Writing
Essays and working ideas from more than fifteen years of writing about faith, leadership, discipleship, the church, family, and life in Austin.
Start here
New here? These four pieces offer a way into the writing: what shapes the church, how we lead, and how faith takes form in community. Begin with the recent essays, then explore the earlier work that helped shape those questions.
The church and the Spirit · 2026
The Organizing Principle of the Church
Start with a recent reflection on how spiritual gifts shape the church, and why I’m revisiting an old conviction about mission.
Leadership in practice · 2026
Leadership and Administration
Why leading people and bringing order to the work are gifts to recognize and steward, and what gets lost when we treat them only as skills.
Community and mission · 2013
What is a Missional Community? – Definition
A short introduction to the definition we used at The Austin Stone, and why a community of Christians is essential to a faithful witness.
Leading through change · 2013
Transitioning Your Church to Missional Communities
The opening of a practical series on our transition at The Austin Stone, with lessons about patience, learning, and the time real change takes.
For sustained explorations of a topic, browse the Selected Series.
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Missional community · Leadership · Christianity · Church · Personal · Austin Stone · Discipleship · Theology
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All writing
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Reasons for Missional Community
Although there are a number of reasons why we have chosen to implement missional communities at The Austin Stone, there are a few critical reasons I want to highlight in an upcoming series of posts: A…
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2012 Verge Talk – Who is the Missionary?
At Verge this year, I referred to the video above from Verge 2012 as the reason why we are pursuing missional communities. It’s a simple argument for the need for new forms to engage our cities…
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An Overview of Missional Communities
A missional community is a community of Christians, on mission with God in obedience to the Holy Spirit, who demonstrate tangibly and declare creatively the gospel of Jesus Christ to a pocket of people. Last fall,…
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Verge Conference 2013
This coming weekend I have the tremendous privilege of participating in Verge 2013. The conference is focused on Disciple Making this year, and will be an excellent shot in the arm for anyone who desires to…
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Engstrom Family Christmas Picture History
Here’s a brief history of our Christmas cards and Santa pics. So fun to see how our kids have grown!
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Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas from the Engstrom family! We pray you experience the thrill of hope and rejoice in our Savior Jesus! And here’s a bonus pic with Santa!
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9 Months
Blogging isn’t really my strong suit, as it would appear. The last time I wrote anything in this space was simply to wish the digital world “Merry Christmas”, and then I shut ‘er down. Here’s a…
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Merry Christmas from the Engstrom Family!
Merry Christmas from the Engstrom Family!
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Updates on Camden
For anyone who actually still reads this blog, you can find updates on my nephew Camden here: http://camdenmoore.wordpress.com Thanks for praying for him!
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Reflecting on Camden
As I’ve been with my family through the ordeal with Camden, there have been a few thoughts that have really struck me. In no particular order, here they are: -I learned what it is like to…
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Pray for my nephew Camden
My new nephew Camden was born on April 14th, but has had some serious complications. Initially, he had under developed lungs, and needed a respirator to breath for him. After about 24 hours and noticing some…
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Emmaline Elizabeth Engstrom!
Glory to God! We are so excited to announce the birth of our daughter Emmaline at 5:13 pm on January 25th…she’s beautiful!