Food for Thought: New Logo Edition
Every week here at Pursuing Glory I try to bring together the best posts I’ve found that will equip the end-times church to operate in her God-ordained destiny. These are the best blogs, articles, books and other resources related to our purpose here at this site. Feel free to visit, comment, and make use of the resources found at each site.
So call me crazy, but I’m really excited this week to include a new piece of artwork here on the blog that I think better compliments the “Food for Thought” feel. The previous graphic with some guy advertising grilled brain was fun, but maybe it wasn’t quite the “brain food” graphic that I was looking for. Let me know what you think of the new picture. Now, with no further ado, your links for the week:
Greek and Hebrew Evangelism Probably the biggest thing that holds back many in the church from missional lifestyles is the fear and confusion surrounding sharing their faith. This article by Ross contrasts a confrontational, idea-based form of evangelism (Greek) with a conversational, listening-from-the-heart style of evangelism (Hebrew). Ross’ message is that evangelism can be as easy as pointing out to those we know and love the places in their life where God is already working. I think this style has a lot of merit and it would be interesting to know how this has worked out practically in the lives of others. You can catch other great articles from Ross over at thejesusvirus.
Felix: Before and After This post by Keith Giles looks at the writings of a first century pagan and his view of the church before and after his conversion. While his words before his conversion sound harsh and his thoughts after his conversion sound more complimentary, the interesting thing about both accounts is that they each describe how the people of God should live and operate together. Get this at-once-unbeliever, now believer’s take on the the first century Jesus movement. Keith is a profound and challenging blogger that you can read more from at Subversive1.
Missional House Churches in America Part 1 Probably the biggest news of the week on the house church front is that the house church movement is big news! Several articles came out in major newspapers talking about the move of many Americans into house churches. J.D. Payne, a researcher and mission-minded theologian who has written and researched the house church movement, looks at the missional impact of this flourishing house church movement. J.D.’s research is deep and thorough. His case studies highlight the true potential of God’s people living out Christianity together. He blogs regularly at Missiologically Thinking.
TV Series on “The Kingdom” This is more of an announcement than an article you can read, but it’s exciting none-the-less. Those of you who have read Houses That Change The World or the Starfish Manifesto know that Wolf has a serious heart for the Kingdom. An understanding of the Kingdom of God has to be central to anything that God is birthing in this hour. Wolf has put together a series of television broadcasts that will be aired in Finland and then repackaged for distribution. Check out the broadcasts and stay up to date with Wolf and his wife Mercy at While We Slept.
Photo Credit: Design Probes – Food for Thought by centralasian.
Hoping For A Response…
I just finished reading a really good article by Alan Hirsch that describes seven practices (or disciplines, as they are traditionally known) that cause a church to thrive in the midst of chaos. Alan loves “living systems theory” and believes the church will thrive best when she is constantly operating in a crisis mode. This crisis mode causes her to trust Jesus and not be encumbered by distractions that easily shift our gaze from Him. But obviously, to survive in the midst of crisis continually is difficult and so he suggests the following practices for a church trying to live near the edge of chaos:
1. Infuse an intricate understanding of what drives organizational success.
2. Insist on uncompromising straight talk.
3. Manage from the future.
4. Reward inventive accountability.
5. Harness adversity by learning from prior mistakes.
6. Foster relentless discomfort.
7. Cultivate reciprocity between the individual and the organization.
Alan is also very clear that these disciplines must integrated. To have one without the other six or even six without the other one leads to problems. But here’s my question: What does this look like practically in the life of the church? How have you seen these sort of practices fleshed out between human beings in the church to which you belong? I think the answer would be helpful for us all.
I was going to ask Alan on his blog, but you can’t leave comments there. So now, I’m asking you, my faithful readers, what you’ve experienced. And if Alan should happen to stop by, he could leave a comment as well. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
On Being Missional…
Sometimes I find we complicate the idea of being missional. The most missional thing I did this week: I mowed my lawn.