Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Foundation of Any Church

Louis Giglio reminded us of an important truth at the Exponential conference in Orlando, Florida yesterday.  Before I go down to the hotel lobby to eat some breakfast, I thought I would share his points.

Bascially, Louis asked "Where does our power come from as church planters?  What should we do as church planters?"

His answers were simple, but spelled out in profound ways.  Our foundations, as church leaders, are these three simple things:
1. The teachings of Jesus
2. The resurrection of Jesus
3. The power of the Holy Spirit.

Giglio went on to make a few interesting point son each topic.
1. It is not about preaching well so that people compliment us.  Preaching is simply about helping people to hear the word of God and doing that well.
2. In evangelicalism, we need to talk more about the resurrection, because it is the hope of the world.
3. We need to appreciate the power of the Holy Spirit.  Think about it, have you ever called the Spirit an "it" instead of a "him."  If we call the Spirit it, we lose the power of thinking about Him as the Spirit of the Living God.

Passionate preacher, good stuff.  Makes me want to continue my journey to be a man of the Word with much more vigor!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The Lifelong Task of Forming Self to God

Quote from Thomas Merton
The person "who attempts to act and think for others or for the world without deepening his own self-understanding, freedom, integrity and capacity to love, will not have anything to give others.  He will communicate to them nothing but the contagion of his own obsessions, his aggressiveness, his ego-centered ambitions, his delusions about ends and means, his doctrinaire prejudices and ideas."

My Reaction
As I read this quote this morning over my 6 a.m. cup of coffee, it totally rocked my world.  It is so easy for me to shout that the church needs to be different and needs to adopt missional theology, ecclesiology, and lifestyles.  If I do not attend to God, all I will be doing is shouting my anger, my thoughts, and my pride.  It would be better for me to attend to God and never to speak at all then to shout at the world through my own voice.
My Prayer
Father, speak through me, be it a whisper or a shout or anything in between, the words you want your church to hear. Remind me to always attend to you first, so that my words are never my own.  For all those who, like me, desire to prophetically call the church to change, draw them first to you and then send them out into the world.  Amen.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Great Lecture by Mike Frost - Mission

In a recent 1-hr session taught by Mike Frost, author of Exiles and co-author of The Shaping of Things to Come, Frost discussed his perspectives on mission.

Here is a brief summary of his points:
1. The Source of Mission - the missio dei. God, in his nature, because of his love, is a sent and sending God. God is sent in the fact that his love compels him to extend out beyond himself for others. God is sending in that as Trinity, each person sends the other out of love into the world to bring about the purpose of salvation, reconciliation, and restoration. (I was a little fuzzy on the sent nature of God, but I am simply trying to record his points so I kept it in the post)
2. The Goal of Mission - alert the world of the reign of God through Christ. Our goal in participating in God's mission is to make people aware of the simple fact that our God reigns. The goal is not church growth, ecological restoration, extending the kingdom of God or the mission statement of a particular church. Frost argues our goal is simply to alert others that this world is God's and he reigns completely, though we do not yet fully realize, understand, or live under his reign.
3. The Method of Mission - Announcement and Demonstration. As the church, we announce God's reign and we demonstrate it. To announce the reign, we must ask "What does the reign of God look like in this context?" and communicate the answer to the context. To demonstrate God's reign, we must live under the reign in the context and work to bring others' lives under the reign of God as well.
4. The Outcome of Mission - the church. The outcome of God's mission for the world is the church, local and universal. A particular church does not concoct its mission for God. The mission of God concocts the church.

Much more could be written on this, but for now, this will do. Mike Frost - read his stuff. Good guy, great thinker, a new friend.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Missional Literature Review - Part 11 - The Key to Understanding Missional

The Key to Understanding Missional
Seemingly every major scholarly presentation about missional living begins with a disclaimer, which notes how missional has become a buzz word used by churches, parachurch organizations, and Christians alike to refer to everything from world mission strategies to church growth. The disclaimer is then often followed by a few pages detailing the major world councils, the work of Leslie Newbingin, the efforts of the Gospel and Our Culture Network, and the seminal work edited by Darrell Guder, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, as the foundations of the true meaning of missional. Summing up these foundations, missional living is characterized by a covenanting community engaged in cultural analysis and theological reflection in order to live out God’s mission in the world.