January 2012
7 posts
The Vision Behind the Elevation Network - Steven... →
In the “What’s New?” department, here is a new 24/7 video streaming network from Elevation Church. Watch the short intro video. They are going to stream all things “Elevation” (preaching, worship, teaching & training) 24 hours a day. This is a little different approach than simply creating a repository of resources from the church.
A New Liturgy - Aaron Niequist →
This looks like a fascinating new project. Watch the short video as an introduction, and then check out what Aaron and friends are working on.
“ [I use ‘missional’] to describe the wholesale and thorough...”
– Michael Frost, The Road to Missional: Journey to the Center of the Church. This concluding paragraph indicates why, despite the current overuse of the word “missional,” Micahel Frost will continue to use it.
"The Holy Spirit in Mission" by Gary Tyra (IVP) -... →
This looks like an important new book for those interested in exploring a Trinitarian view of mission. Here is a quick review by Len Hjalmarson, who follows the current missional reformation and missional spirituality.
December 2011
13 posts
Dan Kimball Discusses: The Church We Hope to See →
Dan Kimball, pastor of Vintage Church in Santa Cruz, has recently taken a new role as Professor of Missional Leadership at George Fox University. As a part of his recent research, he has been following up on his book,They Like Jesus But Not the Church, by doing interviews with students in Oregon about what they would hope to see in the church of the future. Dan’s full article will be...
Musings on the Missional Manifesto - Ed Stetzer →
Ed Stetzer’s “musings” here include links to various sections of the Manifesto, along with Ed’s commentary blogs. Good stuff—and worth reviewing from time to time.
Global Christianity - A Report on the Size and... →
Here is the link to the new Pew research report on global Christianity, including interactive maps and sortable data tables.
The Pew Forum Releases New Research on Global... →
Ed Stetzer summarizes the new Pew research on global Christianity — and provides a link to the full report.
Impatiently waiting - Charlene Brown →
This is a meaningful Advent reflection on waiting and racial reconciliation, which include a story about Columbia alum Franklin Golden, pastor of St. John’s Presbyterian Church.
Communications 3.0 Trends that will impact your... →
Technological development and cultural adaptation are happening rapidly. Ministries of all sorts need to be attentive!
Parting Epistle to Mars Hill: "Grace Peace" -... →
Early this autumn, Rob Bell announced that he would be leaving Mars Hill, the church of 10,000 or so that he founded in Grandville, MI, and would be moving with his family to California to pursue new creative adventures, including a television show. This is Rob’s unedited text of his final letter to the church.
5 Lessons Your Business Can Learn From a Rapper -... →
Good advice!
Bearing Faithful Witness to Jesus Christ in the... →
Rob Weingartner is President of The Outreach Foundation, and one of the most knowledgeable people I know about the global church “on the ground.” I would travel with Rob anywhere. Here he explores the relationship between “radical, prayerful dependence upon the provision of God in the context of great need” and the growth of the church.
New Megachurch Research from Leadership Network -... →
Ed Stetzer provides the summary—and the link for the full report, which can be downloaded for those really interested in the research.
November 2011
10 posts
Don't Let What You Know Limit What You Imagine -... →
This is a very interesting article from the Harvard Business Review. Bill Taylor is co-founder of Fast Company magazine, which I read with some regularity. It’s always full of the creative thinking of emerging businesses who don’t necessarily believe that the old ways of doing things are the only ways.
My Wife Had A Bad Experience At Chick-Fil-A! --... →
Perry Noble is about as down to earth as they come. He is the pastor of NewSpring Church, a multi-site megachurch in SC. There is a lot of truth in this blog about human nature, entitlement culture, and the church.
Building Up Congregations and Their Leaders:... →
20 years ago, Loren Mead explored the challenges of the “post-Christendom” era church in several future looking books. In this Alban Institute blog post, there are several very relevant quotations from Mead’s work. These are worth a careful read.
A Time to Play the Long Game - Barry Ensign-George →
There is a whole lot of anger, anxiety and confusion in the Presbyterian Church (USA) these days. Barry Ensign-George in this blog describes not only the pain, but he calls us to a longer view that strikes me as a wise perspective no matter where you land on the the current opinion spectrum.
