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Along the theme of the Missional Church being one that is efficient in mobilizing the individual in engaging his/her social context…
Joe Thorn gives a great article on the ability of a Christian to transition a conversation about something else to one whose subject is the gospel.
Great thought:
To state it simply, the better you understand the gospel the easier the transitions become. If you are trying to share the gospel you will still sometimes make huge leaps that do not work. Sometimes the conversation will only connect to the Christian faith in part, without getting directly to the gospel. Sometimes it will all come together the way you imagine. The more you know the gospel (its essence and effects) and the more you practice this discipline the easier making comfortable transitions to the gospel will become.
Which is why making disciples of our believers really matters and the failure to effectively do that over the last several decades is a factor in the decline of the church in America, as I see it.
Gospel Connections in Suburbia : subtext.
Alan Hirsch follows up his first article on the Institutional Church [thanks again for backing me up on this, Alan... :) ]
The Problem of institutions (part ii) : The Forgotten Ways
Les Puryear has linked to a paper from Tim Keller on the variances of Church Culture as it relates to the size of the church. Obviously, this matters because you have to understand your church culture if you want to remove barriers between it and the culture outside the church. The first time I heard this concept was in seminary and I have to say it was eye opening for me – I admit I was a bit naive. That’s what Seminary is for, isn’t it? To knock the naivitee off of you?
Process Managing Church Growth
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Mike Woodward
on Aug 5th, 2008
@ 2:15 pm:
Art,
I just want to encourage you and thank you for this series. You’re coming from a somewhat traditional context and looking at transitioning to a more missional posture. That resonates with where my church is coming from and where it’s going as well. Our church is admittedly still dealing with some leftover church growth philosophy, but we’re also seeing God bring in lay leaders who already buy into the concept of the church gathered AND scattered. Many of them, as I did, left purely attractional big churches for that very reason.
Blessings on you, your family and your church.
Mike Woodwards last blog post..Small Group Victory!
art rogers
on Aug 5th, 2008
@ 2:19 pm:
Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate the encouragement.
I pray that god continues to bless you, your church and your family as well.