruiter Amsterdam, NETHERLANDSSamson Ghandi Hyderabad, INDIACraig Hardinger Lynden, WashingtonJames and Sara Caldwell Seattle, WashingtonChristine Wood Ventura, CaliforniaDoug and Carol Quinlan Deming, WashingtonRaineer Chu Manila, PHILIPPINESJesse Davis Monroe, WashingtonCalvin Young Birmingham, UK ENGLANDRose Madrid-Swetman Seattle, WashingtonCraig Schroetlin Aurora, Colorado________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
I
The Danger of Consumerism 2007-03-26 07:58:00 In Alan Hirsch's book The Forgotten Ways, he states:I've come to believe that in dealing with consumerism we are dealing with an exceedingly powerful enemy propagated by a very sophisticated media machine. This is our situation, but it is also our own personal condition - and it must be dealt with if we are going to be effective in the twenty-first century in the West. (p. 109)I agree that this is a serious issue if churches are going to actually engage in fulfilling the mission of Jesus! I posted my thoughts on consumerism in the church over on the MereMission blog. I'd encourage you to check it out: The Danger
of ConsumerismIf you have any comments - feel free to leave them here or on the meremission blog. Thanks!________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere!
Competing Ants 2007-03-28 08:23:00 I have always loved this concept from Wolfgang Simson's Houses that Change the World (p. 294). I envision a day when churches around the world are so aligned with the mission of Jesus that there is no sense of competition at all.Picture two ants standing in front of an elephant. They are arguing over which of them will eat the elephant. The average evangelical church today has around 100 members. Given certain sociological factors, a local church has, typically, an evangelistic potential of a factor 10, i.e. it can effectively touch the lives of about ten times as many people as it has active members. A church of 100, then, can ‘reach’ around 1000 people in their basic cultural, ethnic and social layer with the gospel. That means that in a city of 15,000 inhabitants, we realistically need about 15 churches – one for each 1000 inhabitants. That does not mean that each church will have to grow to 1000 members; it means that each church has a task – their own piece of the elepha
Quote: Sent By Jesus! 2007-03-30 01:44:00 Neither failure nor hostility can weaken the messenger’s conviction that he has been sent by Jesus
. That his word may be their strength, their stay and their comfort, Jesus repeats it. “Behold, I send you.” For this is no way they have chosen for themselves, no undertaking of their own. It is, in the strict sense of the word, a mission. With this, the Lord promises his abiding presence, even when they find themselves as sheep among wolves, defenceless, powerless, sore pressed and beset with great danger. Nothing can happen to them without Jesus knowing of it. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, p. 236-237. (Commenting on Matthew 10:16-25)________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere! Read more:Quote
Shift Happens 2007-03-28 19:43:00 My friend, Steve Bagdanov, posted this video on his blog and I thought it was worth posting again.He writes:Here is an interesting video on the speed of information growth, the size of the world in human terms and some information that should challenge our “America is superior” tendencies…After recently visiting India for two weeks and reading The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman, I have a new understanding of the issues of globalization. The technological advances that we have already experienced and those that are ahead present new opportunities for spreading the Good News of the Gospel!However, it's amazing to consider that Christianity grew from as few as 25,000 Christians in AD 100 to up to 20,000,000 Christians in AD 310 without the use of multi-media, computers, video, satellites, or printed Bibles. They didn't have buildings, professional clergy, seeker-sensitive services, youth groups, worship bands, seminaries or commentaries. (Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, p 18 Read more:Shift
What If? 2007-04-09 06:03:00 While in India, I met John Michel. He is an incredible Christian brother with a passion to transform cities in America to truly become "Servant Cities." He has a vision and a passion to see true transformation take place. I want to share with you this excerpt that introduces some of his ideas. Let me know what you think..._______________________________What If? by John Michel Today, we live in a world where people work together for years yet never come to really know one another; where we know more about what is happening in Iraq than we do with our neighbors across the street. In a society that increasingly courts individualism, it is easy to allow our world to shrink to the size of our desk, our cubicles, or our computer monitors. What if there was another way? What if members of a community were to contribute their gifts and talents not because of what it says about them, but because of what it does for those in need around them? From such a perspective, the entire comm
Neil Cole - The Absence of Movements in America 2007-04-27 17:24:00 Neil Cole, author of Organic Church and founder of Church Multiplication Associates, shared his perspective with me yesterday on the absence of movements in America
