The Trialogue of God, Culture, and Contextualization: The MissionShift Conversations, Part 1

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Bible, Christianity, church, church planting, contextualization, culture, eschatology, Evangelicalism, Gospel, history, Jesus, kingdom of God, missiology, mission, missional, missional church, missional living, missions, orthopraxy, resurrection, sanctification, sent, Trinity
• Date: Jan 17,2011

[This post is an entry in the Missionshift Book conversation happening @ edstetzer.com]

MissionShift: Global Mission Issues in the Third Millennium is a timely book in the midst of the missional conversation we find ourselves in at the top of the 21st century. It’s a book that I hope gets the press it deserves because it is a indispensable resource for those wrestling with what it means to be “missional.” A big thank you goes to David Hesselgrave and Ed Stetzer for compiling this opus.

At a cursory scan, the book is moored by essays related to mission’s past, present, and future from three of the leading-edge missiologists of our time: Charles Van Engen, the late Paul Hiebert, and the late Ralph Winter. In response to these essays, Hesselgrave and Stetzer gathered a “who’s who” in the field of missiology to interact and debate about the issues therein.

In the coming weeks, I am going to respond to each section in MissionShift. Today, I would like to comment on the first section of MissionShift related to mission’s past.

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I have to admit that Van Engen is one of my favorite missiologists. His books, God’s Missionary People and Mission on the Way, are must-reads for any pastor, church planter, or missionary who is engaged in mission today. These books have informed my thoughts on how mission, the church, the Kingdom of God, and eschatology intersect, like few other.

Van Engen begins by showing us the plethora of ways the word “mission” is being used today — and thus the confusion surrounding the term. Some are attempting to use it correctly, while others are using it to “stand for any kind of new life, vision, vitality, and direction of the church — often with little or no theological or missiological reference.” (10)

I concur with Van Engen that due to this blurring, “it is especially important that the Christian church wrestle with its mission in the sense of articulating the reason and purpose for which it exists” because “a cohesive, consistent, focused, theologically deep, missiologically broad, and contextually appropriate Evangelical missiology has not yet emerged for this new century.” (10, 24)

Van Engen is the consummate historian in this essay, accentuating the important shifts in mission thinking in two millenia of mission’s history. He capably takes us through mission’s past by walking us through mission in the early church through the Constantinian era through the late 1700s circa William Carey through mission reconstruction in the 20th century.

Some will question (like essay respondents Keith Eitel and Andreas Kostenberger) the length at which mission’s past influences Van Engen’s mission present. But as Ed Stetzer notes in his response, the privilege of Biblical revelation does not “preclude us from gaining favorable insights from the history of the church…where God’s truth about the world and the people who live in it may be discerned.” (77)

One of Van Engen’s most important contributions in his essay is where he reminds us that the original Biblical meaning of the word “mission” — apostello and pempo — denotes being sent “forth to service in the Kingdom of God with full authority (grounded in God).” (11)

His point here is to highlight that mission is participating in the mission of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the sender is Jesus, whose authority “defines, circumscribes, limits, and propels Christian mission.” (12) This is a simple but profound subtlety in the debate over mission today. Who sets the agenda? Whose bias is inserted — the mission agency, the denomination, the sending church, the non-for-profit or something/someone else? Van Engen says, “Biblical mission is God’s mission.” (12)

So how do we let God set the docket for mission?

I believe we do this in large part as we see mission as robustly Trinitarian (as respondent Enoch Wan argues Van Engen is lacking — though Stetzer will later argue that Van Engen is not neglecting in this idea). Van Engen seems to purport this idea but I wish he would have been a bit more clear on this issue. To be fair, Van Engen leans toward this notion in a couple of ways:

1) First, he says “The church is sent by her Lord” and then goes on to say, “mission is participation in the mission of Jesus Christ…in the power of the Holy Spirit,”; I think we can synthesize his thoughts here to support a Trinitarian grounding of mission, but it’s not easily ascertainable (12)

2) He does cite David Bosch’s magisterial definition of mission from Transforming Mission in which Bosch says, “Mission [is] understood as being derived from the very nature of God. It [is] thus put in the context of the Trinity, not ecclesiology or soteriology.” (footnote, 24)

I believe that as we reflect and dialogue on the implications of a Trinitarian grounding for mission, contextual orthopraxy will emerge. These questions strike me as helpful questions to ask ourselves as we use the filter of the Trinity for mission:

–What does the story of God tells us about how God interacts with His people? How does this inform us on how to interact with people?

