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 words we need to realize that we can’t, or shouldn’t, see discipleship as something that has to be “complete” before we engage in God’s mission. I would much rather view the process as a cycle of discipleship and mission, where intentional apprenticeship to Jesus (discipleship) leads to mission and mission compels us to intentional apprenticeship (discipleship).

The main point that I want to make here, however, is that we cannot neglect the formation to Christlikeness if we are to be a sent, missionary people.

I was humbled to discover recently that Len Hjalmarson quoted from one of my blog posts on this topic in his and Roger Holland’s excellent new book titled Missional Spirituality:

God calls the church to be a sent community of people who no longer live for themselves but instead live to participate with Him in His redemptive purposes. However, people will have neither the passion nor the strength to live as a counter cultural society for the sake of others if they are not transformed by the way of Jesus. If the church is to “go and be” then we must make certain that we are a Spirit formed community that has the spiritual capacity to impact the lives of others.

How do you understand the interplay between discipleship and missional living? What do you do to ensure that you have the passion and the strength to live for the sake of others?

Posted in Books, Missional, Spiritual Formation.