J.R. and I owe a ton of our ecclesiological instincts and convictions to our guest Michael Frost. Both of us recall reading his book “The Shaping of Things to Come” and having our hearts and minds open to what it means to be on mission with Christ in a post-Christendom world. This episode is like a modern-day epistle that is pastoral, encouraging, equipping, and challenging. Although this doesn’t feel like your normal MMP we know this is one that many will come back to in the months and years to come. We hope you are encouraged by this conversation.
Resources:
1. Book: The Shaping of Things to Come
2. Book: Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People.
This where we the acronym BELLS resides.
a. Bless people
b. Eat together
c. Listen
d. Learn
e. Sent
3. Preaching: Bible Teaching can happen at the table not just the pulpit
4. 5 cultural trends killing the church’s mission
Questions:
1. How might you cultivate your sanctified imagination?
2. What story of hope do you need to tell yourself?
3. Where is the Lord asking you to dream or rethink ministry in this season?
If this podcast adds value to you, your team, or your organization, consider (1) subscribing (2) leaving a review (3) sharing it with others and (4) staying connected with us at www.kairospartnerships.org
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:
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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. _____________.
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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.
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