the future is not a one size fits all church

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Evangelicalism, books, church, history, mission, missional, missional church, post-Christendom, postmodern
• Date: Feb 12,2010

Jonny Baker of the Church Mission Society (a group of evangelistic societies working with the Anglican Communion and Protestant Christians around the world), as well as co-author of Alternative Worship and blogger, recently reflected on the recommendations of the report, Mission Shaped Church edited by Graham Cary, since it was released by the Church of England 6 years ago.

Jonny Baker:

For anyone new to this area, a quick summary. in 2004, the Church of England published a report called Mission Shaped Church which recognized the creativity in mission around the fringes of the church and new emerging expressions of church. this was against the wider backdrop of cultural changes, decline in attendance of churches over around 20 years, and economic pressure but was a very hopeful recognition that something new seemed to be happening. this report has since sold around 27,000 copies and has had an unprecedented impact for a church report…

…the MSC report had a series of recommendations and how these have been carried forward…it’s easy to forget how much has happened in 6 years within a large institution that could easily have done nothing but has broadly embraced the notion that the future is not a one size fits all church but a mixed economy of church. (emphasis mine)

For what it is worth, Mission Shaped Church is a very helpful addition to the missional conversation. It’s a bit off the radar for those of us in the U.S. and many evangelicals will struggle because of its origins in the Church of England — but I would say to you, there is much to be gleaned from it. (One of my favorite “missional” quotes comes from this book: “Start with the Church and the mission will probably get lost. Start with mission and it is likely that the church will be found.” p. 116 — missiology precedes ecclesiology)

Baker goes on to list what he believes are the main achievements of the report since it was first published:

1. A change in environment – mission is on the agenda
2. Practice – there is lots going on and we need this to multiply
3. The church has legislated for a mixed economy
4. Training is developing through a mission lens
5. There is now a recognition of the need for pioneering entrepreneurial leadership

Baker also posts the report’s concluding statement:

A real journey begins when small teams or individuals decide to travel from the security of their familiar church life to be pioneers. Many have begun their journey but many more are needed if the non-churched are to be given the opportunity to follow Christ in their own language and culture today. Reflection on what has been achieved…and the new opportunities and resources now available, will enable us to discern how we can together take forward Christ’s mission to the whole of our society with its rapidly changing social structure and patterns of living. We have made a good beginning.

No matter you place on the globe, we have only just begun on this mission-shaped journey…

Read all of Baker’s reflections here.

at the center of our mission: Jesus

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Christianity, Gospel, Jesus, church, community, history, mission, missional, missional living, theology
• Date: Feb 6,2010

In Austin, Texas this week, over 2000 folks are attending Verge, learning from a diverse group of leading thinkers and practitioners of gospel-centered missional community such as Alan Hirsch, Francis Chan, Neil Cole, and Dave Gibbons.

In the opening talk on Thursday night, Matt Carter, lead pastor of Austin Stone Community Church, spoke on what Hirsch calls the heart of missional community, the theologically dense worldview: Jesus is Lord.

Carter told the Verge attendees this:

Missional community has the potential to be the thing that this generation will be remembered by – that will define this generation historically.

…I believe that missional community is the long awaited structure that the American church has desperately needed to unleash everyday believers into the mission of their everyday lives. For far too long, for too many churches – their story has been “come to us and we will feed you spiritually – we will provide you programs – we will make you comfortable with the idea of church.

…Missional community could awaken the sleeping giant of the American church. It is long past time for the American church to awaken from its materialistic, narcissistic slumber.

But Carter shared a warning:

If missional community is the only defining marker for our generation, then we have failed.

The temptation – the danger for us – is that we will love our mission more than our Savior. If we love our mission more than we love our Savior, then our Savior will have no part of our mission.

Read more of Carter’s comments via my buddy Jonathan McIntosh’s post here.

darrin patrick interviews ed stetzer

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Gospel, church, community, contextualization, cross, culture, discipleship, emerging church, emerging culture, evangelism, futurism, history, homosexuality, incarnational, kingdom of God, leadership, ministry, missio Dei, missiology, missional church, missional living, pastoring, politics, post-Christendom, post-Evangelical, postmodern, religion, research, social issues, social justice, theology, video
• Date: Aug 30,2009

If you are a pastor, this is a must see.

