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Category Archive: Missional Living

2020 Prepared Us All For Living On Mission

Posted by on January 7, 2021

One of the fundamental truths in the book Church Scattered is that every Christian is called to live out their faith everyday starting at home and then taking that faith to work. This massive transition in priorities can be thought of as church members becoming missionaries. This is not some new marketing idea for evangelism but a radical commitment to make Christ known.

This post by Lloyd Kim is very helpful in helping you see the American we live in today just like you would any international mission field anywhere in the world. He writes,

“My wife just got the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. She is a family-practice physician and part of the first wave of recipients in the U.S. Leading up to her appointment, we read stories about the vaccine and its development. And as we did, we felt an intense emotional response we did not expect. What was going on inside of us?

It reminded us of our time on the mission field, where there was so much cross-cultural stress underlying daily life that we were often unaware of the emotional and physical toll it was taking on us. The first few years of missionary service are some of the most difficult years a person can experience.”

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5 Traits Of Churches That Will Build Again

Posted by on November 16, 2020

Every pastor in American is praying about what decisions they need to make moving forward into the new year. This disruption has forced more than a temporary set back with attendance. It is challenging us to rethink everything and that is a very good thing.

I have read a lot of opinions on this subject but believe that Dan Reiland as usual is right on with his advice:

“For more than eight months now, most churches have been doing everything possible to navigate what may be remembered as the most difficult season in ministry.

If not the most difficult, likely the most complicated. We often talk of the new normal, and that’s a great conversation; we need it, but we can’t wait for it to arrive. We need to lead forward now.

We need to build again.

Most churches are either open, trying to open, or preparing to open their physical buildings. That’s a good start. Their teams are simultaneously working hard to deliver high-quality worship services in-person and online, plus all their other ministries as well.”

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Why Words Really Matter Right Now

Posted by on October 26, 2020

The Christian life requires us to speak words that contain both grace and truth. If you go to one extreme and only say encouraging things without combining it with truth, then it is really not grace anymore.

One the other hand if you only speak truth without any awareness of saying the right thing, the right way, at the right time, then people will never receive what they need to hear. This post by Ann Voskamp is incredible and well worth the read:

“It’s a loud, deafening war of words out there and when I stand in the farm woods these days, looking up into the outstretched arms of trees, I have to wonder:

When a leaf falls in the woods, and there is actually someone to hear it, why does it sound so much like the quietness of grace?

It’s like all the trees of the woods are asking the people in the streets: How can you all sound alot more like grace?

Because: The way words are spoken matters to the One who is the Word, who is the Way.

What we say and how we say it matters, because we are the people who believe that is was the Word that created matter. Words create actual matter — for good or for evil –in the world.”

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Is America Burning Out? How To Minister To An Exhausted, Cynical Culture

Posted by on October 12, 2020

This current disruption has lasted so long that the impacts will be permanent and require new approaches to ministry. Jesus Christ is still the hope of the world and we have to shift now to make sure He is at the center of our messaging. The culture can always push back on the church or even Christianity. It’s extremely had to push back on Christ. This post by Carey Nieuwhof is a great help:

“You know that people burn out. In fact, given the way you feel, you may have asked whether that’s what happening to you. But here’s a deeper question.

Can a culture burn out? And if the answer is yes, any chance that’s happening to America in this moment?

An accurate diagnosis might be helpful right now because, if you’re like me, as you read the news and scroll through your feed, it’s hard not to feel despair.

I was speaking to a group of next generation church leaders recently, most in their twenties or early thirties, and as I thought about their future, I was reminded of how pessimistic so many of the outlooks on the future are right now.”

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Don’t Burn Bridges

Posted by on September 20, 2020

The secret to representing Christ to the world is to always know the right amount of grace and truth in every situation. We should never in any interaction violate one truth in scripture to support another truth we feel even more strongly about. If we blow people up on social media then so much for loving your enemies. This post by Sam Luce gives us the right approach:

“Remember when Facebook was for sharing photos of your children and videos of otters holding hands? Me neither. Social media has become a battlefield of conflicting ideas. A minefield of potentially explosive issues. It has gone from a digital scrapbook to a digital equivalent of a dual. Every post seems to be about the defense of a person or idea and with those who disagree hurling horribly generalized caricatures of who they think you are based on what party they think you are a part of.

As Christians, we have to guard against this. Some of the most scathing reprimands of scripture are towards those who can not control their tongues. In James 1 where we famously quote the passage that states “True religion is taking care of the widows and orphans.” This is a feel-good statement that is completely true and we love it. You know what it says in the verse right in front of it. James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle (control) his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

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When Christians Lose Their Minds, People Lose Their Faith

Posted by on September 14, 2020

I don’t think I have ever been more grieved in my spirit when I read and watch all the things that are on my social media feed. The restraining grace of God has been withheld to show us just how much evil is in the world.

