People can talk all day about missional strategy, external focused versus internal focused church, etc. etc. but if we do not have the means to shape a people dispositionally into God’s mission, missional church becomes another dead missiological theory. We need the means to shape a people who can see, hear, respond and participate in God’s work together in the world. This in essence is spiritual formation, the ways of discipleship we must cultivate in missional communities
To discuss all this, I recommend the Ecclesia network national gathering coming this February. We have Todd Hunter coming. He’s currently a Bishop within the western region of the Anglican Mission in America. Todd has years of experience in the area of mission & spiritual formation and has written some excellent books on the subject. He’s dynamic. We also have MaryKate Morse, professor of leadership and spiritual formation at George Fox University with us. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in equipping leaders in the area of spiritual formation. We have other practicioners speaking and leading discussions. I’ve been to alot of conferences in my time. None has been more refreshing than this one. I am not kidding. If you have it in your budget, and can make the time, I recommend it. Check it out here. I’ll be there and hope to see many good friends and co-laborers.
————–
UPDATE: In addition to the plenary sessions, Ecclesia announced the following workshops for the gathering. This line-up and listing of topics virtually covers the whole gamut of the spiritual formation of a missional community. I’m excited. To those interested in shaping/leading a missional community, this hits the nail on the head. Join us won’t you?
Re-Envisioning …
- Preaching & Teaching as Spiritual Formation – guided by David Fitch
- Leadership as Spiritual Formation – guided by Marykate Morse
- Worship & Liturgy as Spiritual Formation – guided by Todd Hunter
- Mid-Sized Communities as Spiritual Formation – guided by JR Woodward
- Small Groups as Spiritual Formation – guided by Doug Paul
- Justice as Spiritual Formation – guided by Corey Widmer & Don Coleman
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.