Darrin Patrick, lead pastor of The Journey (my home church and where I intern) interviews my friend Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research and Lifeway’s Missiologist in Residence, on what he sees as the pressing issues within evangelicalism today.

I believe this is Ed at his best, bringing prophetic insight to a wide variety of topics that should be of interest to those who love the church and the Gospel. Enjoy:

cre:ate day 3, 4, + 5

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: CCM, Psalms, art, authenticity, communion, community, concert, food, futurism, history, humor, leadership, ministry, pastoring, relationships
• Date: Feb 7,2009

Day 3

Morning worship with 10th Avenue North. Young guys with a passion for worship…

The morning session was led by cre:ate creator, Randy Elrod. Let me just say this talk wonderfully ruined me. Probably one of the best talks I’ve EVER heard on leadership. My big takeaway again, much like Ian’s talk the day before, was not so much what Randy said, but what he modeled: in order to speak into people’s lives, you have to go deep with God. Randy lives a deeply “inventoried” life. I will no doubt do a blog series on it in the near future. Wowsers…

Lunch was my favorite meal of the week: cajun-boiled shrimp, onions + summer sausage, red potatoes, + salad.

The afternoon session was led by comedian Ken Davis. We cried and laughed at the same time. My big takeaway is that God loves me. Sounds simple but I needed to hear it. Ken is a master communicator. As Randy has said, comedy is one of the highest art forms and Ken has the gift.

The afternoon was closed out with the most impacting Eucharist I’ve ever been a part of. Ian led us in a modern liturgy and communion. His insights on the subtleties of this time was priceless. My new friend, Mark Roach, who is worship pastor at Fellowship in O’Fallon, MO, literally right down the road from me (I’m looking forward to hooking up with him back in St. Louis), led the worship and did a phenomenal job.

Sidenote: I’ve heard people say that as you get older, the more you walk with Jesus, the less you feel you know about Him. He becomes more mysterious and Other, which I think is actually a really good thing because He is. The more I think about worship – I teach it after all – I realize that I have less figured out than I think. This is a interesting time of convergence with the continuing influence of the modern worship music industry, the resurgence of the liturgical, the glocalization of the world via the internet, etc. My mind is racing with possibilities. I am a futurist. It’s a blessing and a curse.

The conference day was closed out with dinner at Saffire at The Factory in Franklin. Had the best prime rib I’ve ever had in my life. We were led in concert by Carl Cartee, Travis Cottrell, + Chris Sligh.

The highlight of Day 3 happened at the very end of the day. Randy and his wife, Chris, invited me over to their house to take part in a scotch “tour,” led by the venerable John Voelz, a new friend I’ve followed virtually for a while (he is the Coriolis:Experience leader @ Westwinds Church in Jackson, MI). John walked us through three different types of scotch: 1) the Glenlivet – mild, approachable, honey-tinged, 2) the Talisker – smokey, peaty, and 3) the Balrenie – a desert scotch. Not sure I’ll become a scotch connoisseur but I could do the Talisker again. What a great time of fellowship! Thanks John for teaching me about a finer thing in life!

At the Elrod’s, I spent a lot of my time hanging with Matthew Ward, who I mentioned yesterday is a huge pioneer of the CCM industry with 2nd Chapter of Acts. He shared with me about his favorite session players, studios, producers, and solo albums from his past. Matthew may come and speak at MBU sometime soon. How cool would that be?

