Thanks for stopping by the new site. The functionality and scope of the site will surely grow over time in response to the needs and feedback of those journeying with us, but for now we’re focusing on three main things…
- Advancing thought, narratives, and discussion related to major issues facing the North American Church (Blog)
- Providing media resources that we believe can inform and shape leaders & communities for faithfully participating in God’s mission (Resources)
- Serving as a platform to create and communicate about future opportunities for leaders to gather for the purposes of networking, collaborating, and learning together (Gatherings)
About the Blog…
The blog will feature a mixture of original writing from leading voices, important articles that are cross-posted from other sources, and sporadic announcements and updates.
All of these posts will supplement the primary way in which we want to use the blog – hosting week-long conversations on topics across the areas of church, theology, culture, and leadership as they relate to the nature and shape of mission out of our North American context. Here’s how that will work.
Every Monday we will post the description and audio from one of the sessions that were recorded at our inaugural North American gathering, “The Future of the Gospel: Renewing Evangelical Imagination for Mission.” The download will be available for free all day on Monday and a conversation will be hosted for the following week. Our hope is that these conversations will spur on further thinking, help shape practice in local contexts, and perhaps even develop into further projects and resources.
About Resources…
Currently, we have a bank of resources that were created at our inaugural gathering. Moving forward, we plan to continue working with partners to develop various kinds of resources that both emerge from and seek to contribute to the work of theological practitioners. Hopefully it goes without saying that we will seek to maximize the accessibility of quality resources. At the same time, we believe that creating a community of people who find enough value in what we are doing together that they are willing to make modest financial contributions to the creation and dissemination of these resources is the most faithful way to steward our finances as well as create a mutually supportive fellowship.
About Gatherings…
We’ve received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback about our inaugural gathering! And many have asked for details on next year’s gathering. Our sense, however, is that hosting a North American gathering is probably going to be an every-other-year sort of affair. In-between, we’ll be looking to partner with churches, denominations, schools, and other groups to host smaller, regional gatherings. These types of gatherings can add a lot of value in terms of networking and provide a context for deeper listening and reflection on how broad issues are taking shape in specific contexts. We believe that giving serious amounts of relationship-oriented time and attention to God’s work in specific regions and expressions of the Church is the best way for us to determine what the substance of any future larger gatherings and other kinds of work ought to entail.
If you are new to Missio Alliance (hint: that’s pretty much everyone at this point ;)), head on over to the About page for some further information. If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, don’t hesitate to drop us a line using the Contact page.
Thanks for visiting and we hope you find this site to be a helpful “place” where you can engage in thoughtful dialogue, access helpful resources, and find opportunities to gather with missional sojourners across North America and in your context specifically!
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.