In the discussion on leadership I appreciate Keifert’s emphasis on leadership being more about time than about a position. He speaks about the leader cultivating segments of time to assist the congregation in discerning what God is doing in their local context. It is about taking the time to create environments for people to dwell in the Word. It is about having the time to be patient — to hear from God and to hear from each other.

Another topic that I found interesting dealt with Keifert’s journey towards the missional church conversation. He shares how it involved both “failure” and “discovery.” The failure involved disenchantment with his own ministry experience in a traditional church. The discovery included the reading of Newbigin’s “Foolishness to the Greeks.”

I think Keifert’s journey parallels the experience of many. There is a deep sense of  uneasiness, frustration, or even failure in a current ministry setting. Church leaders recognize something isn’t right about how they do ministry. They sense that something has changed, but they are unsure about the essence of the change, or what changes might be necessary. At some point, however, they “discover” that others have experienced the same anxiety. They “discover” authors that begin to give language to these changes. Perhaps, like Keifert its Newbigin, or Bosch; or more recently, maybe it is Guder, Van Gelder, Hirsch, or Frost. But regardless of the author, they rediscover the missionary nature of God and His church, and the reality that the church is sent into the mission field that is now North America.

This has certainly been my journey. I wonder about your experience. Has failure + discovery propelled you into the missional conversation?

Why focus on the city?

Why focus on the city? Today’s cities, even more than nation-states, influence economic systems, political alliances and social movements. This makes cities a strategic investment: what influences the city influences the world. The city needs a growing cadre of young leaders – both college and graduate students as well as those already in the marketplace – who will link their skills, their privileges and their sense of well-being to the well-being of the city. In today’s globalized world, to shape the city is to shape the way people experience life itself.

Why focus on the city? While for some the city is the normal context of faith development, part and parcel of what it means to follow Jesus and the stage where the drama of life before God has unfolded, for many others the city represents a huge question mark. Is it a place where faith can thrive? Is it a place of blessing, or evidence of a curse? Is the city a spiritually fertile place where a person can sustain a vibrant relationship with God? For many whose faith was nurtured in the womb of a gated suburban community or in the calm rhythms of small town America, there’s a lot of doubt about the answer.

While books on ministry in cities, on community organizing, on urban evangelism or simply on how to serve people in cities abound, there are very few resources that view the city as a place to grow your faith and discover a meaningful life, as a place that transforms you or as a place where your own transformation can have an effect.

- Randy White in Encounter God in the City: Onramps to Personal and Community Transformation

However, the trip wasn’t all about studying history and visiting museums, we also plugged in time to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of many new destinations. We spent a couple wonderful days on the beach in Cape May, NJ, went to the National Zoo in DC to see Mei Xiang and Tian Tian (the Giant Pandas), visited the Louisville Slugger factory, and made a stop in Canton to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I wanted to share just a couple of quick observations from our trip. First, I was reminded that what is significant and memorable to a ten year old boy can be quite different from those a bit older. Ten days into our trip, and after visiting several of the most significant historical sights, I asked our ten year old what was his favorite aspect of the trip thus far, and his response was; “the driving, the hotels, the food, and the metro (subway) in DC.” I believe these aspects of the trip were important to him because they were not “things” or “events” that he experienced individually, but they were moments in time that we were truly together. It reminded me that while we may want our children to be experience rich, it cannot come at the expense of being relationally poor.

Second, now several days after returning home, I am still overwhelmed by the character, wisdom, and determination of so many of the men and women that contributed to the formation of our country. There was clearly a sense of duty, honor and sacrifice that we don’t see very often today, especially in our elected officials. In stark contrast to today’s “professional” or career politicians that too often seem to be driven by the desire for power and influence; those engaged in politics in the early years of our country were first and foremost great leaders, thinkers, and statesmen that were thrust into the political arena. As a result of the trip, I have committed to reading at least one biography of Washington, Franklin and Patrick Henry.

Third, I will not bore you all the details of the different sites we visited in each location, but I will share my favorites. If I had to pick five or six “must see” locations from our trip I would have to say, in no particular order: the National Archives, The National Mall, Mt Vernon, Independence Hall, Christ Church, and Gettysburg. Each of these locations stirred a deep sense of awe and inspiration, not only in regards to the great events of the past, but also how those events should better inform and influence our present.

Lastly, I have to say that I was reminded how much I love my family. We really had a blast together. Was there a time or two that we wanted to kill each other as a result of spending 24/7 with each other for three weeks? Yes, I think there was a least one occasion. But it quickly passed, and we went back to enjoying our time together and collectively learning just how blessed we are; and furthermore, how those blessings must compel us to be a blessing to others.

“The gospel is the announcement that God has revealed his kingdom and opened it up to sinners through the birth, teaching, miracles, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will one day return to overthrow evil and consummate the kingdom for eternity.”

Later in a section titled “Underestimating the Mission” Dickson makes a helpful distinction between proclaiming the gospel and promoting the gospel.