Day 3 was the highlight of the week for me. Touched beyond measure…

Day 4

Morning worship was led by one of Sparrow’s new signees, Sarah Reeves. Genuine heart and great songs…

The morning session was led by Anne Jackson, author of Mad Church Disease and blogger at flowerdust.net. She shared her testimony of how her father’s burnout in ministry led her to think about what the church asks of people. The book is a reflection of this journey for her. Great session. Authentic and real…

Lunch was at Stoveworks at The Factory. Southern cooking at its finest: chicken in a cream sauce over cornbread and apple cobbler…

I had to steal away for the afternoon to meet with my friend and missional crony, Ed Stetzer. We are conspiring on a couple of big projects connected to the current missional conversation that I am really excited about. Stay tuned…

I actually was so bushed from the week, I decided to spend the evening with my wife. I had missed Lost the night before so we chilled, reconnected, and got our Lost on…

Day 5

Yesterday morning, I joined about 40 other songwriters at EMI/CMG Publishing Company in Brentwood for a great time of conversation on the issue of worship songwriting. We heard from staff writer Audray Assad and again from the Sparrow roster, Sarah Reeves, as well as a forum of some of the EMI/CMG music publishing staff on the 5/5: the five elements of a great song and the five traps for songwriters…

It was a bit surreal because we met in a room right next to a rehearsal room that I played my original music for Brad O’Donnell of Sparrow Records, which ultimately led to a showcase a local club called The Basement in June of 2002. It was cool to be back there and reminisce. I definitely got the itch to start writing again. Yikes…

We had lunch catered in and before I left, I had the chance to speak with Randy and tell him about his influence on my life and what this week meant to me. It was a sweet time of conversation…

In all, this was such a refreshing week for my soul….

the year that was 2008

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Gospel, blogging, church planting, concert, education, emerging church, family, fatherhood, history, missiology, missional church, relevintage, theology
• Date: Dec 31,2008

It is terrible how much has been forgotten, which is why, I suppose, remembering seems a holy thing.
Anita Diamant, from The Red Tent

It’s the last day of 2008, time to look back at the year that was:

January

I had the privilege to lead my oldest son of 6, Cooper, in a prayer of belief in God’s grace for his salvation. I thank God for the awesome opportunity.

Sally Lloyd-Jones stopped by the blog and thanked me for my kind words about The Jesus Storybook Bible, which I believed God used in a providential way to help make the gospel clear to Cooper.

My Sloan turned two.

February

I remembered three tragedies that hit close to “home”: one in my hometown, one in the town I live in now, and one that affected a sister Christian university.

March

Cooper was baptized. Praise God!

I wrapped up my series: The Emerging Church: A Postmodern Reformation.

I posted my review of Todd Agnew’s new album, Better Questions. (I review music for Ardent Records)

I had the privilege to be a part of a unique event that ended up being one of the most transformational times in my spiritual life. I was part of a recording for the Shapevine’s Active Learning Podules series with Reggie McNeal. You can watch it on the home page of their web site. I would embed it here but it doesn’t have that capability.

April

I posted my review of Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken’s new EP, Ampersand. (I review music for Speakeasy)

Cooper enjoyed his first Cardinals game with my Dad and I and played organized baseball for the first time.

I talked about how the will of God is that we would pray ceaselessly.

I “celebrated” two years blogging.

May

Our family grew in missional compassion through Compassion International…

I saw Radiohead in concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis. Wow…

I wrapped up my book review series on the Zondervan Counterpoints book, Four Views of Hell.

I posted my review of Delirious’ new album, Kingdom of Comfort. (I review music for Sparrow Records)

The Lost finale. Unbelievable…

June

I celebrated nine years with my amazing wife…

My family enjoyed a local vacation…

I recapped my series on the missional church: The “Sent” Church: A Missional People.

I talked about one my vices: morels.

For the second year in a row, I judged Joy FM’s iSing competition at Six Flags – St. Louis .

July

My family and I visited Tulsa for the first time to confirm the call to plant missional communities there in the future. God answered our prayers…

I posted the first (and only at this point), vodcast on Acts.

August

We celebrated Margo (5) and Everett’s (1) birthdays.

I posted on my weight loss. Total loss = 20 lbs. I have to say, wow…

I spoke on emerging worship at Bible Preaching Week at Windermere at the Lake of the Ozarks.

I spoke at the first annual Missouri Baptist University Ministry Group retreat at Cornerstone Farms in St. Jacob, Illinois.

Fall classes began at MBU; teaching “Worship History and Leadership” and “Worship Performance Workshop”

September

I announced the cool opportunity to do two directed studies in missiology under the tutelage of Ed Stetzer.

