The First Time I Tried Starting a Missional Community I Failed
Have you ever tried starting a missional community from scratch?
“Missional” is a label we give to the qualitative and descriptive aspect of how a church or group of people actually lives. My buddy Hugh Halter says it simply,
“It’s about how much like Jesus people become… how much they influence, woo, and transform the culture in which they are placed.”
A family, group of friends or church that lives like this… Sounds good!
Well, a few years ago my friends all thought so too. We were excited to be rebels who were starting a missional community.
Excited, that is, until things progressed to where we moved beyond our weekly meal and discussion about being missional. It was time to start heading out and building new relationships, serving those in need in our city… actually making disciples.
That’s when everyone recoiled a bit.
Let’s Try This Missional Community Thing Again
Now I’ve learned how to make discipleship and mission a reality–something simple that everyone can live out in everyday life.
What I didn’t know back in those earlier days of starting a missional community was that while most Christians want to make disciples and live on mission with God, they also feel way to busy!
Often, when moving toward a lifestyle of discipleship and mission, people become overwhelmed with what they perceive as the risk of their family time, “margins” and sanity!
The secret is moving from “additional” to “intentional” in our thinking.
Discipleship is not a set of activities we need to jam into our lives, or a series classes that we need to take. And a missional community is more than just a weekly meeting of our small group with a name change.
It’s a series of simple, rhythms or “moves” we can easily, and intentionally, engage in our everyday life. Step by step.
Imagine…
- Making new friendships that naturally lead to “doing life” together.
(I can show you how.) - Or knowing how to talk with others about spiritual things without feeling awkward or pushy.
Discipleship becomes a way of life that includes your kids, close friends and neighbors.
That’s what my family and friends now experience.
If you want it… I’m here to get you started without all the headaches, stop/starts and frustration.
The best part? It’s 7 simple steps.
This process takes a little effort and intentionality. But it’s not complicated. And it’s one of the fastest ways I’ve discovered to get started with others making disciples and building community.
(You can do Steps 1 and 2 today!)
I want to give you access to this free Start-Up Guide (including ‘How To Start a Missional Community From Scratch’). Just click the button below and I’ll send it over.
Christian Accountability: Pitfalls and Promises
We often hear the word ‘accountability’ thrown around in Christian circles. For some, it can hold deep meaning and value; for others, it can conjure up feelings of failure, shame, or defeat.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we talk about how accountability relationships are not all good or beneficial… but they can be! We’ll give you several steps toward participating in gospel-centered accountability that can transform your life.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- Why most people shy away from accountability relationships (and should).
- How many people hide their true selves while pretending to be accountable.
- 8 Accountability Group killers to avoid.
- What powerful, gospel-centered accountability looks and sounds like.
Why Missional Community Will Never Work in Your Context
In this installment of “Ask Caesar” I answer the question of why a missional community will fail in your context. It’s a question I get asked A LOT, one that is most often put to me, though, as an objection. It usually sounds something like this…
“I think that missional community life probably works great where you live, but you don’t understand my context. People are different here… they’ll never have you into their homes, or come over to your place. Folks are just too busy or not open to relationship like this in our city.” (more…)
Church Discipline That Heals, Not Harms
Church discipline is a term found nowhere in the Bible. But it is taught and practiced, often rather harshly. And many have been hurt by churches not doing this correctly. It can be difficult to do in ways that show the love of God.
This week on the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we discuss how to do church discipline in a way that heals and restores… instead of just “handing people over to Satan” and being done with them. 😕
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- How Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18 may surprise you when read in its full context.
- Who should be involved in doing church discipline and when.
- What it really means to “turn someone over to Satan”.
- Practical steps for addressing someone who has sinned against you.
Want to stop sinning? Here’s how to get started.
Where does sin come from? Why do we still sin even after we have acknowledged something as sin, and perhaps, repented of it over and over?
I cannot believe I did that again!
My friend and author Tim Chester shared this with a group of us and it forever changed my view of sin.
“Sinful acts always have their origin in some form of unbelief–behind every sin is a lie. The root of all our behavior and emotions is the heart, what it trusts and what it treasures. People are given over to sinful desires because ‘they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.”
Leading Missional Communities Without Falling Apart
Missional community life can be challenging to sustain, and leading one often feels even more complex. How do you know if you and a potential co-leader are truly aligned? What steps should you take to get started? Navigating these questions well can make all the difference in building a thriving, mission-focused community.
This week on the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’ll help you determine who you should lead with and how to handle disagreements along the way. Whether you’re working with leaders you’ve developed over time or forming a brand-new team, we’ll explore the key principles that create strong, unified leadership in missional communities
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- What healthy missional community (MC) leadership looks like.
- The best ways to bring up conflict as leaders and how to deal with it.
- Getting leaders on the same page as to “what the mission is”
- How practicing the 23 “one-anothers” from scripture is key to healthy leadership.
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ABOUT ME
I am the author of the top selling book, The Gospel Primer. My latest books, Transformed and Small is Big, Slow is Fast came out recently on Zondervan.
I help those with a high commitment to intentional living in the areas of their discipleship, family and mission acquire the leadership skills and tools necessary to succeed and leave a lasting legacy.