Practices for a Missional Church Planting Order

What practices can sustain missional practice and spiritual vitality among church planters? Taking cues from Ignatius of Loyola, who gains authority by virtue of the missionary order he founded, as well as contemporary missional practitioners, this article proposes a rule of life for a church planting order that addresses the need for a foundational vision of God’s love and invitation to mission, structures life-giving fellowship with others and regards further spiritual practices and particular missional activities as best determined in community and targeted to the growth needs of the individual and the character of the ministry context.

Find this article online at the Journal for Missional Practice, an exciting new peer-reviewed journal for academics and practioners.  

A Tribute to Dallas Willard: "God doesn't mumble"

In the wake of Dallas Willard's passing into the fullness of the Kingdom of God he proclaimed as available now, I offer this tribute, highlighting one of the many lessons I learned from him. 

As twenty-somethings are wont to do, I was contemplating my future.  I had recently discerned that it was time for me to leave my role as a small groups pastor to head back to school and pursue a PhD.  In recent weeks I’d been extended offers from two of my top schools, and the time was fast-approaching when I would have to made a decision.  Thus, when the opportunity arose to be Dallas Willard’s ride back to San Jose Airport, I seized it.  (Sometimes service is pure selfishness.)  Heading down 101, I related to Dallas as best I could the pertinent details of the decision I faced.  To me, the choice seemed rather complex, what with all the moving pieces: different financial packages, career implications, geography and relational opportunities.  Dallas asked a few gentle questions, and then, without showing the least indication of having absorbed any of the anxiety which must have been exuding from me, he said, “Well, simply pray, and say: “Lord, I do not believe that you mumble, so if you’d like to direct me, you need to do so before Friday.  Otherwise, I will presume your blessing to make my own choice.”

I took his advice and am now three years into a PhD program at Boston University that I’m proud to have chosen with God’s blessing.  The beauty and wisdom of Dallas’ simple reminder that God doesn’t mumble goes a long way to taking the pressure off of us in the discernment process.  Trusting God in times of choice isn’t always a matter of obediently following the clear direction God gives; sometimes it looks like having the faith that God is a competent communicator, able to get across a message, even to the resistant.  How much more to those, eager and willing to obey?  And then there are the times when faith looks like accepting that the warm, pregnant silence of God is an expression of trust in us.

As Dallas reminded us in Hearing God, God isn’t primarily interested in recruiting a mindless crowd who needs specific direction at every turn.  God is not looking for people to endlessly command; God desires to form persons and a people who can bring to bear all their own redeemed creativity and will into the realization of the the Reign of God on earth in the particular choices and contexts they face. Prayer, Dallas loved to say, is “training for reigning” (may he RIP -- reign in peace).  In times of discernment, God’s relation to us may be less like that of a Drill Sargent at bootcamp and more like a soccer coach eager to see what good we will do as we improvise on the field with the skills for playing the game he has taught us.

This was originally posted on the Conversations Journal blog.  

Here are some other posts deeply endebted to Dallas Willard

How to Live in the Kingdom of God
A Philosophy of Spiritual Growth
A Theology of Spiritual Formation 
Why (and How) Spiritual Disciplines Work
Dallas Willard: Interview with John Ortberg at Catalyst Conference

Is Missional Good for Us? or Is Missional Life Abundant Life?

I’ve been a Christian as long as I can remember, but one of the important moments in my faith life was when I was in ninth grade… I had always been a good kid, but that year it came to my attention that being a Christian wasn’t like being white or Korean, it wasn’t something that you were just born with, but something more like being a soccer player—something that you actually do. And the first things I realized about what it meant to be a Christian was to have a relationship with God which you were supposed to do through reading the bible and praying. So for the first time I started reading the bible on my own.  And I read it quite a bit.  In fact, being the good kid who does what he should, I read the whole Bible cover-to=cover in 9 months.  But about 1 month in, I realized something.  I realized that if I kept reading the Bible, I’d just keep discovering more things that I should do, more things that I would be accountable for.  And it would become a never-ending list of things I should be doing.  But I was stuck now in a Catch-22.  Now that I knew I should read the Bible, there was no way out.  And I decided to submit to this.  This put me on a journey. 

It’s funny because this was a really important moment on my journey with Jesus—it was the beginning of my discipleship, really, and yet from where I stand now, I can see that resigning yourself to a bunch of obligations isn’t what following Jesus is all about.

