We live in a culture that is increasingly being referred to as digital, inventive, participatory, designer, and creative. As a result of this cultural move, people are discovering more about their identities and finding more meaning from what they create rather than what they consume. The shared language of this culture is one that is filled with potential-based words such as …
I’ve been a pastor for 10 years, and I’ve never been a very good one.In seminary, I remember learning about how pastors are gifted at listening, and pastoral care, and counseling. That didn’t really sound like me.And then there was all of this energy and attention given to preaching—“pastor,” as it is in many Christian circles, was synonymous with “preacher.” …
In this post, we continue what we started in my last post on Jesus and Movement (see bottom of this post). My two posts can be read separately or together (in any order). The Key to Movement In his book The Great Omission, Dallas Willard identifies the key reason why we don’t see movement take place in the West today. We have …
We’re pleased to announce that Church as Movement: Starting and Sustaining Missional-Incarnational Communities our very own JR Woodward and Dan White Jr. is now available! Purchase it as a discount rate here and get additional free resources here. From the Foreword One of the strengths of the book derives from the fact that JR and Dan are reflective practitioners; both have …
Church planting is hard work, and it’s easy to get caught up in the present, which isn’t necessarily bad since getting caught up in the very things God has called us to and wired us for is one of the deepest joys in life. That being said, being caught up sometimes means we’re overdue for reflection. We may need to pause and …
This past weekend, church planting practitioners gathered in Washington, D.C. to work together and share on the topic of discipleship. Missional-movement leaders such as Deb Hirsch, Kevin Doi, Paul Sparks, Mark Scandrette, Natasha Sistrunk Robinson, and David Fitch worked with other missional-movement leaders like you from all over the country. This year’s focus was discipleship, and the workshops were phenomenal, thoroughly engaging the relationships …
In my previous blog post, I shared how leaders establish culture through what they teach and model, as well as by what they pay attention to, reward and sanction. I want to continue the topic of creating culture by looking at Christ. A Thought Experiment Imagine Jesus is the leader of your church—Hopefully he is!—in a sense similar to when …
The RePlacing Church Podcast with Ben Katt In this episode, I explore the Teachers as “Sage” by looking at the story of Apollos from the early church, and identifying the three main practices of Sages as they pursue restoration in the neighborhood. Series Summary: In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul mentions 5 gifts for the church – Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, …
It’s that time of the year when many of us are in transition. Students of all ages begin a new school year. Some of us are starting new jobs, and at church we are getting ready for the new seasons of Advent and Christmas. Even the created world is in transition, that season between summer and autumn when, at least …
When the whole story of the Bible is not the context for the life and formation of communities of faith, it is too easy for parts of the gospel to be mistaken as the entire gospel itself. One example of this is the particular version of the gospel that has been the predominant rendering in evangelical communities in the United …