“Does someone really need to be in a local church to be Missional? Something like Barna’s “Revolutionaries”

I really want to be able to say that authentically. I can’t yet. I like to count. I’ve been doing this for years. I count heads. I estimate numbers.

Recently I had coffee with my friend Jim Ryan. He pastors Heart of the Canyons Church in Canyon Country, CA.

I love the church! But let’s not confuse the means with the ends.

Making Disciple-Makers! | missionalchallenge.com

Jesus was a disciple maker. That’s what he did! As he traveled around the villages of Galilee, he healed the sick, he performed miracles, he taught the crowds – but his primary ministry was with a small group of men that became his disciples. Jesus was a disciple maker. He poured Himself into the lives of his disciple

I’ve been reading Simply Christian by N.T. Wright. His aim in this book is to “describe what Christianity is all about, both to commend it to those outside the faith and to explain it to those inside.” (p. ix)

The Missional Leaders Summit on March 28, 2006 was designed to be a forum to open discussion among practitioners and pastors regarding what it means to be missional and how we can more effectively initiate missional activity in our churches and ministries.

Unfortunately, some people view evangelism as what the pastor does on Sundays. This idea has been called fishing in an aquarium.

The typical church has forgotten what evangelism is. That the average church is reaching such a small portion of the unchurched in their community is evidence enough. But when you look at the typical evangelism ministry in most churches, you realize just how big a problem this is

“During the past half a century or so there has been a subtle but nevertheless decisive shift toward understanding mission as God’s mission. During preceding centuries mission was understood in a variety of ways.