Michael Frost

The Sentralized Conference

April 23, 2012, by No comments yet

The next Sentralized gathering will be in Kansas City this September 27th – 29th. You may ask, “Do we really need another conference?” Well we would answer with a resounding, “Yes” for three reasons.

First, we believe there is a need to continue to bring clarity to the missional conversation. Unfortunately, the use of missional language has become confusing in many circles. 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 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. Perhaps even more importantly, it involves a paradigm shift in our understanding of God and His mission. By bringing together some of today’s best missional thinkers; 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.

Third, the concept of “place” is a very important piece of the missional conversation. A theology of place speaks to the realization that God has placed us in a particular location for a reason. This is especially important when considering where we live—or our neighborhoods.

But the topic of place is also important because of the emphasis it puts on relationships. As more people are less interested in the programs and activities of the church, we must engage and create space where people have opportunities for meaningful conversations and deepening relationships. There are two significant places this can happen today. First is within places of neutrality, or common ground, call Third Places. The other is within our own homes as we facilitate biblical hospitality by opening up our lives by welcoming others into our homes.

All of this has influenced the way we envision the Sentralized gathering. We desire your time at the conference to be a wellspring of relationships, networking and collaboration. We want you to experience a place to sit and listen to one another.

At Sentralized there are no “green rooms” for VIPs to hang out. In fact, there are  no VIPs. Our speakers are only speakers when they are doing speaking. Otherwise, they are one of “us”. When speakers are not presenting a session  they will be hanging out with the attendees to visit, answer questions, and be a part of the overall Sentralized community.

To help facilitate this 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 also 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. Here are a few comments about the “Living Rooms” from participants of last year’s gathering:

The Living Rooms spaces were one of the many aspects that made Sentralized the most helpful and encouraging conference I have ever attended. ~ Matt

One of my favorite parts of the conference was the opportunity to have conversations with several of the presenters. It provided a vibe throughout the three days that was very unique. ~ Bill

Can’t tell you how special it was to actually have time to ask questions of the speakers throughout the conference. It meant a lot to me to be able to literally hang-out with folks. ~ Michelle

If you desire to gain a clearer, deeper understanding of the missional conversation, but would also benefit from knowing how to engage your local context, then join us this September in Kansas City. You can learn much more about the conference here and you can check out the registration page here. Hope to see you in September!

The Road to Missional

October 20, 2011, by 1 comment

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 a style or a fad. It’s not an add-on, the latest church accessory, the newest cool idea for church leaders. The fact that some are suggesting the conversation is over leads me to think that they weren’t listening in the first place. My call — and the call of may other missional thinkers and practitioners — was not for a new approach to doing church or a new technique for church growth. I thought I was calling the church to revolution, to a whole new way of thinking about the seeing and being the followers of Jesus today. I now find myself in a place where I fear those robust and excited calls for a radical transformation of our ecclesiology have fallen on deaf ears.

I think Frost hits on a key point here, namely, those who think “missional” is a passing fad — whose time has already “come and gone” — simply have not fully grasp the enormity or breath of the conversation. It involves no less than a complete reorientation, or recalibration, of the way we understand the nature of God, church, mission, and the gospel.

Sentralized Missional Church Conference

September 4, 2011, by 3 comments

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.

The Faith of Leap From Hirsch & Frost

May 17, 2011, by 8 comments

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 Leap“, I believe it may just be their best work to date. They present a theology of risk, adventure and courage that will challenge the reader to step boldly into participating in God’s mission with a renewed sense of purpose.

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.

Sentralized Missional Conference

May 14, 2011, by No comments yet

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.

The Church in a Broken World

April 20, 2011, by 1 comment

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

Church in a Broken World

April 13, 2011, by 1 comment

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 on this site or on the Upstream blog, as well as via Twitter (#js2011) and Facebook.

Register now for the One Day events and look for the first videos later in the day April 13 from the Prague One Day hosted by The Upstream Collective and Bridge Community Church.

What Does Place Have to Say to “Missional”?

March 26, 2011, by 2 comments

The following video clip with Michael Frost speaks to the importance of recognizing and participating in the reign of God in our local context. It is a very brief, yet good reminder of the importance of place in the missional conversation.

I am very excited that Michael will be joining us here in Kansas City in September along with a long list of other missional thinkers and practitioners for the Sentralize conference. A website will be up soon to describe all the details, but for now be sure to mark your calendars for September 29th to October 1st!

What does place have to say to the word “missional”? from Parish Collective on Vimeo.

Michael Frost on Kingdom “Measuring Sticks”

June 21, 2010, by 5 comments

I really like this short video of Michael Frost talking about the importance of developing new “measuring sticks” or “scorecards” for the church. He emphasizes the need to find new ways to measure where the rule/reign of God is flourishing. What sort of things can we “measure” that will illustrate evidence of the Kingdom?

This video made me reflect on why we are apparently quite good at measuring church stuff; such as buildings, butts, and bucks, yet seemingly struggle with identifying measurables for activity outside of church life. I am afraid it boils down to the fact that as church people we know very well how to live in the church, but struggle mightily with knowing how to live in the Kingdom.

(ht)

Michael Frost on Missional Effectiveness

May 3, 2010, by No comments yet

In this latest video clip from Michael Frost he speaks to the self-preserving use of resources by the church in North America and how such use leads to an unbiblical separation from the “world.” In the clip Frost shares a great statement when he contends that, “Your missional effectiveness is directly proportional to your relational capacity.”


(ht)