. He observes that the church often gets in the way. The problem stems from consumer Christians who are willing to sit and soak and let the pastor serve them, instead of getting involved themselves. He asserts, “People in the pews are irresponsible, and pastors let them stay that way.” Codependent pastors allow dysfunctional churches to exist. This prevents missional movements from ever starting. Neil also recognizes that movements are more likely to happen overseas because of liminality. In many countries around the world there is a great struggle for Christians (including persecution) that purifies what it means to be a Christian. In the midst of that struggle, authentic followers of Jesus emerge that more naturally embody the mission and message of Jesus. They multiply disciples because that is the essence of foll Read more:Movements
Oral Review Today 2007-05-29 11:58:00 Wow! I can't believe I finished my dissertation late last night! It feels incredible to be done.Today
is my oral review at 3:30 PM. Please pray that I present everything that I've learned in a clear way.It is my prayer that this research project will help to fuel Missional Transformation across America and beyond!________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere!
Receiving My Hood! 2007-06-06 15:44:00 I wish you could have been there! My father-in-law shot this short video (42 sec) of me as I received my hood.The entire learning process has been so fantastic. My experiences at BGU - the courses, the friendships, the professors, the trip to India, the influence of Dr. Ray Bakke, and the dissertation project - have impacted the trajectory of my life and ministry.I am so grateful to have participated in this program - and I'm especially thankful to my friend, Dr. Steve Ogne, for encouraging me to attend!Carpe Missio!________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere!
Missional Transformation: Abstract 2007-06-05 12:06:00 Here is my dissertation abstract:ABSTRACT There are a growing number of missional churches and missional leaders who are overcoming multiple obstacles to missional activity and seeking to return to the mission of the Church by modeling missional behaviors and mobilizing every believer as missionaries. However, the absence of more missional churches, missional leaders, and missional movements in America must be addressed. There must be a return to the missionary nature of the Church. The biblical understanding of the Church as “sent ones” is foundational to its mission (John 20:21). The mission of Jesus to “seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10) is the mission of every believer. Jesus sent His followers into the world as the Father sent Him. By examining the New Testament, we see that the Church is not a physical place or destination, but the Church is people—every believer together sent by Jesus with the gospel to the culture. Throughout the book of Acts, the Church Read more:Missional
, Transformation
, Abstract
BGU Graduation - June 2, 2007 2007-06-05 11:10:00 Wow! On Saturday evening, I graduated from Bakke Graduate University of Ministry in Seattle, Washington with my Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Church Multiplication. After five years, and countless hours of conversation and discussion, paragraphs of writing, miles of travel, pages of reading, and lots of money, I'm done!My dissertation focused on Missional Transformation: Fueling Missionary Movements that Transform America. I will be posting more of it in the coming days...The graduation day was awesome. It was great to have my wife, Deanne, and two children, Doug and Maddie, right there with me!Here's my official diploma!It was a blessing to have my mom there from Michigan, and Deanne's dad there from Colorado!It just feels so good to be completed! I am excited about the future and the opportunities that God has before me. I am especially grateful to all those who have supported and encouraged me on this adventure!________________________________________
Here’s a quick understand
Missional Transformation Glossary 2007-06-08 01:06:00 For my doctoral dissertation on MissionalTransformation
, I provided a glossary of key terms. I hope that posting it here will be helpful to those who are joining in the missional conversation. Please give feedback on terms and ideas - those with which you agree or disagree.GLOSSARY OF MISSIONAL TERMS APEPT—Term used to describe the fivefold ministry formula found in Ephesians 4. APEPT is an acrostic for Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher. Attractional—A “come and hear” model of ministry that includes inviting non-Christians to come to church to hear the gospel. Attractionalism—The belief that creating an appealing church service and programs will attract unbelievers to come to church. Christocentric—Christ at the center; if something is Christocentric, then its organizing principle is the person and work of Christ. Church Planting Movements (CPM)—A rapid multiplication of indigenous churches planting churches that sweeps through a people group or populat Read more:Glossary
New Forms of Church 2007-06-08 17:36:00 I saw both of these videos at the National New Church
Conference in Orlando in April. I think they do a good job of pointing out the tension that exists between the established, institutional church and new forms of church today.If you are experimenting with new forms of church that are remaining fully committed to Jesus as Lord, biblical authority, missional activities, and incarnating and proclaiming the gospel, I'd love to hear about it.Also, check out this new wikiproject I'm involved in: www.New-Forms
.info. It's purpose is to support the development and strengthening of new forms of church in Europe and North America. The benefit of the wiki depends on participation and promotion - so please do both!________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere!