What I have resisted so far is not to add to the negative toxic chaos by trying to give my opinion and in reality just making things worse. What I have done is increased my prayer time for revival and a tremendous spiritual awakening that would result in millions being saved.

I know the Father is using all of this but we must be careful to not get in His way and become a part of the problem. Carey writes an incredibly timely post that is worth the read:

If your social feed is like mine, it looks like people are losing their minds. Christians too.

As the world has become more fragile than it has in perhaps my lifetime, my feed has gotten more and more polarized, partisan, angry, bizarre and downright weird in 2020.

What’s a little alarming is we haven’t even had the U.S. election yet.

I wish I could tell you Christians were the healing part of my feed, but that’s not the case.

Christians have been sucked into the nastiness, division and partisanship along with everyone else. Often Christians aren’t providing an alternative to the anger and outrage online, they’re fueling it.

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Should You Close Your Church After Reopening?

Posted by on July 6, 2020

When I started writing the book Church Scattered: Christianity for 21st Century I could have never imagined our current situation. Yes I am a strong advocate of putting more leadership into the church scattered but I never wanted the church gathered to close its doors.

Now everything has changed to the point that church leaders are having to re-think strategy not only for now but more importantly for the future. The Father is disrupting His people again and scattering them into the mission fields. This post by Carey Nieuwhof will help you walk through the challenges ahead:

“Every time you think 2020 is going to get easier, it just gets more complex. So here’s a question: “Should you close your church after reopening it?”

While that sounds like a terrible question, what if it was your best church growth strategy? I know that probably sounds like heresy and you may be too annoyed to read further, but just hang on for a second more.

As the coronavirus resurges across the US, and even areas that thought COVID wouldn’t impact them are breaking all-time infection records, clearly this is a time to ask all the questions.

But this is a deeper question. In Canada, our cases have slowed to almost a trickle, but I think it’s a live issue here too…if you really want to reach more people.”

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Prayer Is Activism

Posted by on June 19, 2020

It seems like in the midst of all this chaos it is impossible to say or do the right thing anymore. We know that saying or doing nothing is absolutely wrong. However, if we jump in and try to fix everything, we may abandon the gospel message as Christians and in the end that is our only hope.

The hard truth that I have had to deal with is that if I am talking to other people about all of this drama more than I am talking to the Father, I have failed to do the most important thing I can to help. We have lost a heavily vision of the power in prayer.

Prayer automatically resets our perspective that behind all this negative news is the biblical worldview that our great God is still sovereign. He did not cause all of this but He will use it for His glory and our good. I have to stop praying to stop it all just to get emotional relief, because I want Him to have all the time He needs to accomplish eternal things so many will come to know Him.

This post by Eugene Park is very encouraging: “As our nation reels from George Floyd’s death, many in the church feel compelled to do something. Responses have run the gamut from listening, learning, and lamenting to posting black squares on Instagram, donating, marching, and more.

Yet in our rush to engage, many of us have neglected the most potent form of activism at our disposal: prayer to the sovereign God of the universe.”

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Five Ways You Will Be A Different Pastor After The Pandemic

Posted by on April 19, 2020

It will be impossible to return to the way things were before the pandemic. The Father is leveraging this crisis to call His church to maintain the sacred message of the past but learn through this transition to prioritize the ministry of the church scattered. This may be the greatest opportunity in our lifetime to see many people come to Christ as new normals are developed for everyone. This post by Thom Rainer is excellent:

“In a recent article, I wrote that churches will never be the same after the pandemic. An important corollary to that thesis is that pastors will never be the same. Though the biblical standards of pastoral ministry remain constant, how pastors carry out that ministry will change dramatically. In many ways, the changes are already taking place.

Pastors will either thrive with an attitude of abundance or retreat with an attitude of scarcity. Some pastors are already adapting incredibly well during the pandemic. They are functioning more with an attitude of God’s abundant provisions than one of scarcity. These pastors are becoming amazingly creative and positive about the future. Unfortunately, others can’t wait to return to a church world that no longer exists.”

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What Will The Post-Coronavirus Church Look Like

Posted by on March 29, 2020

I sincerely believe that one of the lasting lessons of any disruption is that things will never be the same again. We can return to the ways of doing church that were effective in making disciples. However, we should as church leaders use this time to make any change that will help us be more effective in reaching and equipping people. This post by Thom Rainer is excellent:

“Church leaders and members are rightly giving much attention to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. In-person church services are being canceled. Small groups are meeting digitally, if at all. Church leaders are urging members to support the church financially through digital giving. Churches are preparing ways to minister to their communities in the midst of the pandemic.

I am grateful for the responses and for the caring hearts of so many church members. In the midst of a major challenge, it is heartwarming and reassuring to see many people who really care.

But the coronavirus will move past its pandemic state at some point in the future. I am fascinated to see what our churches will look like on “the other side.” Here are eight likely developments:”

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