I posted on my first trip with Ed to a conference in Jackson, Mississippi. This pretty much sums up the trip..

I had the privilege to host Dan Kimball, Matt Maher, and The Afters for MBU’s second annual Abandoned: Worship as Life seminar. Here are some pics…

October

We celebrated Cooper, Holly, and I’s birthdays.

I posted on my second trip with Ed to Johnson City, Tennessee. Here is a pic…

I traveled with my good friend, Clint Carter, to Tulsa to continue to exegete Tulsa…

I attended the Lead Conference, put on by The Journey, a conference on the theological and practical implications of ministry in an urban context with Clint.

I posted on my missional practicum in University City.

November

Relevintage becomes transformission.

Holly and I saw Coldplay at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Not bad, not bad…

December

We celebrated Christmas with all of our families. Blessed…

the 3 “now” words of the church

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Christianity, Gospel, church, community, history, missio Dei, missiology, missional church, missional living, missions, post-Christendom, post-Evangelical, postmodern, social justice, theology, world issues
• Date: Dec 13,2008

In his blog entry entitled “Church of the Now,” Bob Roberts outlines the three “words” that defined the church of the last two decades and waxes on the “now” words of the 2000s. Here it is in a nutshell:

1980s: excellence, relevance, anonymity
1990s: belonging, real, community
2000s: spiritual, global, activism

Bob believes, “…if Jesus were to identify more with the church of the 80’s, 90’s, or 2000’s – I think it would be the 2000’s – they seemed to define his ministry more than the other 3 categories…”

I think Bob is on to something, although I’d carry over community into the 2000s – as in small, intimate, life-on-life bands of missional “communities” sustaining local churches as the catalyst through which a spiritual, global, activist Gospel mission is instigated.

And instead of the word global, I would use Bob’s almagamation, glocal, to describe the importance of the missional church keeping both local and global mission in creative tension (note: Bob uses this word much more expansively in his books).

Bob wisely warns us of our overemphasis, though, on spirituality, global mission, and activism:

The downsides to this, in time we will see …spirituality becomes too associated with emotion…global if not seen in the light of the local can be too overwhelming and lead to the massiveness of the worlds problems causing people to do nothing. We could become activist driven more by people’s pain than God’s love – and that would be a tragedy.

The historical trajectory of missio Dei theology in the late 1900s is an example of Bob’s last comment on activism. Some believed if Christians expressed “solidarity” with the oppressed, salvation for the oppressed was a given. Soteriology no longer included justification. And proclamation of the Gospel was no longer necessary. Everything was mission. Everything was salvation. That is a problem.

My prayer is that we can see that the Gospel is the impetus first, for individual and then, societal conversion. We should be both/and activists; engaging in both proclamation and presence activism.

Read the entire entry here: Church of the Now

thick in the missio Dei

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: history, missio Dei, missiology, missions, theology
• Date: Oct 28,2008

Sorry for the absence. I’ve been wrapping up term paper #2 under Dr. Ed Stetzer’s direction through Liberty Theological Seminary. Not much will change over the next month because I’ll be working on a third term paper for him during that time. So this is a preemptive apology for my potential lack of posting…

All that aside, the direction Ed wanted me to go with paper #2 was to go deep into missio Dei theology. I’m really excited where I’m headed. The title of my paper is:

I am using four main sources:
1) The Mission of God by George Vicedom
2) Transforming Mission by David Bosch
3) ‘Missio Dei’: An Examination of the Origin, Contents And Function of the Term in Protestant Missiological Discussion by H.H. Rosin
4) “God is a Missionary God: Missio Dei, Karl Barth, and the Doctrine of the Trinity” [dissertation] by Paul Flett.

I’ll be supplementing with texts and articles by Newbigin, Guder, Hesselgrave, Hunsberger, Van Gelder, Van Engen, and Glasser.

I will most likely share what will be three papers on the blog in the near future. Ed has mentioned the possibility of cross-posting on edstetzer.com. All of this will hopefully coincide with a big transformation of the blog before the end of the year. Stay tuned…

honoring don haskins

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: history, politics, reflections, social issues
• Date: Sep 11,2008

Last Sunday, Don Haskins, the former legendary coach of the UTEP men’s basketball team passed away. And passing with it, an even more legendary and enduring legacy.

