faithrunner

No one needs to be a soothsayer to divine that the missional movement has gained momentum over the last five to ten years. It's been around a lot longer, but missional is now the catchword for young, cutting-edge, in-the-streets followers of Jesus. Personally, I am pleased with what's happening . The movement grew out of a realization that the church is not making an impact on the culture in post-Christian, Western countries and something needed to change. From Lesslie Newbigi n and David Bosch's early calls to mission to Alan Hirsch and Alan Roxburgh's stylized methods of how to go about it, the momentum to be "on mission" with Christ in the world rather than maintain the institutional church and its programs is now "it." I have two observations about the movement, of which I consider myself and Legacy Church late adapters. First, to be truly missional requires adaptive change , not tweaks that make you look missional. You can't add...

Sunday morning, May 1, we woke to the international coverage of the Vatican's beatification of John Paul II . What interested me about the event and how it added to the significance of the day was that the Vatican chose to beatify John Paul on Divine Mercy Sunday , a day which he extended to the entire Church in 2000 when he was Pope. On this day, the Pope desired, "Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment." ( Diary 300 ) "On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity." ( Diary 699 ) The world watched as the faithful celebrated The Blessed John Paul II's beatification on the Sunday after Easter, which was set aside to ex...

Time Magazine's Cover I talk sometimes about my dual citizenship: I am a natural-born citizen of the United States of America , and I am an adopted child of God through Jesus, the Christ, and, therefore, a citizen of the Kingdom of God . Sometimes my loyalties to those kingdoms clash. This was the case Sunday night when the world heard about the "killing" of Osama bin Laden. As a citizen of the United States I cheered for the "justice" that was served our nation's Public Enemy Number One. I wanted to be in Times Square , Ground Zero , or outside the White House to cheer with my fellow citizens for the demise of one who brought so much suffering and death to our country.   I was proud of our leaders who never gave up on tracking him down and for the Navy Seal who served the kind of retribution the rest of the world would understand with a "double tap" to the head and chest of the leader of Al Qaeda . As I watched the nation rejoice ...

I've been at the Exponential Conference in Orlando for over 24 hours now, and I have been impressed with the shared message of those who are leading it . Every clan has its tribal leaders, and Dave Ferguson and Alan Hirsch seem to be the chiefs who set the agenda, but many others add their take on all things "missional" here. I heard Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson and their team first. Ferguson and Ferguson are the authors of Exponential , and starters of Community Christian Church in the Chicago area. Their "Leadership Path," while not new (what is?) is practical advice to help us develop leaders. The best quotes, "Don't skip a step" while training leaders and "Everything I learned about church planting, I learned in small groups." Neil Cole woke me up this morning as he bounced through his original work, Organic Church . I had read (and read reviews of) his Organic Leadership with the Ph.D. cohorts at DBU , and had sensed ...

Below is a simple plan of reading and meditation to prepare you for the Celebration of the Resurrection in the morning. Morning: Read Exodus 12:1-13 This is the institution of the Passover meal that commemorates God’s deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt. The Jewish people observe this meal in the form of the Seder meal once a year according to the instructions in Scripture. As you read this passage notice the purpose of the lamb, its shed blood, and the importance of the unleavened bread. Noon: Read Matthew 26:17-30 Jesus gathered his twelve closest disciples to observe the Passover meal which was part of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:17-20) Jesus identified the unleavened bread, which represented the absence of sin, with his body. He also identified himself with a cup of blessing as the blood sacrifice of the Passover lamb. As you read the Bible, find your place in the story as you recline with the disciples at the table. Afternoon: Read Matthew 27:11-66 Re...

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on what we have dubbed Palm Sunday, he continued his mission call for people to "change how you live, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand [in me]." Jesus' presence that day confirmed God's promise to make Abraham's spiritual descendants more numerous than the stars in the heavens was still the Storyline for all time . The events that followed in Jerusalem that week established Jesus as the Promised One and the Rescuer for all peoples. Vision, for me, is what the mission looks like when it is complete; ( Jesus On Leadership ) and, the Scriptures provide a picture of Jesus' completed mission in The Revelation of John, Chapter 7 (verses 9 and 10): After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in ...

This past Saturday members from Legacy Church joined members from St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Community , Collin Creek Community Church , West Plano Presbyterian Church , and over 900 others for the Seton Soles 5K run/walk. 250 volunteers provided support and encouragement to all who participated. The purpose of the run/walk was to raise funds for the Monsignor Henry V. Petter Endowment Fund , which exists to support "work in outreach and justice" in Plano and Collin County. Henry Petter has served as a priest at St. Elizabeth Seton for almost twenty years, and he is a runner. He will retire in the near future, and he wanted his legacy to be something that dealt with the systemic issues that oppress and exclude people from the necessities of life . The church knew this and created the endowment in his name and the run to raise the funds. Two things about the event please and challenge me . The first was, as Blair Richie of CCCC said Saturday morning, getting Catholi...