Missional Alignment - Check out this video! 2007-06-16 02:10:00 Every Christian needs to align with the mission of Jesus!This 8 minute video
is a simple challenge to align with Jesus and His mission!Let me know your thoughts...________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere! Read more:Missional
, Alignment
, Check
The Greatest Missionary Ever: Jesus Christ 2007-08-19 15:37:00 Jesus knew His mission. He knew why the Father sent Him into the world. He aligned Himself with this mission. Everything that He did, everything that He taught, everything that is recorded of His life in the Gospels was focused on accomplishing the mission for which He was sent. At the end of His life and ministry, He prayed to the Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). Mission accomplished. Jesus was a missionary. This application of the term missionary to Jesus Christ
may sound strange, but Jesus exemplifies in the truest sense what it means to be a missionary. Most Christians understand that a missionary is one who has been sent with the gospel to a foreign people to lead them to faith in Christ and among other things, multiply disciples, and establish churches. Jesus was sent to earth by the Father with the gospel. He was not sent “to condemn the world, bur rather that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3: Read more:Greatest
, Jesus
, Jesus Christ
Missional Distinctives 2007-08-18 00:23:00 Christians live the mission of Jesus in the world by embodying the gospel wherever they go. As you read through Acts you see the Church on Mission—sent by Jesus...sent with the Cross…sent in Community…sent to the Culture…sent for the King and His Kingdom! Essentially, the Church is a missionary!These five biblical distinctives form the foundation of a Missional
Perspective: A Missional Perspective includes a recognition that scripture teaches:1. The Church is sent by Jesus! (John 17:18; 20:21, Luke 9:2; Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)2. The Church is sent with the Cross! (1 Cor 1:18; Eph 2:16; Col 2:14; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Cor 5:17-24)3. The Church is sent in Community! (Acts 2:42-47; 5:42; John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:16-17)4. The Church is sent to every Culture! (John 1:14; Matt 20:28; Acts 17:22-34; Luke 5:29)5. The Church is sent for the King and His Kingdom! (Matt 10:7; 25:34; Luke 4:43; Rev 11:15-17; Jer 10:7; John 18:36)Mark Driscoll pastors a church
Gaining a Missional Perspective 2007-08-18 00:03:00 Here is a simple explanation of the word missional—it describes being a missionary everywhere you are! It is about doing missions—aligning your life with the redemptive mission of Jesus in the world. It is adopting the posture of a missionary in order to engage those in the culture with the gospel message. It is recognizing that every believer has been sent by Jesus as Christian missionaries with the good news of salvation together in community with other believers to their specific geographic and cultural context. Just as God sent Jesus, now Jesus sends all believers (John 20:21). Missional
is an adjective that describes the way in which Christians do all activities, rather than identifying any one particular activity. Everything is directed toward participation in God’s mission in the world. Missional then, no matter what noun it is modifying, must qualify the meaning of that noun by referencing God’s mission as defined by Scripture. More specifically, missional limits an Read more:Gaining
, Perspective
A MISSIONAL HEART 2007-08-21 18:37:00 To embody the mission and message of Jesus requires that one’s heart be submitted fully to Jesus. Those things that matter most to Jesus must matter to us. Therefore, the CROSS, COMMUNITY, and CULTURE must be valued in the heart of every believer. It is critical that followers of Jesus…Embrace the Cross, Experience Community, and Engage the Culture daily. These three loves demonstrate the missional alignment of a believer’s heart: Loving JesusLoving One AnotherLoving the Lost When Christians love Jesus (embracing the cross), love one another (experiencing community), and love the lost (engaging the culture), the mission is advanced. My friends Paul Kaak and Neil Cole have described these same Missional Distinctives as the DNA of the Church. “In the expansion of the Kingdom of God, DNA maintains the strength, vitality, and reproductivity of every cell in Christ’s body. Just as the DNA is exactly the same in almost every cell of a body, the DNA is the same throughout the
