Depending on your faith community or brand of spirituality, Halloween and trick-or-treating may be controversial for some of you. But no one can argue that when a national tradition literally lines kids and parents up at your doorstep, that has to be a good time to roll out the red carpet for mission.
Regardless if you really love this tradition and go all out, or if you’re less into the whole dress-up and party thing, and whether you call it Halloween, Trick-or-Treat, Harvest Party or whatever, here are 7 things you can do to leave a lasting impression on people and really prime the pump for future missional opportunities: Click to download the Ultimate Guide to Halloween on Mission for Free.
Discipleship and mission gets derailed because we forget to begin at the beginning or “begin to begin again”. I can’t believe how many times I’ve made this huge mistake in my disciple-making and development of leaders. [You can avoid this!]
A disciple-making analogy: You take your kids out to your garage, let’s say they are ages 8, 10 and 12 years old. And out there you show them a catalog with a picture of a beautiful armoire or large wooden cabinet.
Super detailed and inlayed and gorgeous! Next to the armoire is a stack of very nice wood and veneers and there are lathes and table saws. Every kind of woodworking tool imaginable. Then you tell your kids to get after it and start making armoires. Maybe a dresser or two while they’re at it.
But here’s the problem: they have never been taught how to make furniture or build cabinets. They were never apprenticed into these types of skills. (more…)
The Church has been run in much the same way for decades; we’ve run programs, services, built buildings, and held conferences. I wonder if we’ve really achieved the thing that is most on the heart of God?
This week on the Lifeschool Podcast, we talk with author and movement leader, Nic Harding, and try and explain why our leaders need to reimagine the church as it functions today.
Other than a weekly meal and hangout, what does a missional community need to do together? Are there set patterns for being together, or are we just trying to fit everything into a neat little once-a-week box?
This week on the Lifeschool Podcast, we discuss what a missional community is supposed to do from week-to-week. This is surprisingly simple, yet powerful!
“Missional community life probably works great where you live, but you don’t understand my context. People are different here…” I’ve heard this a zillion times.
This week on the Lifeschool Podcast, we discuss whether or not it’s actually possible to start and sustain a missional community in any context: urban, suburban, rural… the moon!
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!
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.