And yet persistent guilt about what we should be doing is one of the things that plagues a lot of Christians.  Ever had thoughts like these?  I should be praying more.  Or maybe: I should be reading the bible more.  I should be giving more.  I should be spending more time with my family.  I should be taking Sabbath.  I should stop that dirty little habit. Oh yeah, and I should be missional. 

Video: The Future of Theological Education

JR Rozko, a friend, blogger and co-creator of this video penned these provocative words about the future of theological education:

"to the extent that our current systems of theological education have been shaped by Christendom presuppositions, they have lost their missiological bearings and are wholly inadequate to prepare Kingdom leaders. Incremental changes and clever adaptations to these current systems only serve to distract from the opportunity we have before us to develop a Kingdom, and therefore missional, vision of theological education. At the heart of this vision is the conviction that the proper telos of theological education is an “accreditation” of students based not merely on the degrees they earn, but on the development and fit of their character and competency for life and leadership in the Kingdom of God.""

For a visually compelling expansion along these lines, check out the video he collaborated on, as well.


Re-Imagining Theological Education | 3DM from 3DM on Vimeo.

Formation of the Moral Self by J. van der Ven: Summary

Johannes A. van der Ven’s Formation of the Moral Self arises as a response to the widespread concerns about deterioration of the moral fabric of Western society.  The questions which reveal this instability include: What is good? What is right? What is wise? What is purposive?  Van der Ven’s intention is not to offer definitive resolution to these questions, or to quell the tumult of concern, but to direct this energy into a discussion of the various modes of moral education, their merits and shortcomings, and lift up his preferred approach.

Drawing from Habermas, van der Ven establishes the categories of morality he uses throughout.  Purposive morality is strictly a matter of whether the means employed effect the ends intended.  If so the end justifies the means.  The good is something determined by the individual who makes a judgment about what values and virtues are believed to be appropriate for themselves.  Determining what is right requires consideration of the “life, interests, welfare, or good life of others” (5).  In order to resolve the inevitable conflicts between what is good (for the individual) and what is right (for others) van der Ven looks to

St. Benedict's Rule for Today?

It was 480 C. E. and the old structures of the Roman empire were already crumbling.  This was to be one of the great pivot points of history.[1]  Into this world in transition, where those seeking to be most fully devoted to God escaped empire by fleeing to the desert as hermits or gathered around a guru, was born Benedict of Nursia.  Benedict’s Rule, a model of Christian discipleship that was community-centered, has endured as a living text for more than 1500 years, making it, according to some, the most influential text on Western society after the Bible.[2]  Even more impressively, Benedictines are widely credited with having saved Western civilization from the ravages of the barbarian invasions.[3]

While Benedictine history is unquestionably impressive, what is surprising is the contemporary revival of interest in the insights this storied tradition has to offer those seeking to craft lives of discipleship in today’s world.  The decades since Vatican II have seen a marked increase in the number of Oblates and associates—those with formal ties to monastic communities who apply the Rule of Benedict to married or single life outside the monastery. 

25 Books Every Christian Should Read

Do you think of yourself as well-read and well-rounded Christian?  

An impressive group of Christian leaders in spiritual formation have compiled and published a list of 25 books every Christian should read. The board included Gayle Beebe, Richard J. Foster, Emilie Griffin, Richard Rohr, Phyllis Tickle, Dallas Willard, Chris Webb and Frederica Mathewes-Green.  The book they've published includes a thorough overview of each book, insight into why it is an essential classic, guidance for reading it profitabily, an extended excerpt and a study guide for each book.  And the top picks are:

1. On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius (~AD 318)

2. Confessions by St. Augustine (~AD 398)

3. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

4. The Rule of St. Benedict by St. Benedict (~AD 400)

5. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri (~AD 1320)

Streams of Living Water and Me

Reading Richard Foster's Streams of Living Water was a watershed moment in my ecclesiology.  Whereas I had formerly lamented the shattered nature of Christ’s church, I now relish the pluriform expressions it takes, still with sobriety about the brokenness of this diversity.  There is little question that I am most at home in the Evangelical Stream, having grown up and been educated in thoroughly evangelical schools.  Yet, I have had significant experience and exposure within several other streams as well.  My mother (and much of her family) are best characterized as Charismatic and I myself spent the better part of two years worshipping at a Charismatic Anglican church in Wheaton, IL called Church of the Great Shepherd, pastored by Dr. Lyle Dorsett.  Most of my pre-college years were spent in Foursquare and Christian Missionary Alliance churches, with a strong Holiness tradition.  My last 8+ years in Presbyterian churches have convinced me of the importance of Social Justice to the Gospel of the Kingdom, which is now central to my faith.   Despite a strong introverted tendencies and appreciation for the contemplative stream, I have never found great resonance with it’s practices, though I deeply long for moments of contemplative union.

