When considering what it will take for an existing congregation to move in a missional direction, I believe one of the key starting points is to begin with discipleship, or spiritual formation. Now having said that, I also believe we have to be careful not to think it is a purely linear process. In other [...]
Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Start with Spiritual Formation
Posted: 29th January 2012 by Brad Brisco in Books, Missional, Spiritual Formation0
Jesus did not send his students out to start governments or even churches as we know them today…. They were, instead, to establish beachheads of his person, word, and power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity. They were to bring the presence of the kingdom and its King into every corner of [...]
God converts the nations by working in the midst of His own People. His interventions, and these alone, make Israel the light of the world. The Church does its work of evangelisation in the measure in which its Lord gives it life; when it lives by Him its very existence is effectual. In contradistinction to [...]
One of the most powerful religious forces shaping both the American culture (if you have any doubt just check out some of the stories of “Black Friday”) and the church culture in the West is consumerism. The desire to consume is so insidious that in most cases we don’t recognize the stranglehold it has on [...]
One Day Gathering with Mindy Caliguire
Posted: 28th October 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Missional, Spiritual Formation, TrainingJoin us for a one day seminar on the topic of spiritual formation and mission with Mindy Caliguire on Tuesday, December 6th. Mindy was a speaker at the recent Sentralized Conference here in Kansas City. She is the founder of Soul Care, a spiritual formation ministry, and Director of Transformation Ministry for the Willow Creek Association. Her [...]
The Road to Missional
Posted: 20th October 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Church, Ecclesiology, Forge, Incarnational, Michael Frost, MissionalIn the introduction of The Road to Missional Michael Frost pushes back on those who suggest that “missional” is simply the latest church buzzword that is quickly losing its usefulness. He writes: If the missional conversation is over, it occurs to me that it probably hasn’t really ever been had. That’s because “missional” is not [...]
Deb Hirsch at Sentralized Conference
Posted: 5th October 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Hospitality, MissionalOut of all the speakers that presented at the Sentralized Conference last week, Deb Hirsch’s talk on “Refocusing the Family” received the greatest amount of feedback. Deb asked why so many Christian households remain firmly shut to outsiders? Why is it that we find it so hard to open our homes? She stated that many [...]
The Benefits of an Incarnational Witness
Posted: 17th September 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Church, Ecclesiology, Incarnational, Kingdom of God, MissionalThe case for an incarnational approach to missional witness is based, on the one hand, on the character of the biblical record; that is, the way in which the church’s missionary vocation is shaped by the earthly ministry of Jesus. The emphasis upon the necessary congruence of witness is rooted in God’s way of revealing [...]
Sentralized Missional Church Conference
Posted: 4th September 2011 by Brad Brisco in Alan Hirsch, Books, Church, Church Planting, Ecclesiology, Forge, Gospel, Hospitality, Incarnational, Justice, Kingdom of God, Michael Frost, Missiology, Missional, Networks, Spiritual Formation, Theology, TrainingThere is less than four two weeks 2 days until the kick off of the Sentralized conference on September 29th. It will begin with a book release party on Thursday night featuring both Michael Frost’s new book, “The Road to Missional” and Hugh Halter’s “Sacrilege.” You can now take a look at the rest of the conference schedule, as well [...]
Consumerism & the American Church
Posted: 29th August 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Church, Culture, MissionalFollowing is an excellent excerpt from Renovation of the Church on the stranglehold consumerism has on the church in the United States: I don’t know how to say this in a gentle way, but we should not assume that those people who are attracted to our church have been captivated by the message of Christ [...]
Social Justice Handbook
Posted: 20th August 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Community Transformation, Incarnational, Justice, Missiology, Missional, Scripture, Spiritual FormationComments Off
If you are interested in effectively influencing others to take action on issues of social action, then I would highly recommend “Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps For A Better World” by Mae Elise Cannon. I am not familiar with any other resource of this kind. Cannon provides a comprehensive guide to the topic of social justice that is not [...]
A True Missionary Encounter with the West
Posted: 22nd July 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Church, Ecclesiology, Gospel, Missiology, MissionalComments Off
A missionary encounter with the West will have to be, primarily, a ministry of the laity. The professionalization of the ordained ministry has an ancient history, going back to the early centuries of the Christian church. The Protestant Reformation rediscovered the office of the believer; however, in the main branches of the Reformation churches this [...]
Seven Steps Toward Renewal
Posted: 16th July 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Church, Church Planting, Ecclesiology, Gospel, Kingdom of God, Missional, TheologyComments Off
I just read the epilogue (which is titled From Here to the Kingdom) from The Community of the King by Howard Snyder. It was encouraging to read his suggestions for a local church to increase its “kingdom vision and become more authentically the community of the King” written nearly 35 years ago. 1. Undertake a [...]
Being “Sent” is Not First About Outward Actions
Posted: 8th July 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Church, Gospel, Incarnational, Missional, Spiritual FormationI absolutely love this excerpt from George Hunsberger taken from “The Church Between Gospel & Culture“: To state this point even more directly, being missionary and being a “sent” community – a “body of people sent on a mission” – is not first about the church’s outward-moving actions, whether actions to attempt to convert or [...]
Confronting Idols & Making Disciples
Posted: 21st June 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Gospel, Kingdom of God, Missional, Spiritual Formation, VideoOver the past few years I have really appreciated Christopher Wright’s work, especially The Mission of God and his more recent (2010) book The Mission of God’s People. For a taste of Wright’s insight watch this short video. I particularly like two statements, the first concerning idolatry and the second concerning making disciples rather than training leaders: [...]