On the other hand, this approach helps us deal with some serious problems in our particular Western context. We see in both our mission history and our current evangelistic practices so much that is contrary to the incarnational character of the gospel. We see a gospel of peace proclaimed in divisive, judgmental ways. We see a Gospel of love conveyed manipulatively, insensitively, condescendingly. We see a gospel of healing obscured by distortions that hurt people and evoke resentment.

Thus we arrive at the concept of incarnational witness as one way of expounding the character of our missionary vocation. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God revealed himself as the One who is with and for his creation.

Now, as the Risen Lord sends his Spirit to empower the church, we are called to become God’s people present in the world, with and for the world, like St. John pointing always to Christ. The most incarnational dimension of our witness is defined by the cross itself, as we experience with Jesus that bearing his cross transforms our suffering into witness.

Incarnational witness is, therefore, a way of describing Christian vocation in terms of Jesus Christ as the messenger, the message, and the model for all who follow after him. To speak of the incarnation missionally is to link who Jesus was, what Jesus did, and how he did it, in one great event that defines all that it means to be Christian.

- Darrell Guder in The Incarnation and The Church’s Witness

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 as specific titles for each talk here.

I believe this conference is going to play a significant role in the ongoing missional conversation in the United States. There are essentially three reasons we have taken the time and effort to put Sentralized together.

First, we believe there is a continual need to bring clarity to missional language and concepts. Unfortunately, the use of missional terminology has become confusing in many circles. Some view “missional” as the latest church growth strategy, or a better way of doing evangelism. Others see missional as a means to mobilize church members to domissions more effectively. Still others believe missional is simply the latest Christian buzz word that will soon pass when the next trendy topic comes along.

However, we would argue that those who believe missional is merely an add-on to current church activities, or perhaps a passing fad prevalent only among church leaders, have simply not fully grasped the magnitude of the missional conversation. While it may sound like hyperbole; the move towards missional involves no less than a complete and thorough recalibration of our understanding of God’s mission, as well as the form and function of His church. By bringing together many of today’s best missional thinkers, we want to challenge God’s people to critically consider the significance of missional concepts and principles.

Second, we want to ensure the missional conversation moves beyond theory. We want to inspire and propel the people of God to engage His mission in life changing ways. That is why a considerable portion of the conference will focus on practical engagement; through the stories and personal examples of some of the best missional practitioners from around the country.

Third, we desire Sentralized to be a wellspring of relationships, networking and collaboration. To help this take place we have created “living room” spaces around sponsors’ displays and throughout the commons area. There will be numerous opportunities for you to cultivate relationships and exchange ideas, not only with other conference participants, but with each conference presenter. We want you to have real opportunities to interact personally with each of the speakers. To have the chance to get to know the presenters and to ask questions that are applicable to your ministry setting.

Hope to see you later this month.

1. Undertake a study of the biblical nature of the church.
2. Evaluate the quality of the community life of the church.
3. Attempt to think through what the Bible teaches about gifts of the Spirit.
4. Attempt to transcend the clergy-laity dichotomy in both thought & speech.
5. Consider forming one or two new congregations from the existing church.
6. Form some small-group fellowships as mission.
7. Identify segments of the surrounding population especially open to the gospel where new churches could be planted.

“If the greatest possible blessing for humanity is to know the Living God (as creator and savior) then the greatest possible obstacle is to be worshiping false gods . . . . now it is one thing if people who do not now the Living God, other nations, are worshiping other gods . . . but what hurts God most is when His own people allow other gods, the gods of materialism, consumerism, pride, sex, whatever it is, to take over . . . that idolatry will not only prevent then from knowing the Living God but it will prevent them from being the vehicle through which God can reveal Himself to others.”

“Don’t start by training leaders, but by making disciples”

One element that I have always appreciated about Hirsch/Frost is the way they bring together applicable material/research from a wide range of disciplines (sociology, science, business, history, etc.) and filter it through a theological/biblical lens. This book is no different. Every chapter is replete with wonderful insight, illustrations, and encouragement to engage in mission in a way that will propel the reader out of the typical self-concern to other-concern, from “holy huddle to venturing out into God’s world.” After reading the first chapter I tweeted that it alone was worth the price of the book. However, reading further, I discovered that I felt the exact same way with each subsequent chapter.

To fully engage in God’s mission and live the life He intends for Jesus followers, we must embrace risk and adventure. Hirsch/Frost provide excellent instruction on a range of topics to help the reader do just that. They unpack the critical issue of developing “communitas” rather than simply “community.” They deal with the importance of overcoming “risk aversion” and the dangers of individualism in the realm of risk taking, and the related damage caused by our pursuit of safety and security. They provide practical insight for a church to move from complacency to developing a sense of urgency for God’s mission.

