Holy Week is almost here and we have the opportunity to remember in our missional communities that what Jesus accomplished for us two thousand years ago matters in our lives today. The gospel isn’t just the good news that…
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the…
Written by Kevin Platt and Chris Gonzalez If you have ever led a missional community or a congregation of missional communities, you have fielded some form of at least a few, if not all, of these questions: Who is God?…
I am often reminded by one of my friends that the ultimate prize for Christians is simply that we get Jesus. This is the ultimate aim and reward of Lent. The season of Lent is upon us. My first encounter…
What is Lent? Lent is a forty-day-long journey through daily and sometimes hourly reminders of the gospel because our stomachs are hungry or our hearts are longing for something we seemingly can’t live without. Lent and the celebration of Easter…
Are you planning to skim this article as fast as you can so you can move onto the next thing? If so, then you are fairly normal. We live in a fast-paced, instant gratification, FOMO culture. Rushing from one…
This is Part 2. See more responses in the previous post here. We reached out to a few churches from different cities and contexts and asked them to share how they are navigating COVID. We hope their responses encourage…
(Enjoy this final post in Alan Hirsch's eleven-part series.) When the church gets its act together, it is the most potent force for the transformation of the world. One of the most profound ways to embody countercultural dissents against the…
(Post ten in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read part eleven here.) The kingdom works covertly to undermine the way things are now and to initiate God’s rule in its place. Contrary to a narrow fundamentalist understanding of…
(Post nine in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read post ten here.) Stop being overly “spiritual,” using insider, religious language, to talk about God—it mostly alienates people. The reality is, to become a missional Christian, we begin by simply…
(Post eight in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read part seven here.) We live as if there is an insurmountable distance between the “sacred” and the “secular.” One of the important dimensions of incarnational mission is to break…
Will leaders, called of God to minister, rise to the challenge of equipping the body to do the work of evangelizing others to Christ during this unique and pivotal time in the life of the church? At times, outreach…
(Post seven in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read post six here.) It is false to say that only Christians can experience God. One of the most basic assumptions of the incarnational missionary is to assume God is already…
(Post six in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read post five here.) Don’t presume you really know what’s going on. A few years ago I ran and organized a conference called St. Paul Goes to the Movies. The idea…
(Post five in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read part four here) Whether we like it or not, we live in a world that is culturally fragmented and fragmenting. We are called to be a missional (move-out) people, and…
(Post four in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read post three here) Every Christian is a missionary, and we are called to live out our commitment to Jesus’ lordship in every sphere and domain of life. The first…
(Post three in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read post two here.) You are the church before you do church. If we take Jesus at his word when he says, “As the Father has sent me, I am…
(Post two in an eleven-part series from Alan Hirsch. Read part one here.) It’s going to take both missional church plus missional disciples to make a missional movement. Let’s start this journey to what we call “missionality” with a big…
Welcome to the first in an eleven-part from Alan Hirsch! The current Christian church needs to reconnect, not with a trendy new movement, but with the power of the original one. One of my deepest-held beliefs is that all…
We have lost the art of thoughtful dialogue. Left to ourselves, we seem to avoid controversy or handle it poorly. It's impolite to discuss religion or politics. These are issues held with the head and the heart. Beliefs become convictions,…
This post is part of a series on Caring and Sharing Hope during COVID-19. If you haven’t yet, read the first post in the series here. Not-yet-believers have been and will be deeply affected by COVID-19. If they’re not connected…
One of my favorite things in my book A Field Guide for Everyday Mission is the “101 ways” we suggested, to help followers of Jesus engage not-yet-believing neighbors, co-workers and friends in winsome, tangible, and meaningful ways. In a…
This post is part of a series on Caring and Sharing Hope during COVID-19. If you haven't yet, read the first post in the series here. What Might a “Care Call” Look Like? Prepare Well and Ask Good Questions…
What if the thing most remembered about 2020 was the way that the church responded? What if our churches became more famous for love, both internally and externally? After all, love — for God, for one another, for neighbors,…
In a recent conversation with a sister in Christ, she told me, “Pastor, I find it incredibly hard to be happy in days like this. When I can’t know what God is doing and why he is doing it, I…
We're about to embark on perhaps the strangest and best Easter of our lives. It will be an Easter without large brunches, egg hunts, and large worship services. In fact, it will be an Easter of sheltering in place, rising…
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I…
Check out part one to this blog post here. Our practice of Family Tables is certainly nothing new, but simply an expression of missional community for our context. Shared meals have been an important part of missional communities for…
When my wife was in high school, her house was the place where her friends all wanted to hang out. There were snacks aplenty; they had a pool table and big screen in their basement; so lots of great…
As Americans, we love innovation, planning, and strategy. We want to strip ourselves free of old traditions and boring practices that tie people down. Freedom is being able to work outside of the box. The missional community movement is the…
This blog post is an excerpt from a chapter of our newest resource, an Everyday Discipleship Study on the book of Jonah. Available now, you can download the first chapter for free! In our fifth year of marriage, God…
The Backstory When we introduced missional communities to our church just over a year ago, the concept was new, not only to the members, but also to some of the leadership. People thought they had a basic idea of…
This blog post is an excerpt from a chapter of our newest resource, an Everyday Discipleship Study on the book of Jonah. Available TODAY, you can download the first chapter for free now! The gospel saves us from sin…
Healthy families raise their children then send them out to begin families of their own. Healthy churches mature disciples then send them out to begin new faith families and start new churches. Picture this scenario. A married couple has…
This blog post is an excerpt from the introduction of our newest resource, an Everyday Discipleship Study on the book of Jonah. This study launches Monday, Jan 6th but you can download the first chapter for free now! Jonah…
I’m given the incredible privilege of talking with disciples across the globe about what Jesus is doing in their neighborhoods, churches, and cities. The power of the gospel transcends strategies, brands, and egos! I’m always amazed how a conversation…
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