As I argued at the WSC faculty conference “Missional and Reformed” the Reformed Churches have a sense of “mission.” We haven’t always been faithful to it and the Reformed understanding of the church’s mission is not that of the “missional” movement, especially . . . Continue reading →
Missional
Missional Monday: Who Has the Keys?
There were a lot of questions we didn’t have time to answer at the Missional and Reformed conference. I don’t know if I am able to answer them all but here’s another: “Does the individual Christian witness in the world participate in . . . Continue reading →
What Makes a Church Missional?
It depends upon who is doing the defining. Todd Billings has a helpful essay on this very question that echoes some of the same themes I tried to raise during our Missional and Reformed conference.
Missional and Reformed: Online and Free
The annual January faculty conference focused on the relations between Reformed theology, piety, and practice and the emerging/emergent missional movement(s). The text of the talks are now available for free on the WSC website. They include: Friends or Foes: The Mission and . . . Continue reading →
Ecclesial Apartheid?
What’s weird is that it’s often intentional.
Is the Gospel Preached or Lived?
Re-published from February 17, 2008. Colin raised this question a while back on Unashamed Workman. He asked for comments and, as Mike had just touched on this during the WSC “Missional and Reformed” Conference, I piped up:
Something for the "Missional" Movement to Consider
Wes Bredenhof has a provocative post regarding the influence of Harry Boer (a theologian in the CRC who attacked aspects of the doctrine of predestination as unbiblical) on some contemporary ideas of “mission.” He writes, “In Boer’s view, mission is not so . . . Continue reading →
Is the Gospel Preached or Lived?
An HB Classic
Colin raised this question a while back on Unashamed Workman. He asked for comments and, as Mike had just touched on this during the WSC Missional and Reformed Conference, I piped up: Hi Colin, This business of “living the gospel” is one . . . Continue reading →
What Is The Church’s Big Mac?
The end of the semester is followed by the holidays so I just saw this post (HT: Aquila Report) discussing the declining fortunes of McDonalds restaurantsamong Millennials and comparing them to the church. The author notes “More people are wanting a customized, . . . Continue reading →
Why The Mission Needs The Marks
Doubtless the one of the most significant movements within evangelicalism at the moment is the “emergent” or “emerging churches” movement. The adjectives “emerging” and “emergent” designate different wings of the movement. Generally, the “emergent” wing is more radical and the “emerging” wing a little less radical. Just as frequently, however, in the contemporary rhetoric from both wings of the movement no distinction is made and this essay will speak of the “emerging movement” (hereafter, EM). Like their older evangelical brothers and sisters, the EM also rejects (at least elements of) fundamentalism and revivalism. In their place, they are constructing a cross-traditional, eclectic synthesis. Continue reading →
Seeker, Franchise, Or Reforming: Moving Beyond Some Current Models In Reformed Church Planting To Recover The Whole Mission
The need is great, the mission is great but our God is greater and his grace is greater than all our sin and weakness. Pray for the harvest. Organize for the mission (to plant churches) and ask yourself where your congregation falls in the seeker — franchise — reforming continuum: is there a passion for the whole mission? Continue reading →
The Five Points Of A Calvinist (On Having A Care For Visitors)
I do not remember exactly when I read Jack Miller’s 1986 critique of the NAPARC world, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, but I suspect it was about 1990. I was pastoring a small NAPARC congregation and I had been charged with helping the . . . Continue reading →