Category: assimilation
-
The Difficulty of Assimilation and Mission
The Austin Stone is a church committed to the exaltation of Jesus through the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel to our city and the nations through missional communities. This blog series unpacks how we approach the difficult challenge of assimilation into smaller communities from our Sunday gatherings: The Difficulty of Assimilation and Mission The…
-
The Lobby Conference
This week I will be spending time with many of the best and brightest small group thinkers in the country at The Lobby. I’m so thankful for our gracious hosts, North Point Community Church, and my friend Bill Willits. What questions would you love to ask guys like Steve Gladen, Bill Donahue, and many of the…
-
Multisite Church | Christian Standard Interview
If you have been interested in the multisite discussion as a missional church, then I’d recommend reading the article below. Todd Wilson does a great job of highlighting the upside of multisite planting, and a holistic perspective on how it fits with church planting strategy. Christian Standard Interview – Todd Wilson on Multisite I think…
-
Assimilation and Mission | Repost Set 1
Vacation Repost Set 1: Assimilation and Mission I’ve written several posts that refer to assimilation and mission, and the complexity of doing both well. Take a look at them below: Alan Hirsch meets Seth Godin – Spontaneous Emergence Thoughts from Tribes by Seth Godin – Assimilation is Connectivity Effective Connection into Mission – Mission First,…
-
Spontaneous Emergence and Connectivity | Alan Hirsch meets Seth Godin
I came across this quote today from Alan Hirsch, and thought it dove-tailed nicely into my thoughts on assimilation as connectivity. Most change in complex systems is emergent; that is to say it comes about as a result of the free (and often informal) interactions between the various ‘agents’ in the system. In an organization…
-
Tribes Thoughts | Assimilation is Connectivity
In Tribes, Seth Godin talks about Senator Bill Bradley’s elements of movement: A narrative that tells the story of who the tribe is and the alternate future they are building Connection between the movement leader and the tribe Something to do, or actionable items In my context, number two is the hardest to accomplish, and…
-
Wearing Many Hats
Through the last few years, I am becoming infinitely more aware of the necessity of adaptation and flexibility in whatever environment I am working. No matter how much I desire to have things under control, or how much I want to have the requisite skill set completely mastered for a job, I continue to find…
-
Attractional and Missional | TheResurgence
Below is quote from a post a The Resurgence on the Attractional vs. Missional “debate”. People often set up attractional church and missional church as polar opposites. Attractional has a come-to-us mentality. It’s about drawing people to the church. Missional is a go-to-them mentality. We take the gospel to people, meeting them on their terms…
-
Mission First, Community Later?
I found this quote on our Missional Community blog from the Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch: “In a remark ascribed to Gordon Cosby, the pioneering leader of that remarkable community Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C., he noted that in over sixty years of significant ministry, he had observed that no groups that came…
-
Consumerism and the Church
A great quote from David Wells: Churches which preserve their cognitive identity and distinction from the culture will flourish: those who lose them in the interests of seeking success will disappear. In our churches we may have made a deal with postmodern consumers but the hard reality is that Christianity cannot be bought. Purchase, in…
-
Gospel and Method | TheResurgence
As a minister in a megachurch focusing on assimilation where the ministry strategy is small missional community, I consistently wrestle with the tension of model. This article by Jonathan Dodson is a very helpful, short statement on the balance. Gospel and Method | TheResurgence.
-
Mission as organizing principle from The Forgotten Ways
This blog articulates well the idea of mission as central to small group and church sustainability. I consistently wrestle with the concept of assimilation into mission rather than ministry, and the most effective means to accomplish this end. I’m not sure I’m ready to abandon wholesale assimilation to ministry as a pathway to mission as…