Failing the Mission: Abandoning the Cross, Community or the Culture 2007-08-20 13:29:00 DNA is crucial to the health and function of a body. It is also critical for the health and mission of the Body of Christ. Neil Cole warns against subtracting from the DNA. “If we concentrate on one part of DNA and eliminate any other part we will lose the whole of it; death and mutation are the result.” (Neil Cole, Organic Church, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005, 120) Jesus sends every believer with the Cross
in Community to the Culture. These Mission
al Distinctives are the critical DNA of the Church. CROSS Divine Truth Loving Jesus Greatest Commandment Mt 22:37–38 COMMUNITY Nurturing Relationships Loving One Another Second Greatest Commandment Mt 22:39–40 CULTURE Apostolic Mission Loving the Lost Great Commission Mt 28:19–20 When Christians fail to love Jesus, one another, and unbelievers simultaneously, the mission is thwarte
101 Posts 2007-08-26 12:51:00 Deanne and Dave in San Francisco, CA.Well - here it is: my 101st post.I took the past two months off from blogging. It was a great break from writing and I am excited to continue blogging on missional themes and sharing insights from my doctoral dissertation - Missional Transformation: Fueling Missionary Movements that Transform America. (Click her for abstract)I realize that 100 posts isn't that many in comparison to all the great bloggers that are posting daily. Yet for me, it's a milestone that I want to celebrate!Here's a list of my favorite posts this past year:June 21, 2006 - Lessons I Learned Planting Lake Hills ChurchSeptember 22, 2006 - Like a MissionarySeptember 22, 2006 - Fishing in an AquariumSeptember 29, 2006 - Making Disciple-MakersSeptember 29, 2006 - What is the Church For?October 13, 2006 - 300 Million: Every Man, Woman and Child in AmericaNovember 6, 2006 - Church is NOT a DestinationNovember 20, 2006 - What is Missional Christianity?November 20, 2006 - What is Mi
Missional Myths 2007-03-21 12:52:00 Missional Myths
:1) "Missional" is just another word to describe the emerging church movement and must only be understood as part of the ecm.2) The missional discussion is a trendy fad that has no substance.3) Misisonal activities are just a reaction to established “attractional” churches.4) Misisonal behaviors are unnecessary and irrelevant as a significant focus for Christians and churches.________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere! Read more:Missional
Essential Reading: Multiplication and Movements 2007-09-19 01:00:00 Jesus did not start a religion; He started a movement of spiritually transformed people on mission with Him. To better understand this movement from a historical perspective as well as its expression in the twenty-first century, Alan Hirsch’s The Forgotten Ways is a must read. Drawing on his own experiences in Australia, and both the first century movement in the early Church and the twentieth century movement in China, Hirsch unpacks the basic components of spiritual movements. He details the “quintessential elements that combine to create Apostolic Genius”1 which are present in every believer: 1) Christocentric Monotheism: “Jesus is Lord”, 2) Disciplemaking, 3) Missional-Incarnational Impulse, 4) Apostolic Environment, 5) Organic Systems, and 6) Communitas, not Community. Each of these chapters builds a deeper understanding of the foundational building blocks of movements. He also provides a valuable understanding of a missional church (82) and the dangers of consumerism Read more:Essential
, Reading
, Movements
The US Church is Internally Focused 2007-09-15 00:30:00 Bill Easum says, “Church
members…who see their church as the focus of their mission have missed the entire point of Christianity.”1 In The Externally Focused
Church, the authors recognize that they do not know any churches that claim to be internally focused, yet that does not mean they do not exist. Here is a word-picture of many churches in America: Internally focused churches concentrate on getting people into the church and generating activity there. These churches may create powerful worship experiences, excel in teaching, offer thriving youth programs, and have vibrant small groups, but at the end of the day, what is measured is the number of people and activities within the church.2 Churches are too focused on themselves and not focused on the kingdom of God. The activities and ministries of many churches are devoted to the members. Yet more tragic is that church members are consuming vast amounts of resources that could be utilized to extend the kingdom. Budgets are e
