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Book Review: Creating a Missional Culture – JR Woodward

March 31, 2013 — 3 Comments

JR Woodward is an American church planter, organizational leader, entrepreneur, author, academic, and leader. His foremost interests are in missional theology, missional leadership, theology and film, spiritual formation, and organizational dynamics (see his website for a full biography).

The main argument (thesis) in Creating a Missional Culture is that the unseen culture of a church is what most powerfully shapes its ability to grow, mature, and live missionally, more so than its vision, strategy, and plans (Location 211). Woodward supports this thesis through four sections that each address a different aspect of that powerful unseen culture.

In the first section, he talks about the force of culture in life, society, and in churches. He then addresses how leaders need to be aware of just how powerful culture is in shaping their leadership style and the life of a church. He concludes this section by introducing the concept of polycentric leadership: leaders as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor, or teachers.

In Books, Discipleship, Ministry book review, Culture, life, Ministry, Missional, missional communities

Book Review: Exiles: Living Missionally – Michael Frost

January 27, 2013 — Leave a comment

Michael Frost is the vice principal of Morling College, the founding director of the Tinsley Institute, the co-founder of the Forge Mission Training Network, and an author of several books, including The Shaping of Things to Come. He is a leading voice in the missional church movement and an internationally recognized Australian missiologist.

The thesis of Exiles is that following Christ in today’s world requires a critique of and departure from the culture of Christendom and the greater empire. In order to do that, Frost exhorts his readers to embrace their identity as exiles living on foreign soil – “as a pesky, fringe dwelling alternative to the dominant forces of our times” (10). This is a book that will empower all Christians to embrace a Christ-centered faith that is lived out through a missional lifestyle in the everyday rhythms of life. Continue Reading…

In Books, Discipleship, Ministry, Multi-Site & Church Planting book review, books, Culture, Faith, life, Ministry, Missional, Religion, thoughts, Western Church

Book Review: A Theology as Big as the City – Ray Bakke

November 4, 2012 — Leave a comment

The following is an analytical book review of Ray Bakke’s A Theology as Big as the City.

Ray Bakke is the Chancellor, Distinguished Professor of Global Urban Ministry and Urban/Global Leadership, and a member of the Board of Regents at Bakke Graduate University. He is an author and also the founder of International Urban Associates, which is a network of urban-based church and mission leaders from many of the world’s largest cities.

With the increase in urbanization and urbanism, and with the increasing trend of the world moving into cities, a lot of new challenges are arising. Despite the demographic, missiological, ecclesiastical, and financial challenges that are accompanying this increase, the primary challenge is theological.

Thus, the thesis of this book is that God is not just interested in our personal needs and problems, but he is also interested in the city, and the engagement that Christians have with our “external-world reality” (Location 73).

In Books, Culture, Discipleship, Leadership book review, city theology, Culture, leadership, thoughts

A Missional Christian Approach: Perspectives on Death – Part 6/6

July 23, 2012 — Leave a comment

This is my last post of this series and summarizes a missional Christian response to death and tragedy.

As I was searching for articles on tragic death, I discovered that there was not a short supply. However, what overwhelmed me was the fact that tragic deaths take place every moment of the day and all over the world, but not every tragic death gets recorded in a news medium. This is a personally painful topic for my family and I, but it is also as painful for millions of others who are dealing through a tragic death.

Christians are notorious for offering “packaged” and over simplistic phrases of comfort to others grieving through a loss – many reflect on the trite phrases that Job’s friends offered to him, in the Book of Job, as he grieved the loss of his family. Since death is something that shakes our entire reality, what ought the Christian response to death be? After all, regardless of one’s faith journey, we are all seeking to find meaning, comfort, and healing in light of these senseless tragic deaths.

So what ought the church’s missional response be to tragic deaths? For it’s congregants and the wider community?

In Culture, Discipleship, Ministry community, Culture, death, Faith, faith journey, grieving, Missional, relationships, Spirituality, Strengths, thoughts, tragic deaths

Atheist: Perspectives on Death – Part 5/6

July 1, 2012 — 2 Comments

This fifth post of my series summarizes the atheist’s view on death and tragedy.

For an atheist, death is final, so when Rebecca Hensler’s infant son died, remarks such as, “He is in a better place,” “God has a plan,” or “Now he’s an angel,” did not make sense for her. “Grief Without God is a Challenge for Atheists” is an article that describes how atheists are finding comfort with one another as they look for a way “to process grief and sorrow without the trappings – or support – of religious ritual and belief.”

In Culture atheist, Culture, death, grief support groups, perspectives, Religion, religious beliefs, religious ritual, Spirituality, thoughts, tragedy