Missio Dei Suburbia

More on Theological Training

Two blog posts to follow-up on our previous conversation about seminary.

Bob Thune - who wrote the original post - follows up here.

Jeff Purswell, who oversees the Pastors' College for Sovereign Grace Ministries, talks about the core convictions behind theological training.

Whole Church, Whole Gospel, Whole World

Helpful article by one of my favorite writers, Christopher Wright, - '...we must believe, live, and communicate all that makes the Christian message staggeringly comprehensive good news.

Shoot 'Em or Save 'Em - The Decisions We Face as Missional Churches in the Deep South

Yep...

From Jared Wilson:

To the cultural Christian, there is nothing attractive about a small church that expects relational community, practices regular neighborhood service, highlights the cost of discipleship in every message, has a minimalist menu of programs to partake from, and gives most of its money away (precluding a "nice" facility and assorted bells and whistles). But I want to reach them. All Christians are family. I love the big-C Church dearly.

There are some who would say the missional communities should just write off their attractional brothers and sisters and focus on reaching the lost. I defy false dichotomies. And while I never poach (I've never invited members of other churches to mine before they themselves have first expressed interest in visiting), I pray and preach AND BLOG and try to live a life of witness so that my churched brothers and sisters will begin to crave the gospel and gospel-centrism in their congregations.

The more churched converts gospel-centrism receives -- we're talking about revival here, by the way -- the greater impact for the kingdom among the lost and "least of these" there will be, in the Bible Belt and beyond.

Read the rest here.

Missional Introversion

Here's what we believe:

• At the heart of God's mission is an act of sacrificial love. 
• God's love for us turns us into people who love like God.
• So our mission is marked by real yet symbolic acts of sacrificial love.

But a lot of us feel like David in Saul's armor - trapped inside someone else's good idea for us.

• Can we love someone without losing ourselves in the process?
• Can we love people if they drain us like an overworked car battery?
• Can we love people even though we're terrible in crowds?
• Can we love people by sharing our ideas through our words and the arts?

We're pretty sure that God made us this way. Did we do something wrong?

• Because we really, really want to love like Jesus.
• But we feel like we're never doing enough.