The US Church is Marginalized 2007-09-15 00:12:00 Is the Church
in America transforming lives and communities? The answer is sadly, “No.” “Rather than occupying a central and influential place, North American Christian churches are increasingly marginalized, so much so that in our urban areas they represent a minority movement.”1 The United States is truly a mission field. To understand the disappearing influence of Christians in America, one must realize that the Church has been marginalized. The Church has lost its social location at the center of culture. “In contrast with the long history of the Christian church in the Western world, congregations must now learn how to live the gospel as a distinct people who are no longer at the cultural center.”2 Alan Roxburgh points out how the local church no longer has a centralized role in American society. Essentially, “the surrounding culture changed its view of the value of the church.”3 Christians who have grown up going to church have to understand this change. We live
The US Church is Infertile and Dysfunctional 2007-09-14 23:38:00 One common excuse that Christians offer for not engaging in missional activity that results in starting new churches is a concern for church health. “We need to be healthy before we can start a new church” or “We need to focus our resources on our own health so we cannot possibly reach out or start something new” or “We cannot afford to plant churches.” Bob Logan responds to these complaints: God has not left us with an either/or choice: either we focus on health or we focus on multiplication. God has designed the process so they both go together and mutually enhance one another. Healthy churches multiply and multiplying churches become healthier … Multiplication is a necessary, essential step toward healthy maturity.1 Henry Klopp observes that there is a growing evidence of dysfunction among pastors and churches. He identifies two contributing causes: 1) The growing number of dysfunctional people in our culture. This is also a trend with pastors. “Many pastors are e Read more:Church
The US Church is Fractured and Fragmented 2007-09-14 23:30:00 Churches are to be united together for the purpose of accomplishing the mission of Jesus. Yet many churches in America are experiencing conflict and strife that wastes valuable energy and resources. How can churches that are fragmented and fractured make any progress for the sake of the kingdom? In describing the consuming nature of conflict in churches, church consultant Henry Klopp observes, “Instead of focusing on the mission and vision of the church, they spend the majority of their time in fire-fighting efforts. In many cases, this effort proves totally ineffective and simply diverts the attention of the congregation from its real mission and vision.”1 The “Sin of Preferences” is one reason the Church is weak and fragmented today. Ed Stetzer writes, Our preferences should never become more important than what our church needs to be and do missionally. For that matter, the church’s focus should not be the preferences of other church members either. A truly biblical Read more:Church
The US Church is Dying and Declining 2007-09-14 02:15:00 Although Jesus has sent every believer to fulfill the Great Commission, many Christians are failing to make disciples. “The church in North America is not in good shape. A study of various sources reveals that a large number of churches have leveled out or are declining and many are dying.”1 Years ago Win Arn noted, “Of the approximately 350,000 churches in America, four out of the five are either plateaued or declining.”2 Christians in America should be concerned. How can a church that has been sent by Jesus so neglect its mission that it is predicted that “in the next few years 100,000 of these [churches] will close their doors”?3 The number of churches in the United States is decreasing. Recently, the North American Mission Board recalculated the church-to-population ratio based on statistics from the U.S. Census: In 1900, there were 28 churches for every 10,000 Americans. In 1950, there were 17 churches for every 10,000 Americans. In 2000, there were 12 churches fo Read more:Church
, Dying
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