John Ortberg on The Future of Spiritual Formation

"We've got to find a way to measure spiritual growth that doesn't have the Pharisees coming out on top."

Lines like this are worth remembering in this talk he gave at the Story Conference lunch sponsored by monvee. Ortberg begins at 4:00.


Story Conference - Monvee Lunch from Heartland Community Church on Vimeo.

Renovation of the Heart: Transforming the Will Video

Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart is one of the most profound books I am aware of touching the human longing for personal transformation, growth, change.  The clips below are a sample of the curriculum Willard, John Ortberg and others have provided, focusing on session and chapter eight of the book: transforming the will.

Catechumenate: Conversion in the Early Church

The challenge of “making” Christians is as old as Christianity itself. Contemporary theologians and practitioners might draw upon models from over 2000 years of practice in any one of thousands of communities across the globe. Therefore, the choice that this study will look to the ancient catechumenate for normative guidance must be reasonably supported.

Robert Webber wrote Journey to Jesus as an attempt to draw upon the catechumenate as a model for postmodern worship, evangelism, and nurture. He justifies this ressourcement upon the linkages made in his earlier work between the situation of the ancient church and that of the postmodern church.[1] Most notably, the catechumenal process was developed and used in “a setting hostile to the church and its values” (41) that included persecution by the state and a religious scene that was both pluralistic and pagan. With Constantine’s conversion, Christianity moved from this position and has until recently enjoyed the privileges of state-sponsorship. “Now, for the first time in centuries, the church has been freed from the Constantinian model. The end of Christendom brings us full circle to a society similar to premodern times” (52).

While much more could be said to connect the contemporary Western situation to that of the environment that birthed the catechumenate, perhaps it will suffice to add that major denominations have asserted its present usefulness. In 1972, through Vatican II, the Roman Catholic Church called for the reinstatement of the catechumenate as the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA). Balthasar Fischer, the chairman of the concilium that drafted RCIA explains: “It was not our intention to keep ancient texts merely because they were old or for nostalgic reasons, but because the texts, while they linked us with the past, still answered contemporary needs” (Ciesiak 7).

A Call to Spiritual Formation

What follows is a Call to the Christian community to recognize the centrality of spiritual formation within the mission of the church.  It was the collaborative effort of more than 200 leaders in spiritual formation (including Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, John Ortberg, Jan Johnson, Mindy Caliguire, Todd Hunter, Gayle Beebe, Ruth Haley Barton and Chris Webb) and is an excellent summary of this crucial topic, with helpful scripture references.  For more information, or to sign the document voicing your support, visit www.acalltospiritualformation.info.  Christian spiritual formation is the process of being shaped by the Spirit into the likeness of Christ, filled with love for God and the world.

God calls us all to become like Jesus. Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”* We experience this abundance of life – here and now – as our passions, character, understanding, and relationships are increasingly aligned with those of Christ. This lifelong transformation within and among us is the continual gift of God’s Spirit. We are called to be renewed into the likeness of Jesus – but we do not always fully embrace this calling. Sometimes we seem content to be known as “Christians” without intentionally

How (and Why) Spiritual Disciplines Work

The kingdom life which Jesus offered is accessible to all, but it is not entered fully without a serious and active intention.   It takes the kind of intention that would lead one to sell all they own to buy a field with a pearl in it.  The disciplines are means by which an individual opens themselves to the transforming grace of God, and they cultivate holy habits of mind and body.[i] 

As disciplines, they are indirect means toward a goal that cannot be directly apprehended.  The goal is a whole self subject to God.  Spiritual disciplines are simply those “special activities through which we present our bodies as a living sacrifice”[ii] so that we can live in “more effective cooperation with Christ and his Kingdom.”[iii]

A life full of spiritual disciplines is not necessarily a spiritual life, since disciplines

John Ortberg Interviews Dallas Willard @ Catalyst

Dallas Willard changed my understanding of the Christian life and gospel, for the better (and the more biblical).  Watch John Ortberg interview him at the Catalyst West conference where I witnessed the audience gasp and burst into applause at a few of his pearls of wisdom.  He speaks to young leaders about the need to clarify the central message of Jesus.  Is it the announcement of the minimal entrance requirements for entering heaven...or something else?  He also speaks about the role of grace and spiritual disciplines in the process of becoming like Jesus through spiritual formation.  