–How does the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus show us how to live in such a way that the Gospel is attractive to those in our spheres?

–How can we pursue the leading of the Holy Spirit to make prayerful, discerning decisions about mission in our contexts?

In summary, the most helpful respondent essays are from Stetzer, Darrell Guder, and Wan as Eitel’s is polemic in nature and the least helpful. Kostenberger’s response is generally helpful but also seems to show a paranoia that Biblical revelation is being usurped in the name of contextualization.

Guder specifically enriches the conversation by stating, “The authority of Scripture is not then defined so much by our anxiety about boundaries and guidelines but by the powerful way in which God’s written Word continues our conversion to our vocation.” (53) This reminds me of Tim Keller’s thoughts that the key to a Christian’s sanctification is not to tread into deeper theological waters but to come back to the Gospel found in the Word again and again. One of the by-products of this Gospel-wakefulness converts us to a community of faith that understands our vocation as missional.

Stetzer hits the nail on the head when he says, “For us to be biblical…in our reflections on the church’s mission, we must have a theological interpretation of the message of Scripture… (and) of our culture, and a theological application of the gospel to our culture.” (77) This Newbiginian-like trialogue of God’s story (Bible) and culture (context), and practice (contextualization via the local church) does not dilute Biblical revelation but rather enhances it to the glory of God flowing from Trinitarian mission.

notes from mercyview lab #2

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: acts, Bible, Christianity, church, church planting, community, contextualization, culture, evangelism, Gospel, history, idolatry, imago Dei, incarnation, incarnational, Jesus, Jonah, kingdom of God, Matthew, mercyview, ministry, New Testament, Old Testament, orthopraxy, Paul, Poverty, Revelation, social justice, Tulsa
• Date: Jun 28,2010

This past Sunday, we held our second mercyview lab to introduce people to the heartbeat of a new church community in the city of Tulsa and we had a great time together. I was particularly encouraged to see some new faces.

As I said last week, these “labs” are intended to give folks a “window into” what we believe God is calling mercyview to be in Tulsa. This will give many an opportunity to begin to pray about joining us in the birth of mercyview at the end of the summer.

In our first lab, I unpacked what is the “hub” of all of mercyview‘s ministry: the Gospel. Last night, I talked about what is looks like for a church to be a “city within a city” – an alternative society in a city that is “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16). Here are the notes from the evening:

–One of the foundational issues a new church has to figure out where they come down on is their relationship with culture. This has to happen before they can talk about how to be the church in the community.

–There is a lot of talk about culture these days but not always much clarity about what it really is. The truth is that the tension between church and culture has been around since the church began. People shout about culture and how the church should or should not relate to it but we have to think discerningly about what it is and how we engage culture.

–So how do we unpack this issue? I believe it involves understanding three things:

1. Culture matters
2. Relating to culture the wrong way matters [1]
3. How the church should relate to culture matters [2]

–Culture mattered to Paul. In Acts 17, we see four things:

1. Paul finds a space within the culture to proclaim the gospel – the Areopagus [Acts 17:22]
2. Paul acknowledged their spiritual questions contextually [Acts 17:22-31]
3. Paul understood Athens – observed their idols as he walked through the city; quoted a poet [Acts 17:23, 28]
4. Paul understood how to respond to culture [Acts 17:29]

–There are basically three choices we have to respond to culture:

1. Receive
2. Reject
3. Redeem

–As we respond to culture, we essentially receive all of culture and within in that “reception,” we must choose which aspects of it to reject or redeem.

–What is culture? The common ideas, feelings, and values that guide community and personal behavior that organize and regulate what the group thinks, feels, and does about God, the world, and humanity [Harvie Conn]

–Culture itself is not evil but a composite of good and evil – as understood Biblically. In any given culture we can find both the imago Dei and idols because all people are made in God’s image and reflect that reality in some ways.

–Those who say we should not “engage the culture,” are using the word “culture” in a way that missionaries wouldn’t [Ed Stetzer]

–Four ways that the church has related to culture:

1. Pietiest
2. Conservative activist
3. Cultural “relevant”
4. Counter-culturalist

–A pietist is someone who stresses Bible study, personal religious experience, and evangelism to the exclusion of trying to understand culture’s expressions: attitudes, customs, beliefs, ethics, and value systems. In essence, their attitude is one of indifference. They believe that since the world is going to burn up in the end, what matters is to convert as many people as possible. If we do that well, then society will be changed ‘one heart at a time.’