Writing about Haskins, Andy Katz of ESPN highlighted this:

“He changed the sport forever when he was the first coach at a major college level to start five African-Americans in a championship game in 1966. That team defeated an all-white Kentucky team for the title.”

Haskin’s legacy will fly under the radar for many in America. But in this unprecedented time where the first African-American has been elevated to a presidential nomination, we would do well to remember that this unparalleled rise would not be possible – in part – without this Midwesterner’s countercultural courage back in 1966.

Yes, the ascent to this historic nomination can be traced back to a basketball court in College Park, Maryland.

It can be traced back to the rear of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

It can be traced back to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

It can be traced back to a proclamation on emancipation.

Regardless of your political leanings, we should find a sense of pride in where we find ourselves today. For some, I’m sure it feels like a giant leap. For others, it feels like a baby step.

But for both, let us not forget there is much more work to be done for us to be blind to color and begin to see the dignity in us all. God help us…

Read the rest of Katz’s story here: Haskins remembered as John Wayne of basketball

we interrupt this program…

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: education, emerging culture, history, incarnational, kingdom of God, missiology, missional church, postmodern, research, theology
• Date: Sep 1,2008

As many of you know, I am pursuing a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty Theological Seminary. I’m a little over halfway done and since I’ve gotten most of my required courses done, I am now entering the elective zone.

With the MA in TS @ LTS [whoa, acronym overload], you have mucho freedom to ‘create’ your particular emphasis, i.e. preaching, Biblical languages, youth, etc. I had planned on pursuing an emphasis on Christian Leadership beginning this fall, but God interrupted that plan last week with a providential opportunity.

If you’ve been following relevintage.com the last couple of years, you may have probably noticed a shift in the content. Although my passion remains for reconstructing what highly engaging and contextual worship looks like in the 21st century, I have been writing – as well as reposting others thoughts – on the larger Christological issue that worship fits within:

1) the ‘all of life’ ‘in the world, not of the world’ ‘missionary’ posture of the people of God towards an unbelieving world

and

2) how to refocus the energies of the local church to truly grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ and extend the Kingdom of God.

See an overview of my thoughts on the missional church in my blog series here: The Sent Church: A Missional People

In short, I’m talking about 21st-century missiology here. And when you talk about missiology in North America, you can’t have the conversation without talking about one of the most respected missiologists in the field, Dr. Ed Stetzer. Ed is the President of Lifeway Research and Missiologist-in-Residence @ Lifeway.

I’ve been following Ed since 2006 when I first heard him speak at a Resurgence conference @ Mars Hill in Seattle. I’ve read most of his books. And was deeply moved by the speech he gave at the 2007 SBC annual meeting [watch clip here.]

Of course, his primary job is only the tip of the iceberg. Ed is a prolific author [Compelled By Love, Breaking the Missional Code, Planting Missional Churches], visiting Professor of Research and Missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Visiting Research Professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, serves on the Church Services Team at the International Mission Board, is interim teaching pastor of First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, TN, is a columnist for Outreach Magazine and Catalyst Monthly, serves on the advisory council of Sermon Central and Christianity Today’s Building Church Leadership, and has planted and revitalized many churches.

Last Wednesday, I had the privilege to connect with Ed re: my master’s work and share with him my passion for missiology in the 21st century.

After much conversation with Ed, I couldn’t be more excited to share that he has graciously agreed to do two directed studies in missiology with me this fall!

One directed study will be focused on modern missions history, particularly the conciliar missions movement and the development of Missio Dei. The second directed study will be focused on modern missional theology, particularly missional church influences on contemporary missional thinkers. Both classes will comprise of reading, research, writing, and mentoring.

Also, as a part of my directed studies with Ed, he has invited me to travel with him this week to take part in a conference he is doing for the Mississippi Baptist Convention on the missional church. I’ll step away from my duties at MBU this week and hang with Ed for a few days. We will be using this as an ‘intensive’ to launch the directed studies.

