I often have people ask me what the word “missional” means. My short answer is that the word missional is simply the adjective form of the noun missionary. It is an adjective to describe the church as a sent, missionary entity. God is a missionary God who sends a missionary church. However, this is only half the story. Alan Hirsch speaks of the “missional-incarnational impulse,” where the word missional expresses the sending nature of the church, while “incarnational” represents the “embedding” of the gospel into a local context. In other words, “missional” speaks to our direction – we are sent; while being “incarnational” is more about how we go, and what we do as we go.

The Incarnation

The word “incarnation” comes from a Latin word that literally means “in the flesh.” It refers to the act of love and humility whereby God took it upon himself to enter into the depths of our world so that the reconciliation between God and humanity may be brought about. The Incarnation is God’s ultimate missional participation in creation (John 3:16-17). When God entered into our world in and through the Person of Jesus, he came to live among us. “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14a, MSG).

Continue Reading

Here is a great article from Neil Cole’s Blog contrasting leadership styles and vision. This is a response to Neil from a CEO…

In this piece, he contrasts movement-based leadership — a growing trend in the church — with organization-based leadership — the current model in most churches. As a business person and a self-styled visionary leader, I felt like arguing with Neil on a few of his recommendations. He wants leaders to empower their followers to develop many, individual visions, whereas I prefer leaders to develop and promote a single vision for an organization. He wants to move away from strategic (controlling) leadership whose goal is to direct the organization toward a predetermined outcome, and replace it with process (order-imposing) leadership that leaves the outcome undefined. I prefer the strategic view for both business and personal reasons (according to the MBTI system, I’m type ENTJ, the “field marshal”).

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Here is a great post by Steve Addision, the author of a great new book “What Jesus Started”. Check out his blog, It is awesome!

Finding “persons of peace” is an important element in most disciple making movements. This practice is grounded in Jesus’ instructions to his disciples when he sent them out on mission. Jesus also led by example as this comparison table shows.

Read The Full Post Here

The best sober dance party you have ever been to! Greek Conference!

This is a guest post by Ross Haymond. He is a third year fraternity student at Purdue University and he is part of the Greek InterVaristy movement there. He is a leader of leaders and his job is to help get new ministry started in fraternities and sororities on campus. He has been growing in his apostolic leadership and really come alive to the idea of planting and spurring that on in multiplicative ways. I asked him to write me up some of his thoughts from last weekends Greek Conference and how he is seeing God move in his leaders!

This past weekend I was able to attend Greek conference in Indianapolis. This is where over 700 Greek students came together to learn more about Jesus and dive into seeing exactly how being Greek and Christian can come together and be a witnessing community back at their campuses. This was my second conference I have attended and believe that this one had a way bigger impact on my than the first one.

Since the Greek conference that was held in 2012 I have grown immensely and stepped into some new roles within the Greek IV chapter at Purdue University. Since joining the leadership team I have been able to see students coming to Christ and share my experiences and stories with Greek students in a variety of environments.

So this weekend entering Greek conference 2013 I was approaching in a totally different way. This time I was really paying attention to what God was doing in the students and realizing that many leadership qualities can be found in a ton of different places. I am going to give a little taste of some of the leadership qualities I was able to see in other students this weekend.

Continue Reading

Here is an interesting article on the elimination of the apostolic calling from many churches. Charisma Magazine posted it and I found it on Linson Daniel’s twitter feed!

It is tragic when the vast potential of an individual or entity is limited or eliminated because there is no room for their gifts. In the case of a lion, when captured and encaged, it loses its aggressive roar because it is forced to be localized into the confines of a cage. It may be a lion, but it is no different from a house cat because, like a house cat, it no longer has to claim its territory and hunt to satisfy its hunger, and is content to stay confined within a building.

To me, all of this is related to the condition of the local church after it ceases to recognize the ministry and function of apostles. This results in cutting off the pioneering spirit and apostolic call to conquer and expand kingdom influence.

I don’t necessarily think people have to use the title of apostle; the function is what is most important.

Read the whole article here

By Beau Crosetto

Consider the potato.

It is fully formed and grown underground and unless you dig it up, you would never know that it was ripe and ready for harvest. You literally could walk right over it 100 times and never know.

I think there are harvest opportunities like this as well. There are communities ripe with potential and just waiting to be harvested. Cities that are ready for revival, campuses eager for the gospel message, neighborhoods longing for community and Jesus.

We just don’t know and we just don’t see it.

It is an interesting thought to think that there are communities of faith that are ready to form with little effort needed. It is very different than the usual thought of starting something new.

Continue Reading

By Luke Cawley

How’s your budget looking? Do you have all the money you need to fund your ministry for the coming year? If the cash isn’t there, do you have a plan to try and raise the cash that makes your work possible?

I am thinking a lot about money these days. I was recently involved in setting up a new organization called Chrysolis. I am hoping to move with my wife and kids to Romania soon and begin developing the work of Chrysolis in Eastern and Central Europe. Like most such pioneering work it needs money to make it happen. We don’t need piles of cash, but we would like enough to house and feed our family, and also to cover the general costs of our work. So, I do think about money fairly frequently and, like you with your ministry, I do have some thoughts about how we might be able to raise it.

Continue Reading

Jon Ferguson leading a baptism service in Chicago

By Dave Ferguson

Apostolic leaders lead from the front!  The apostle Paul led from the front. That’s why he could say,

“I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:16 – 17).

He felt confident enough in the mission that if others would just follow his lead, the mission would be accomplished. In fact, Paul felt confident enough that he was sending Timothy to lead them, because he knew that he had apprenticed Timothy and that if they just imitated Timothy’s life, they could accomplish the mission.

Continue Reading