Some of Dallas Willard's most life changing books are:
The Spirit of the Disciplines
The Renovation of the Heart
Hearing God

John Ortberg on Monvee and the Future of Spiritual Formation

"God is a handcrafter, not a mass producer," says John Ortberg a video promoting monvee.   Monvee is a innovative use of technology providing customized spiritual growth plans that take into account your learning style, your personality, your spiritual pathway, your stage of life and your signature sin.  Monvee allows church leaders to actually come along side their congregations and say "we want to help you become like Jesus in the way that will work best for you" rather than measuring success on how many people have been cajoled into participation in their discipleship class or small groups.  Prominent churches across the country will be launching monvee this Fall.  The video below includes some of the themes in Ortberg's newest book, The Me I Want to Be, quite possibly his best yet.


Find out more about monvee at www.monvee.com and watch this preview video.

How to Live in the Kingdom of God

The Kingdom (or Reign) of God is the realm in which God’s will is actualized. Thus heaven is a part of the Kingdom of God, angels are citizens in the Kingdom, animal life and all creation (generally speaking) are within the Kingdom of God. It is only people and evil spirits who, through their resistance to God’s will, find themselves outside of the Kingdom of God.

People come to inhabit the Kingdom of God when their wills become aligned with God’s. Thus, the Kingdom of God is available to any who are willing to surrender their will to God’s. When a person makes their will, their mind and their body available to God as tools in the hands of his will, then they are living in the Kingdom of God.

A Theology of Spiritual Formation: Fruits of the Renovare Institute

The theological grounding for spiritual formation in Christ is found in answering two fundamental questions with the same answer: What was God’s hope for the creation of humans and why did Jesus live, die and resurrect?

God’s loving desire from the beginning has been that he might extend the fellowship enjoys in the Trinitarian community and enter an interactive love relationship with humans.  It seems that divine love is constantly finding and creating new objects of love.  God intended that in this relationship these created beings would come willingly to God in full surrender and obedience such that God would be able to entrust to them free use of his power for good.  And this is still God’s good intention for humankind and in order for it to be realized, people—broken and spoiled by the fall—will need to be formed into the character of Christ...one who, by virtue of his humble submission to God’s will was given “all authority in heaven and on earth.”  

John Ortberg's The Me I Want to Be and Monvee

John Ortberg at his best, describing God's way of developing people. "God is a hand-crafter not a mass producer." The video below is Session One from the DVD curriculum for his new book titled The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God's Best Version of You. While the title smacks a bit of self-help (ala Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now) I'll tell you that I've read it and it is solid gospel.
The book is being released in conjunction with the most exciting use of new technology for the Kingdom I'm aware of: monvee. You can read my earlier post on monvee, or suffice it to say that monvee generates customized spiritual growth plans for users based on unique characteristics such as spiritual maturity, learning style, personality type and spiritual pathway. Recommendations come in the form of suggested devotional practices, books to read, and ways to plug into community or serving through your church. If you're a pastor who wants to help your congregation "go deeper" and find cookie-cutter programs lacking, I suggest you explore monvee.

You can watch the Monvee preview video here.
Below is a sample session from the DVD curriculum with The Me I Want to Be.

Corporate Culture as Spiritual Formation

Last weekend at my church, we heard Paul Ely, a 78-year-old former Vice-President at Hewlett-Packard share the events that led to his decision to follow Jesus in January of this year. You can hear him here. What struck me was this line: "HP's unique culture improved my character and made me a better person, like it did for many." Now, I know Paul, and I know this wasn't a veiled advertisement. Paul really believes that the corporate culture he lived within for decades had a positive shaping effect on his moral person - and I suspect that he is exactly right. Of course, this raises the question I want to pose to you:  

What shaping effect does your work environment have on your character?

 How does it encourage you to treat people? What does it teach you to value above all else? What means does it endorse as preferable and allowable in order to seek this value? Is this cartoon funny because it's too similar to your workplace?

These are important questions for those of us subject to a corporate culture, whether we work at a technology firm, a mega-church, a grocery store or an elementary school. We need to be aware of how our workplace is shaping us - for good and for ill. And for those of us that have the sacred responsibility of developing and reforming our workplace cultures, these questions are even more important, because we must consider what kind of people we are shaping our employees into being. The fact is, all bosses are accountable to God for this, and there is little God cares about more than how people's inner cores are being formed. Bosses hold in their charge, the moral formation of their employees, even as Pastors do their congregations. Corporate culture is spiritual formation, or deformation, as the case may be. How's does your workplace shape the inner lives, values and moral character of those who share with you in this work ?