Missional Christianity…Church Beyond Boundaries

Biblical Theological Seminary leading the way in teaching Missional Theology is hosting a conference addressing theological and practical challenges for the future of the missional church. Additionally this conference will feature the installation ceremony of John R. Franke as the Lester and Kay Clemens Professor of Missional Theology. Franke’s seminal work Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context is essential reading for you ministry geeks. This event features leading practitioners and scholars in the missional conversation: Darrell Guder [Also must read: The Missional Church &
The Continuing Conversion of the Church] – Tim Keel – John Franke – Brian McLaren – Scot McKnight – David Dunbar

Friday, October 10, 2008
1:00pm – 9:00pm
Biblical Seminary 200 N. Main Street, Hatfield, PA

LOOK WHO’S ON THE BIBLICAL WEBSITE!

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FollowUp to Missional in Suburbia from Al Hsu

Questions to consider. Link to Al Hsu’s (pronounced shee) post from The Suburban Christian.

Part 1: Exploring Your Suburban Context

Describe your suburban context, where you live/work/worship/minister. How did you come to live here? What brought you to the area?

What would you say is distinctive about your particular location? Consider these cultural cues:

· What institutions are important in your suburban area? Commercial, governmental, nonprofit, educational, entertainment, etc.?

· What major employers are based in your area?

· What kinds of local festivals or community events are held in your area?

· What different kinds of residents live in your area? Where do they live?

· Why do people move to your local suburb rather than others?

· How is your particular suburb different from others nearby?

What are the needs of your suburban area? Assess the “as is.” Consider physical, economic, social, emotional, relational, spiritual dimensions.

What would your suburb look like if the kingdom of God became more manifest there? What problems might be alleviated? How would your suburb be different?

What is your vision for your suburb, your neighborhood, your community? Describe the “could be.”

Part 2: Identifying Your Church’s Role

Why do people come to your church? (If you don’t know, call some ordinary church members right now and ask them, “Out of all the churches in the area, why did you decide to visit our church? What made you stay?”)

Why do people leave your church?

What’s your church’s distinctive DNA? How is it different from other churches in your area?

What does your church do that other churches don’t do? What can your church do that other churches can’t do?

What do you wish your church could do? Is that hope anchored in reality?

Consider the “as is” and “could be” discussed in part 1. What is your church’s role in contributing toward this “could be”?

How can your church partner with other churches in moving toward this “could be”?

Missional in Suburbia

I should have posted earlier about this but it’s not too late. My good friend Todd Hiestand, Pastor at The Well, is hosting in partnership with the Ecclesia Network and C4ML at Biblical Seminary, “Missional in Suburbia” inviting Al Hsu, author of The Suburban Christian, this weekend August 8-9, 2008.

The Well has really done some great things helping us retool our thinking about Suburbia. They recently invited local community leaders from Bucks County to discuss the unique issues of suburban poverty.

So this seminar should really be worth your while. See you there!

MereMission.org Relaunch

MereMission.org is an open-source dialogue on missional theology spearheaded by my friend Todd Hiestand. It went dark for almost a year but has been relaunched this week with a refreshed design and a new emphasis and philosophy. Open-source group blogging is a great thing but very difficult to maintain momentum. I’m glad it’s back. There’s some great reflections and ideas there.

Tom Hsieh Interview

Thanks to Danny at NewPointe Community Church who provided us a link to the interview they conducted during their service with Tom Hsieh. Enjoy!

Read:
Missional Living. Earn 200k. Live on 38k.
Missional Living. Earn 200k. Live on 38k. Part 2

Missional Living. Earn 200k. Live on 38k. Part 2

My post about Tom Hsieh has gotten a lot of attention. I’m glad that Danny, the music director at NewPointe Community Church caught wind of my post. His team decided to do something creative with the story. Read the post on his blog.

This Sunday, NewPointe Community Church will be doing a live conference with Tom Hsieh for part of their worship service. Listen live from their website, www.newpointe.org.
It will feature towards the end of the message (around 9:45 or 11:45am).

Related
• Missional Living. Earn 200k. Live on 38k.

Missional Living. Earn 200k. Live on 38k.

Tom Hsieh is my hero. Hands down.
As an Asian man. As a father. As an entrepreneur. As a follower of Christ.

I think this was a precious find in People magazine [ Thanks David (Next.Generasian Church) ] last month juxtaposed between pages of celebrities and whatever in the world they are up to. Plus isn’t it great to see yet another interracial couple with a cute baby to spoil on? No. Recent research shows that interracial couples spend more time and money on their kids than parents who are both of the same race. I’ll save that thought for another time. The Hsiehs are an image of a interracial couple that will give their bi-racial child a different story.