I want to make a distinction throughout this book between the specific activity of proclaiming the gospel and the broader category of promoting the gospel. The former is properly called “evangelism,” a word that derives from the New Testament term evangelizomai, which only ever means “announcing (grand) news.” The wider category of promoting the gospel includes any and every activity that draws others to Christ (including, of course, evangelism). People sometimes use the words “mission,” “out-reach” or “witness” for this larger work, but I prefer the expression “promoting the gospel” (I’m sure I pinched this from someone else but I can’t remember from whom) because it reminds us that at the heart of our mission to the world is the news about Christ, the gospel. In my view, when “mission” becomes disconnected from the gospel, as it sadly does in some church circles, it no longer deserves to be called Christian mission.

– John Dickson in The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission: Promoting the Gospel with More Than Our Lips

In the videos Holt shares from his book “God Next Door: Spirituality and Mission in the Neighborhood.” His emphasis is that the neighborhood is a place where God is, and it is a place where God calls us to participate with Him. In the first video, Holt shares a tragic story that played a significant role in his journey towards an emphasis on the local context.

In the second clip, Holt speaks to the importance of fighting against the neglect of our neighborhoods. Even though most people live in a series of relational networks that function outside of the neighborhood context, we must recognize that neighborhoods remain an important piece of the fabric of society. While watching the second video, I was reminded of my favorite Eugene Peterson quote: “The way of Jesus is always local and ordinary.”

The conference will be on Tuesday, September 14th from 9:00am to 5:30pm. McNeal will lead three main sessions focused on helping church leaders understand the cultural shifts taking place in North America and how to best maneuver the necessary missiological and ecclesiological changes. There will be special emphasis on the importance of developing and deploying church members as missionaries in local neighborhoods and work places. There will also be six breakout sessions offered that will assist participants in making personal application in a local context.

The conference fee is only $30, which will also include lunch. For additional information on the conference, including location, lodging and a detailed schedule check out the conference website here. If you have further questions about the conference leave a comment or send me an email at brad.brisco@gmail.com

The heart of the book is a survey of the practical rhythms of spirituality and mission in (1) the life of Jesus, (2) the early church, (3) the church in recent centuries, and (4) the church today. Jensen highlights the actual spiritual disciplines and the interplay with mission/ministry activities throughout each time period. He provides compelling evidence of the vital relationship between spiritual disciplines and mission practices throughout the history of the church. He then argues that the church today must recapture such spiritual rhythms if it hopes to engage in significant, effective ministry in a Post-Christian culture.

In the introduction Jensen writes:

The book seeks to show a correlation between inward spirituality and outward mission in the historical context of space and time and the current cultural collapse of these. Findings from my cultural, Biblical/theological, historical, and field research will demonstrate this correlation. My thesis is twofold: (1) that empowered inward spirituality — expressed in creating time and space for God through solitary and communal spiritual practices — correlates with transforming outward mission — expressed in word and deed; and (2) that because of the cultural collapse of space and time, postmodern mission requires the church to subvert these temporal-spatial codes by devoting more plentiful space and time to spiritual practices in her structures of mission, church, and leadership development.

Has anyone else read this book? I would love to hear from those who have. Has it changed the way you have thought about mission/ministry? If so, what has changed? I would love to have a dialog around the key elements of the book.

I am excited to share more information on the mQuest training series that will be kicking off in August. The training involves a cohort based learning format where participants will join a small group of like-minded sojourners for training from presenters like Alan Hirsch, Dan Kimball, Neil Cole, and others.

There are several unique aspects of mQuest. First, the training begins with a one-day interactive format that will be limited to 30 participants. Additionally, the one-day event will be captured on video so participants can review the material at a later date. Second, there will be two live webinars where participants can continue to dialog with the main presenter. Third, there will be on-going online peer learning and coaching provided on the Shapevine platform. Fourth, the training will be presented in six different locations around the country to provide regional networking opportunities, as well as making the training as logistically convenient as possible. The first training will take place in Los Angeles with Neil Cole on August 23rd.

The additional dates and locations include:

September 20 or 21, 2010: Philadelphia with Dan Kimball
October 19 or 20, 2010: Dallas with Alan Hirsch
November 1 or 2, 2010: Nashville with Neil Cole
November 9 or 10, 2010: Los Angeles with Alan Hirsch
December 6 or 7, 2010: Philadelphia with Neil Cole
December 13 or 14, 2010: Kansas City with Alan Hirsch
January 18 or 19, 2011: Nashville with Alan Hirsch
February 17 or 18, 2011: Dallas with Dan Kimball
February 23 or 24, 2011: Philadelphia with Alan Hirsch
February 23 or 24, 2011: Los Angeles with Dan Kimball
March 14 or 15, 2011: Kansas City with Neil Cole
April 5 or 6, 2011: Kansas City with Dan Kimball
May 16 or 17, 2011: Dallas with Neil Cole
October 12 or 13, 2011: Nashville with Dan Kimball

To learn more about mQuest check out the video below, or simply go to the mQuest page at Shapevine. After viewing the information online if you have further questions shoot me an email or leave a comment.

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.

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