Needless to say, I am humbled by this opportunity. When I think about my path to LTS, I would have never thought something like this would come out of my time there. When I think about my call to plant a missional community in the future, I am honored to be mentored under such a respected missiologist and experienced church planter and trainer. I thank the Lord for his providential ‘interruption’!

This will be one of the greatest challenges I’ve undertaken. Ed is going to work me hard. Believe me, I’ve seen the bibliography :) In fact, Ed joked that by the end of this process, I’ll probably be one of the smartest Masters level students ever in the area of missiology.

I would appreciate your prayers. The work begins today. My first paper is due in three weeks.

We interrupt this program…

the “sent” church: a missional people 5

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Christianity, church, culture, emerging church, emerging culture, history, incarnational, missiology, missional church, post-Christendom, post-Evangelical, postmodern, relationships, social issues
• Date: Jun 3,2008

Series recap: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

In the last post, we looked at the first stream that was propelling a new ecclesiological-centered missional movement within evangelicalism in the 80’s and 90’s: its key early thinkers in Francis Dubose, Charles Van Engan, and Darrell Guder and their works. Today we look at the second stream: the “megatrends” or better, the crises of in North America in the late 20th century, necessitating a need for the ecclesiological-missional discussion, and subsequently, the surfacing of a missional church.

MEGATRENDS

Dr. David Dunbar, president of Biblical Seminary, has elucidated three developments that influence ecclesiologal-missional thinking in the latter part of the 20th century. First, Dunbar noted that we are seeing the evaporation of a “churched” society. [1] Particularly, that Christianity in North America has moved away from its place of supremacy as it has encountered the loss of not only numbers but of sway within society. [2] Second is the existence of a post-Christian context. This involves first, the loss of Christian memory and secondly, people who don’t know about the Christian faith presuppose that they do. [3] Third, the Western church is laboring under a conception of mission(s) as an movement that takes place “over there and far away”; as the activity of a smattering of the church specially “called” to this charge. [4]

Guder continues with this logic in Missional Church, by also outlining the postmodern threshold that many feel we have penetrated. Elements rising from within the emerging postmodern milieu include: loss of collective experiences, ephemeral relationships, personal spirituality without organized religion, relative truth, a decentered self, and a pluralist society. [5]

Also in Missional Church, Guder delineated yet another ailment of the late 20th century. One section in particular, entitled “A People or a Place?” in the chapter, “Missional Vocation: Called and Sent to Represent the Reign of God.” He illustrated that the syntax regularly used to refer to or inquire about the church still carries the weighty baggage of being a “place where certain things happen” [6] and in turn, where other things do not. Guder points out that even when not referring to a material building, Christians tend to associate “church” to a “meeting or activity, a set of programs, or an organizational structure.” [7] So over time, this thought narrowed the church’s definition of itself toward a “place where” idea, not so much expressed but presumed. Guder says, “This perception of the church gives little attention to the communal entity or presence, and it stresses even less the community’s role as the bearer of missional responsibility throughout the world, both near and far away.” [8]

Finally, the last crisis of the late 20th century was the malady of the modern “seeker-sensitive” worship service and the postmodern’s apathy towards it. According to David Fitch, chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary, he says that the postmodern, “seeks community over anonymity and is overdosed on consumer appeals to felt needs.” [9]
____________

1) David Dunbar, “Getting a Handle on Missional,” Missional Journal, Vol. 1, No. 2 (March 2007); available from http://www.biblical.edu/images/belong/PDFs/vol1no1.pdf; Internet: accessed 12 May 2008.

2) Darrell Guder, ed., Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998), 1.

3) Dunbar, “Getting a Handle on Mission,” Missional Journal; Internet: accessed 12 May 2008.

4) Ibid.

5) Guder, Missional Church, 40-43.

6) Ibid., 83.

7) Ibid., 83-84.

8) Ibid., 80.

9) David Fitch, The Great Giveaway: Reclaiming the Mission of the Church from Big Business, Parachurch Organizations, Psychotherapy, Consumer Capitalism, and Other Modern Maladies (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 55.

Photo by eye2eye