But the point I want to make in this post is that from a policy perspective this is how urban renewal is supposed to work but who’s willing? Move into a community with high crime and unemployment? What about safety? What about my family? What about my children’s future? How about, Is this not what those have been called by follow Christ supposed to do?

I’m thrilled that Tom gives to Servant Partners, a ministry that I’m in love with. Their mission is consistent with the life demonstrated through the Hsiehs – living among the poor in community, leading humbly in the spirit of a servant, evangelizing boldly in faith beyond race, beyond class. Sounds like Jesus eh?

Tom Hsieh could be living the American dream. An immigrant from Taiwan, he worked hard in school, got into a good college and today heads an L.A.- based telecommunications consulting firm. His annual pay: $2OO,OOO.
So where’s the big house and fancy car? “We could have that lifestyle,” Hsieh says. “But it’s not real.” What’s real, for Hsieh, is his deep faith and desire to help others. So Hsieh, 36, wife Bree, 31, and 13-month-old daughter Kadence live on a modest $38,000 a year.

The rest of Tom’s income goes to charity, including Servant Partners, a Christian group he and Bree belong to that sends young adults into urban areas to spread Christ’s teachings and practice community activism.

The family lives in a two-bedroom duplex in South Pomona, a community battered by crime and unemployment. There, Hsieh and his wife talk to young people about getting on a better path, and lead efforts to make the streets safer. Santos Ramos, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Pomona, says the Hsiehs have the community respect. “Politicians come and go, but when educated people live next door, there’s hope.”

Still, it’s not exactly an immigrant parent’s dream. Some years ago, Hsieh told his parents, “I’ll always make sure there’s a roof over your head, but I won’t be the successful Chinese son who buys you a BMW.” His daughter won’t need such explanations. “She’s growing up,” he says, “knowing there more to life than possessions.” – People Magazine, Dec 24, 2007

Updated
Using my uncanny stalker skills I was able to find Tom Hsieh’s personal profile on boldergiving.org. . .
Sounds familiar. . . like Mark 10?

Joe Myers Interview by Sally Morgenthaler

Joe Myers, author of Organic Community and The Search to Belong, will be interviewed by Sally Morgenthaler on www.shapevine.com tonight at 9:00pm Eastern. This should be a very engaging conversation. I guess I’m going to have to DVR Heroes tonight.

If you haven’t read any of his books you should. They’re incredibly insightful with regard to space, intimacy and community. He explores concepts that church leaders rarely consider.

I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Sally Morgenthaler recently and we really had a wonderful conversation about the arts and the missing minority (Asian) voice in emergent/missional conversations. She’s most well known for her book, Worship Evangelism written back at the height of the worship wars but she’s provided many significant articles for Christianity Today and Gifted for Leadership. For those in pastoral ministry I highly recommend reading her very personal article for CT, Behind Closed Doors.

Both Joe and Sally think differently and are creatives at heart. Check them out. Thanks Todd. . .

Link:
Joe Myers: The Language of Belonging

Update: I must have missed something but Joe Myers wasn’t being interviewed rather missional thinker, Alan Hirsch was on the line. Oh well. Still some good thoughts there.

ABC Resources: Why an ABC Church Plant Paper

djchuang had posted one of those seminal papers that ABC pastors should have. and djchuang is just simply one of those sites that you must know about.

here’s the thrust of the paper:

Through a series of questions and answers, as well as an appendix of reference articles, this paper tries to establish the need and the urgency for a maturing ABC ministry in the context of an ABC church plant.

An ABC church plant would accomplish the following:
• Stem the high dropout rate of ABCs from the local church
• Strengthen ABC leadership for the church through training, planning, and developing a Biblical mindset
• Cultivate Christ-centered ABC Christian families
• Increase the understanding of cultural differences between OBCs and ABCs, thereby affirming that each group has its own expressions and style
• Provide a unique opportunity to reach the growing unevangelized ABC population

free land…in alaska?!

would anyone like to dream with me?
perhaps own a piece of beautiful america?
one of the places i’ve always wanted to visit was alaska. it’s just one of those places of pure beauty even at temperatures 60below. i definitely want to see the northern lights and climb mount mckinely. i thought this proposal that came out of a high school social studies class was a great exploration of how to boost a town’s dwindling population – give away one of the greatest natural resources that we can possibly have with the expectation to responsibly invest in that community. any entrepreneurs out there?

Highlights:
• Community of 300 offering 26 1.3-acre lots for free
• Lots go to first people to apply and pay $500 deposit beginning 9 a.m. Monday
• Winners must build 1,000-square-foot house within two years
• Idea for land lottery came from school project

oh my the possibilities…