Jonathan Dodson returns in an interview with Stew, on the topic of Risk & Adventure in the Christian life. Jonathan sheds some light on the dangers of the gospel and some practical next steps for believers to begin engaging the world around them.
"I wonder if the reason why Jesus keeps this risk element in play is that it forces us to be reliant upon Him to intervene."
Alex weighs in on the topic of Risk & Adventure in the life of the Christian. See what it has looked like for Alex to trust God in varying, risky situations.
Stew from Verge Network interviews Jo Saxton about how the gospel calls us to risk and adventure, as opposed to comfort and ease. She answers why the gospel is dangerous and what an adventurous faith has looked like in her life.
Jeff Vanderstelt, pastor and leader of SOMA Communities in Tacoma, WA, begins his talk with this phrase, "If you don't know the context in which you are doing ministry, then you are going to be pretty ineffective for ministry." He goes on to unpack the essence of leadership as knowledge, belief, and skill, and explains the biblical principle of making our leadership transferrable.
There's nothing like a healthy missional community where the gospel and discipleship are working hand-in-hand to bring about transformation. But here are 10 reasons I've observed that lead to missional communities failing.
The big point is this: Jesus loves children. In fact, He REALLY REALLY LOVES children! Love for children is very close to the Father's heart, and thus to the heart of Jesus. This means that for all of us, whether we're married or single, young or old, children should be a priority.
Pastor Brian Jones tells of the response he got from one "nationally recognized" pastor when Brian told him that he hadn't figured out the whole small group thing yet. Brian said the pastor's response was something like this...
Lawson and Paul talk about how God is using their Missional Community from The Austin Stone to make disciples in their current context with international students at The University of Texas at Austin.
-7 Questions Series-
Question 7: What are some stories of hope and struggle you've encountered with Missional Communities?
Stew interviews Jo Saxton about stories of hope and struggles that are common to Missional Communities.
-7 Questions Series-
Question 6: What do Missional Communities do?
Missional communities will vary across contexts, but they must be rooted in gospel; identity first, then methods and theory. What we've found is that if Christians love the gospel, they'll be willing to do incredible things for the sake of making Jesus known to those around them. At The Austin Stone...
We asked some of the leading thinkers and practitioners to answer 7 of the most frequently asked questions about missional communities. Here is a compilation of articles from our first question: What is a missional community?
Over the coming weeks, we will be asking some of the leading thinkers and practitioners to answer 7 of the most frequently asked questions about missional communities. In this installment, Hugh Halter tackles the question, “What is a missional community?â€
What do you think about Hugh's definition? Does it leave you with any additional questions? Join the conversation...