Why I REALLY Do Believe That NewSpring Church Is... →
Perry Noble is pastor of NewSpring Church, a multi-site megachurch in South Carolina. The church has seen tremendous growth in each of its locations—mostly in smaller towns/cities. Over the last months, Perry has indicated that he is praying that 100,000 people would come to know Christ through the ministry of NewSpring by the year 2020. His fundamental strategy is to continue to focus on...
October 2011
22 posts
So what’s a “biblical” approach? - Scot McKnight →
This blog, along with the extensive comments, points out one of the clear underlying issues that is often at work in the church controversies of virtually any time in history. I spend a significant amount of time just helping various “sides” to believe that the other actually takes the Bible seriously.
not your father’s seminary --NextReformation →
Here is another interesting post related to the future of education (theological and otherwise, as it turns out).
Five Warning Signs of Declining Church Health -... →
This is a simple blog from Dr. Thom Rainer, but full of good observations about the health of churches.
Don’t Blink! The Hazards of Confidence -... →
This is a fascinating article on leadership, and some of the perils of how we make judgments. It has all sorts of interesting applications—but I’ll leave those to you who are interested in leadership issues.
Brand New Research on Pastors and their View of... →
Here is some surprising (well, some of it was surprising to me) new research on how pastors feel about their ministries.
What Is Your Leadership Legacy? - Craig Chappelow... →
This is a provocative blog written for Fast Company magazine by a senior faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership which is a global provider of leadership education and research.
Micah Dalton's 'SPONSOR A SONG' CAMPAIGN by Micah... →
Micah Dalton is worship leader at Kairos Atlanta (www.kairosatlanta.org) and a genuinely FINE man. And I love the idea of Kickstarter. So here is a taste of what both do. Whether you are interested in sponsoring Micah’s project or not (or sending along the link to your friends), at least watch the video. It’s fun!
Darrell Guder on the Missional Vocation of the... →
More Bad News for the (Mainline) Church - Tony... →
Tony Jones (a long-time proponent of the “emergent church” movement and fine thinker) does some analysis of the Hartford study of current trends in the American church—and offers his own commentary.
What I see in a Global Church Where I’m Speaking -... →
Bob Roberts is a church planter and pastor of NorthWood Church (www.northwoodchurch.org) and is truly a “world Christian.” This blog is a kind of rhapsody, and you just have to thank God!
Live Life Below The Poverty Line By Playing Spent... →
Click on the game to play Spent and discover something of what it is like to live under the poverty line in America.
Seeing Missional in 3D-- A First Draft - Ed... →
Here is a wonderful blog from Ed Stetzer on what it means to be “missional”. Stetzer says, “Missional has become a true wiki-word. Practitioners, theoreticians, and foes are defining, defending, and dissecting it, and its blurred meaning has brought some to the point that they don’t want to use it anymore. [But] I think the term missional has legs.”
Missional Manifesto →
The word “Missional” is used and overused regularly these days, and many are terribly confused about what it might mean. Here is the work of a number of leading proponents of the “missional church” to bring some clarity to the conversation.
The sociology of Sunday school - Bill Leonard →
Bill Leonard is a professor of church history at the Wake Forest University. This is a topic which I am hearing only occasionally being discussed, and not with much clarity either about history or what is happening currently. Sunday School is one of those western Christianity “sacred cows.” So let’s think about it!
Rob Bell, Cocoa Puffs and the Mega-Pulpit - Jeff... →
Rob Bell’s Resignation from Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids has understandably elicited all kinds of of responses. This is a good take. You can also listen to the podcast of Rob’s announcement at Mars Hill which is available on iTunes or the Mars Hill website.
Blink Test for Movementum: Question #1 - Dave... →
Does your church have “movementum”? Dave Ferguson suggests four questions for determining whether a church has movement momentum—or is moving in the right direction. Dave builds off Malcom Gladwell’s bestseller Blink to provide a quick (“blink”) test for assessment.
Blink Test for Movementum: Question #2 - Dave... →
Does your church have “movementum”?