There is also an extremely helpful discussion in one of the final chapters titled “Missional Catalysis” in which Hirsch/Frost illustrate perfectly the need to understand mission as the organizing, catalyzing (and even revitalizing) principle of the church. There is much in each of the seven chapters to encourage the reader to understand risk and adventure as an indispensible component of a life with Jesus. You will certainly not be disappointed with this excellent addition to the missional church conversation.

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 believed there is a need to continue to bring clarity to the missional conversation. Even with the considerable amount of writing and dialog around missional concepts over the past decade, the use of missional terminology remains confusing in many circles. Unfortunately some view “missional” as the latest church growth strategy, or a better way of doing church evangelism. Others see missional as a means to mobilize church members to do missions more effectively. While still others believe missional is simply the latest Christian buzz word that will soon pass when the next trendy topic comes along.

However, we would argue that those who believe missional is merely an add-on to current church activities, or perhaps even a passing fad prevalent only among church leaders, have simply not fully grasped the theological and missiological magnitude of the missional conversation. While it may sound like hyperbole; the move towards missional involves no less than a complete and thorough recalibration of the form and function of the church of Jesus, as it attempts to discern how to participate in God’s mission. By bringing together some of today’s best missional thinkers and authors; we desire to assist God’s people in thinking deeply about God’s mission in the world.

Second, we want to ensure the missional conversation moves beyond theory. We want to inspire and propel the church to engage in God’s mission in life changing ways. That is why a significant feature of the conference will focus on practical engagement; through the stories and personal examples of some of the best missional practitioners around, participants will struggle with how to practically organize the church around God’s mission.

The conference will kick off with a book release party involving two new books that will be released in October; “The Road to Missional” by Michael Frost and “Sacrilege” by Hugh Halter. In addition to Frost and Halter other speakers throughout the conference will include Alan and Deb Hirsch, Dan Kimball, Neil Cole, Mike Breen, Lance Ford, Mindy Caliguire, Helen Lee, Kim Hammond, Michael Stewart, Eric Mason, Rickie Bradshaw, and Geoff and Sherry Maddock.

For more information on the conference schedule, speaker bios, and registration go to the Sentralized Conference website here. I hope to see you in KC this September.

I am excited to say that the latest edition to the missional church literature, a book titled Right Here, Right Now, co-authored by Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford, will make the task of book recommendations much easier. Not only is “RHRN” an excellent introduction to the missional conversation, but it is really the best attempt to date, to equip all believers to live missionally regardless of “vocation or location.” The book is designed, as stated by Alan in the preface, to “make missional church what it should be: a movement of the whole people of God in every sphere and domain of society.”

The format of the book is unique to most co-authored books. As stated in the introduction, “The contents of the book are sandwiched between a briefing chapter (“Right Here”) in the beginning and a debriefing chapter (“Right Now”) at the end, both written by Alan. These are designed to provide a framework for new thinking and acting. The middle sections are written by Lance, but Alan inserts himself into the conversation all along the way, like a resident heckler or a built-in commentator of sorts.” I found this format to work well.

In Alan’s briefing chapter he provides an excellent summary of key missional ideas. This very accessible overview is organized around four movements, including the need to: move out (into missional engagement), move in (burrowing down, or incarnational living), move alongside (engaging in relational networks), and move from (challenging certain aspects of our culture). I believe this twenty-nine page chapter would serve as a very helpful introduction to anyone new to the conversation. In the last chapter of the book Alan challenges the reader to do more serious reflection on the nature of the church, mission and evangelism.

Sandwiched between Alan’s “bookend” chapters, Lance provides nine, very practical, yet significant chapters on topics including: cultivating “missionary eyes”, beholding others, rediscovering the joy of hospitality, and a chapter on the collective power of scattered believers living on mission, creatively titled “Salt Blocks and Salt Shakers.” While each of the nine “middle” chapters are replete with helpful illustrations and practical encouragements, in my opinion the most effective (or biting) chapters include a series of three chapters where Lance deals with the topic of Western affluence and the stranglehold it places on our attempts to live a truly missional lifestyle. One of my favorite lines in this section comes from a chapter titled “Freeing Ourselves to Live Missionally” where Lance writes, “Storage units have become the ‘spare tire’ around the waistline of American consumption.”

The bottom line is that there is much to like about this book. I am thankful to Alan and Lance for taking the time to create a resource that helps to turn theory into practical reality. The sub title of the book, which is “Everyday Mission for Everyday People” is certainly fitting. They have also created a website with additional resources, including videos that coincide with each chapter. You can find the site here.