–A conservative activist perceives the main problem today to be the loss of moral absolutes. They believe Xians have become too much like the culture, which no longer believes in absolute truth. In this approach, young people are encouraged to recover a Xian worldview and to penetrate the higher reaches of the cultural economy.

–A cultural relevant, in reaction to the conservative movement, complains that Xians are perceived as too hostile and condemning and that they speak in language that is undecipherable to the average person. In this model, the church is called to deeply identify with felt needs of people – embodying love and truth by working against inequality and injustice in society.

–A counter-culturalist sees the main problem today to be that the church has tried to reform the world to become like the church. In this view, the church needs to follow Christ ‘outside the camp’ and identify with the poor and the marginalized. It needs to be a witness to the world simply by being the church, an alternate society and they shouldn’t try to ‘transform culture’ at all.

–Is the lack of very vibrant, effective evangelism for the church today a major problem? Of course. Thus, the cry from the pietists.

–Is it a major problem that Christians are vastly under-represented in many sectors of the cultural economy? Absolutely. Thus, the cry from the conservative activists.

-Is it a major problem that the evangelical church essentially exists in a subculture, not able to speak the Gospel intelligibly to most Americans, and perceived to be only concerned to increase their own power rather than the common good? Of course it is. Thus, the cry from the evangelical relevants.

–Is a major part of the problem the “thinness” of our Christian communities? Of course, that is an enormous problem. Thus, the cry from the counter-culturalists.

–Every one of these groups articulates a crucial and irreplaceable part of what is wrong with our church’s relationship to culture.

–So what’s wrong? Two things:

1. An unbalanced view of themselves
Each group is responding more to the other Christian parties than to the culture. Because of this, they exaggerate the imbalances in the other groups, and thus, are blind to their own.

2. An insufficient grasp of the whole Biblical plotline
The Bible’s narrative arc is—creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. The problem is that each approach represents just one possible emphasis of the arc within a comprehensive whole. The Biblical teaching about Xianity and culture is very rich and should provide Xians in every century and culture with both boundaries and freedom to devise an approach that fits their time.

–With the Gospel

Gospel ministry is not only proclaiming it to people so that they will believe it but it also shepherding believers with it so that it shapes the entirety of their lives, inside the church and out in the world.

For evangelicals to move forward, we must be able to come together around a richer understanding of God’s will for a renewed world without losing the sharpness and power of the classic understanding of the gospel.

–As Light

Jesus tells his disciples they are to be a “city on a hill” whose “good deeds” are a light that will lead non-believers to praise the Father in heaven. Christians are called to be an alternate city within every earthly city and they should be the very best citizens, seeking the “peace and prosperity” of the city (Jeremiah 29:4-7). Here is where the relevants and the counter-culturalists get it right.

Care for the poor is a thing so essential that the contrary cannot consist with sincere love to God. [Jonathan Edwards]

Revelation 21-22 makes it clear that the ultimate purpose of redemption is not to escape the material world but to renew it. God’s purpose is not only saving individuals but also inaugurating a new world based on justice, peace, and love, not power, strife, and selfishness.

–As Salt

This metaphor is a counterpoint to that of light – it is more modest in what it holds out for us. Christian living (like salt in the meat) is quite important to keep culture from degrading but here we are being warned not to necessarily expect fundamental social transformation.

Salt is a more negative metaphor as well. Salt in a wound kept it from festering but it was also painful. This means that Christians are to stand for truth and guard orthodox belief and practice but there will inevitably be opposition. (1 Peter 2:12.)

The salt metaphor is different in another way as well. Salt must spread out and penetrate to be effective. Christians then do not only effect the world as a counter-cultural community (‘light’) but also as dispersed individuals who take the Christian message and world view into every circle and sector of society.

