Archive for the ‘Church’ Category

The Road to Missional

Posted: 20th October 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Church, Ecclesiology, Forge, Incarnational, Michael Frost, Missional

In 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 [...]

The 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 [...]

There 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, Missional

Following 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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

I 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 [...]

Church Planting & the Missio Dei

Posted: 11th June 2011 by Brad Brisco in Books, Church, Church Planting, Theology

Stuart Murray’s “Church Planting: Laying Foundations” is one of the finest books written on the topic of church planting. While the vast majority of books on church planting focus on the “how,” Murray offers a very welcome emphasis on both the theological and historical framework for church planting. When discussing the theological foundation for church [...]

Over the past several years I have read every book that Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost have written individually and collectively. I have probably been most influenced by Hirsch’s “The Forgotten Ways“, Frost’s book titled “Exiles” and their collaborative work, “The Shaping of Things to Come.” Having just finished their latest book, “The Faith of [...]

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I am very excited to share some details about a conference scheduled for this September here in Kansas City. I believe the Sentralized Conference is going to play a significant role in the ongoing missional conversation in the United States. There were at least two major reasons for organizing a conference like Sentralized. First, we [...]

Following is a good conversation between Alan Hirsch and Ed Stetzer. Topics include, among other things, the theological foundation of the missional conversation, the importance of recognizing the missionary nature of God, how missiology must inform our ecclesiology, and how existing congregations can begin to make a missional transition.

The assumption of the attractional imagination is that average people outside the church are looking for a church and know they should belong to one, and therefore, church leaders should create the most attractive attractional church possible. The mission, then, is to get people to attend. This story is still repeated over and over again [...]

Check out these two challenging and inspiring talks by Micheal Frost from the recent Upstream Collective Vision Tour in Prague.

You don’t have to leave your office or home to participate in Michael Frost’s One Day events April 13 and 18 in Prague and Budapest during the upcoming JetSet tour. View videos posted soon after each discussion led by Frost about “Church in a Broken World.” Then share you input and ask questions by commenting [...]