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Mid-Size Communities or Small Groups? Interview with Rick Howerton

May 28, 2013 — Leave a comment

I was recently featured on Rick Howerton’s blog with NavPress for a four day interview on “Small Groups or Mid-Size Communities?”

I encourage you to read through my answers to the following questions on his site and engage in a conversation with us about this viral concept. Click on the links below to see my answers.

Day One - What were you trying to accomplish in your small groups that was not being achieved and why do you think the smallness of group life was keeping you from accomplishing that?
Day Two - When you met with your leadership team, especially your senior pastor to consider the move from small groups to mid-size groups, what questions arose (and/or what conversation took place) that drove your church to move to mid-size groups?
Day Three - What aspects of group life did you think you would lose by moving from small groups to mid-size groups that you found remained in tact?
Day Four - What does a mid-size group meeting look like, how often do these groups meet, and what percentage of those in a group attend consistently?
Rick’s Response to Our Conversation

Let’s talk!

In Discipleship, Mid-Size Communities, Ministry Christianity, Church, Faith, life, mid-size communities, Missional, missional communities, Spirituality, thoughts

Mid-Size Communities Part 4: The Theological Rationale

April 18, 2013 — 3 Comments

horse

In part 3, I shared a FAQ list regarding mid-size communities (MSCs). You can get a good feeling as to what an MSC is by reading through the FAQs, or by looking at this infographic, but what’s the theological rationale for them anyway? Are MSCs just a repackaged version of Adult Bible Fellowship? Are they just the new hot thing? Or are they merely a different version of missional communities?

Well, let’s dig in. In order to look at the theological rationale for MSCs, we first need to ask more of a fundamental question: What is the church and what is her mission?

Is the Church, as Hans Kung suggests, the visible church building that people can belong to, as well as the invisible global Church composed of all true believers? Or is the Church better described, in a biblical way, as “God’s household” (Eph 2:19), “the body of Christ” (1 Cor 12:27), and a place where all of the biblical “one another’s” are lived out?

There is nothing wrong with describing the Church in those ways, but perhaps a better way to understand the Church is to begin with the end in mind? What if the Church was defined and understood through the lens of its mission? If it were, then the Church would not fall into the trap of being a loving community for its own sake or be mistaken as a rotary club. Although William Rush states that “the more the Church understands its own nature, the more it gets hold of its own vocation,” I actually believe the opposite is just as true. The more the Church understands its own mission or vocation, the more it will grab hold of its own nature.

So what is the mission that God has given the Church?

In Discipleship, Mid-Size Communities, Ministry Christianity, Church, Faith, life, mid-size communities, Missional, missional communities, Spirituality, thoughts

A Framework for Discipleship

April 13, 2013 — 3 Comments

Framework

Can we use research to discover the core attributes of a disciple? Or is this a purely biblical matter?

In a previous post, I shared different methods that we use to filter whether or not someone is a disciple of Jesus. The only problem with those common methods is that they are often anecdotal, and purely based on situational experiences.

Take Greg Ogden’s list, for example. He presents a biblical standard for discipleship by outlining how disciples:

Are proactive ministers
Live a disciplined way of life
Understand that discipleship affects all of life
Are a countercultural force
Are an essential, chosen organism
Are a biblically informed people
Are people who share their faith

This is a fantastic list, and very difficult to disagree with, since it is biblical. The problem with his list and everyone else’s is that they are merely anecdotal good ideas and frameworks. There is no evidence that these ideas, when transformed into a discipleship pathway, will actually produce the attributes of a healthy disciple.

In Discipleship, Ministry Christianity, community, disciple, discipleship, leadership, Ministry, Missional, multi-site, multisite, Religion, thoughts, Western Church

Is Your Neighbour a Disciple?

April 9, 2013 — 6 Comments

houses
How can you tell if someone is a disciple of Jesus?

In a previous post, I summarized six expert definitions of a disciple and concluded with this as my definition: “A disciple of Jesus is an individual who is continually being transformed into the likeness of Christ, as he or she is learning and participating in the mission of God with others.”

If that’s what a disciple is, is there some easy way to tell if the guy that you are passing by on the street, or the lady that is in the cubicle next to you, is a disciple? After all, how can you really tell if someone is “continually being transformed into the likeness of Christ” when you only have a two minute interaction with them?

Perhaps it’s a list of visible outer actions and attitudes? Such as, whether or not you know John 3:16 by heart, sponsor a Compassion child, or file your income taxes honestly and on time? Although these are outer actions that you would expect a Christian to embody and live out, these are not actions exclusive to Christians.

Instead, what if it’s a combination of both outer and inner actions and attitudes? What if the evidence of being a disciple of Jesus is the presence of the following three aspects in your life?

The faithful acceptance of everyday problems
The inner presence (fruit of the Spirit) and outer evidence (gifts of the Spirit) of the Holy Spirit in your life
The regular practice of the spiritual disciplines

In Discipleship, Ministry Christianity, community, disciple, discipleship, leadership, Ministry, Missional, multi-site, multisite, Religion, thoughts, Western Church

What is a Disciple? Six Expert Views

April 7, 2013 — 3 Comments

glasses

Do you know how many times the word “Christian” occurs in the New Testament? A measly three times. On the other hand, the word “disciple” occurs 269 times. Although the term “Christian” has been watered down, and many see discipleship as an optional matter, it is clear that this is not what Jesus intended (see previous post). After all, the early disciples were called Christians because they were learners, students, and apprentices of Christ. Thus, just as “being Canadian” is a part of the identity of a Canadian citizen, “being Christian” or “being a disciple” is an identity issue.

But what exactly is a disciple? What sort of definition should we use to understand our identity?

Here are six different definitions of a disciple by experts:

In Discipleship, Ministry Christianity, community, disciple, discipleship, leadership, Ministry, multi-site, multisite, Religion, thoughts, Western Church