–The people of God (the Church) become an alternative city within a city to display, as a foretaste, what the eternal city will be like. (Jeremiah 29; Matthew 5:3-16; Luke 6:20-36; 1 Peter 2:9-12)

–Harvie Conn:

Perhaps the best analogy to describe all this is that of a model home. We are God’s demonstration community of the rule of Christ in the city. On a tract of earth’s land, purchased with the blood of Christ, Jesus the kingdom developer has begun building new housing. As a sample of what will be, he has erected a model home of what will eventually fill the urban neighborhood. He now invites the urban world into that model home to take a look at what will be. The church is the occupant of that model home, inviting neighbors into its open door to Christ…

As citizens of, not survivalists in, this new city within the old city, we see our ownership as the gift of Jesus the Builder (Luke 17:20-21). As residents, not pilgrims, we await the kingdom coming when the Lord returns from his distant country (Luke 19:12). The land is already his…in this model home we live out our new lifestyle as citizens of the heavenly city that one day will come. We do not abandon our jobs or desert the city that is….We are to seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which God called us in exile (Jeremiah 29:7). And our agenda of concerns in that seeking becomes as large as the cities where our divine development tracts are found.

–Motivation? God left the culture of heaven to enter the culture of man, to bring redemption and restoration:

“We don’t relate to God as a person on the first floor of a building relates to a person on the second floor. We relate to God as Hamlet would to Shakespeare. Hamlet’s only way to know Shakespeare is if Shakespeare writes himself into the play. In the incarnation, God has written himself into the story of this world.”
-Tim Keller

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[1] Adapted from “Church and Culture” by Tim Keller from London Church Planting Consultation, 2008-2009

[2] Ibid.

“monday is for missiology” roundup

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: Christianity, eschatology, evangelism, Gospel, history, kingdom of God, missio Dei, missiology, mission, missional, missional church, missional living, missionSHIFT, social justice, theology
• Date: Mar 29,2010

I thought I would “roundup” the great posts happening over at edstetzer.com with the recent resurrection of his “Monday is for Missiology” series. This is really helpful stuff if you want to avoid the historical “naivete” that can tend to happen in the current missional conversation.

Here are Ed Stetzer’s thoughts as he sets up the series again:

Over the next few months leading up to missionSHIFT, along with introducing to you to the folks who are joining us at Ridgecrest to be a part of the missional conversation, I want to make sure that we continue to trace the roots of the missional debate historically and theologically. These posts will be a continuation of my “Meanings of Missional” series that has been on hiatus for a while. Okay, since October of 2007 (grin).

For many of you, this discussion may not interest you. Your focus is, “Let’s live on mission.” Fair enough– we will actually be talking about some practical discussion with some partners in the next few days. I don’t think this practical approach is a wrong approach– but I think that if we are to think deeply on issues of church and mission, it will require historic and theological reflection.

…When you look at the historical trajectory of the “church and mission” conversation, it was a deeply theological discussion. We must continue to filter this discussion theologically. In fact, I would say that missional must be tied– and I believe it is– to something inherently theological, particularly, the missio Dei. If not, it is just another descriptor in a long line of descriptors: church growth, seeker-sensitive, church health, emerging.

Here are the seven posts that Ed has written since the start up of the series:

*Monday is for Missiology: The Eschatological Dimension of the Missional Church
*Monday is for Missiology: The Church, The Kingdom, and Mission
*Monday is for Missiology: Caveats Regarding the Eschatological Language of Mission
*Monday is for Missiology: The Church on Mission for the Kingdom
*Monday is for Missiology: The Connection Between Missiology and Soteriology
*Monday is for Missiology: How and Why is God at Work Outside of the Church?
*Monday is for Missiology: One More Run at Salvation

As an added benefit to the series, Ed has invoked the help of some of the leading missional bloggers to weigh in on the issues he is raising on their respective blogs. This team is working through these missional themes as a part of the “Prologue to Missional Discussions” synchroblog and they are:

*Rick Meigs: The Blind Beggar
*Bill Kinnon: kinnon.tv
*Brother Maynard: Subversive Influence
*David Fitch: Reclaiming the Mission
*Tiffany Smith: Missional Mayhem
*Jared Wilson: The Gospel-Driven Church
*Jonathan Dodson: Creation Project

I would encourage you to check the discussion happening at their blogs. And don’t forget to register for missionSHIFT — it’s going to be a great time to continue to talk about all things missional. See you there…

the future is not a one size fits all church

• Author: Brad
• Filed under: books, church, Evangelicalism, 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, church, community, Gospel, history, Jesus, 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, church, community, contextualization, cross, culture, discipleship, emerging church, emerging culture, evangelism, futurism, Gospel, 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: art, authenticity, CCM, communion, community, concert, food, futurism, history, humor, leadership, ministry, pastoring, Psalms, 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: blogging, church planting, concert, education, emerging church, family, fatherhood, Gospel, 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, church, community, Gospel, 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…