values mapping: some scary insights

This map is a remarkable visual on the levels of individualism and secularism in various parts of the world. No real surprises, but it is interesting Sweden comes up the highest on both these scores. I was in Sweden over this last week and could not get away from the rather despairing feeling [...]

entering in…

I am just about to embark on posts regarding the next element of mDNA that we need to consider (the missional-incarnational impulse). I thought we couldn’t go wrong in  quoting one of my theological heroes, David Bosch from Transforming Mission.   This quotes highlights the intrinsically incarnational nature of the church’s mission.
It should not bother [...]

incarnational mission–the real christmas spirit

Once again, I am presenting David May’s book notes. this time taken from Scott Bessenker’s new book The New Friars. I believe that is one of the significant new books articulating the value of vow based communities among the poor. This, along with my friend John Haye’s book Submerge, the fantastic Rutba House [...]

mission and the triune god

In light of the recent blogs on missional Christology and the debate it raised on the role of the Holy Spirit, I thought that this comment by Newbigin clarifies so much…
“Surely there is no missionary who goes forth to preach the Gospel to others who does not know that it is only by the power [...]

a working definition of missional church

The phrase ‘missional’ and ‘missional church’ originated in the work of a group of North America practitioners, missiologists and theorists, called the Gospel and Our Culture Network (GOCN) who came together to try and work out some of the implications of the work of that remarkable missionary thinker Lesslie Newbigin. It was Newbigin who, [...]

church follows mission

In a recent interview with New Wineskins Magazine, I was asked this question:
Can you explain to the readers how you think adopting a distinctly missional-incarnation approach will find a faith community emerging from mission, rather than mission emerging from a particular expression of church?

Here’s my answer…
Quite simply because when you adopt an missional-incarnational approach to [...]

the gospel and the god-4-saken

Clearly mission to the burbs is a major issue for the vast majority of missional minded followers in the West. This is especially true for America where the cities are comprised of what seems to be never-ending suburbia. I have always experienced middle class suburbia as soul-less places, symbolizing consumptive lifestyle, the loss [...]

spiderman v. batman

Debs and I are in the final stages of packing up our goodies and tying up our countless loose ends so that we can move to the US in June. What a pain! I suppose one of the benefits is that one gets to clean out all the ’stuff’ one collects over the years. Well, [...]

the place of third places

I think in the West third places are absolutely vital apect of mission in Western (and every other) contexts.  For those who don’t know the jargon, the first place is our homes, the second place is our work environments, and the third place is our preferred social environment.  It is where you hang out when [...]

a double take on early christianity: an interview with rodney stark

One of the world’s most respected sociologists of religion, Rodney Stark has, since the early 1960s, studied the phenomenon of conversion, focusing especially on newer religious movements such as Mormons, Moonies, and Hare Krishnas. He has written or co-authored many books, including The Rise of Christianity (HarperSanFrancisco, 1997), The Churching of America, 1776–1990: Winners and [...]

the baby and the barthwater?

As we move from critique of Christendom mode of ecclesia to a more missional idea of the church we do well to remember that this is something that ought always to be done in every age and every context. That it hasn’t been done all that often demonstrates how we have tended to [...]

what would i do with an established church?

I was asked this question recently in an interview
“If you were asked to steer a conventional, western church on a missional path and were given the freedom to utilize or reallocate all funds and resources in the best way you felt this could be accomplished, how and what would you do?

You have three staff members [...]

adaptibility and order

In reading Jacques Ellul recently, I came across this gem of ecclesial wisdom…
“No doubt some will reply that God is not a God of disorder, incoherence, or arbitrariness, but a God of order. Of course he is. Unfortunately the whole of the Old Testament shows us that God’s order is not that [...]

the attractional v. missional debate

I think the use of the term attractional is a tad ambiguous, but because I am partly responsible for introducing it into the broader conversation I have to stick with it. What I am trying to get at in using the term attractional is what I call the missionary mode or primary posture of [...]

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