Returning from Mission It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings. “The Real Work” …
Film as a Form of Mass (Theology at the Theater, Part 2)
Philosopher and theologian, James K.A. Smith, in his book Desiring the Kingdom, helps us understand that at a gut level, we are creatures who love and desire. Thus we need liturgies, rituals and routines that reshape our desires. While Smith focuses on how worship gatherings could be better designed to shape our desires toward the kingdom, Craig Detweiler, in Into …
What has Hollywood to do with Jerusalem? (Theology at the Theater, part 1)
I remember sitting down with a Christian friend of mine recently. He had just finished his MDiv at Fuller. He was working as a teacher, active in church and engaging in meaningful fellowship. Yet he found himself in a funk in which it was hard for him to escape. As we sat at the coffee shop he told me about …
Three Ways to Build a Church Planter Pipeline
Where do church planters come from? This morning, I was on the phone with a friend who is a denominational church planting leader. We both agreed that one of the major obstacles to planting more churches is the lack of identifiable pipelines for church planters. Most church planting networks and denominations are struggling to find qualified planters. Where do we …
For Your Grandma’s Church, Too
By Josh Hayden, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Ashland, Virginia Sometimes a resource is so helpful it transcends the category it was created for and ends up changing the entire conversation. Church as Movement is a resource that does just that—it broadens the scope of church planting to a growing movement that focuses on discipleship, the mission of God, …
Free Webinar: Creating Missional Communities, with JR Woodward & John Poitevent
“The church cannot storm the gates of hell by gathering around consumer needs. A shared life and the shared story that Jesus is King are its rallying points.” –The Church as Movement Missional and community are two buzz words being used quite a bit in the church world these days. But what do they really mean, and how do they work together? In …
Phillip Yancey: Church Planters as Artists and Culture Shapers
Philip Yancey will be speaking on “Church Planters as Artists and Culture Shapers,” followed by a panel discussion with Mako Fujimura and Sam Theophylus, pastor and planter of Beautiful Gate LA. You can participate at the Fuller Pasadena campus or by BlueJeans videoconferencing. The event is free for Fuller students, $5 for church planters, and $10 for others. A videoconferencing option …
What Would Help You Most?
What do you need to start a movement? The V3 Movement is a dedicated to creating resources and training opportunities for Church Planters and Missional Movement starters. If you are reading this, it is because you want to start a movement. You want to see the kingdom of God to take root in your neighborhood. You want to see new movements …
A Place-Based Missional Learning Experience
Our friends at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary have created a place-based missional learning experience any serious church planter can benefit from: The Graduate Certificate in Church Planting and Revitalization. The Graduate Certificate in Church Planting and Revitalization forms pioneer leaders attentive to God and God’s world. Participants will learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and their communities, they will practice leading teams in …
Subverting Church Planting Stereotypes
If I am being honest, I’m not generally a big fan of books on church planting. My lack of enthusiasm stems from two primary observations. First, many books on church planting are authored by people who actually have surprisingly limited experience in church planting or whose credibility rests on a single (relatively meaningless) criterion—their ability to draw a large crowd. …