Sunday, May 9, 2010

Book review: Missional Renaissance (Part 2 of 3)

Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church by Reggie McNeal

Missional shift 2: From program development to people development

• Are people better off for being a part of this church, or are they just tireder and poorer?
• We must change our ideas of what it means to develop a disciple, shifting the emphasis from studying Jesus and all things spiritual in an environment protected from the world to following Jesus into the world to join him in his redemptive mission.
• Shifting church members’ commitments to people and causes beyond the church
• If we aren’t careful, we can even turn the first missional shift, the move from an internal to an external focus of ministry into a new program of community involvement.
• Loving God and loving our neighbors cannot be fulfilled at church. Being salt and light cannot be experienced in a faith huddle. Engaging the kingdom of darkness requires storming it, not habitually retreating into a refuge.
• People are no longer going to let the church or church leaders provide the template for their spiritual journeys. People will accept help in shaping their spiritual path. In fact, they welcome it, especially from people they respect and trust, who seem to have their best interest at heart. (willing to be coached)
• Interviews designed to explore their spiritual quests, questions about what they would like to see God do in their lives.
• People development culture: Are people growing in every aspect of their life? Are they becoming more like Jesus? Are they blessing the world as the people of God?
• People need help debriefing their lives, stimulate those discussions
• Growing through service- Jesus deployed his disciples long before they were “ready.” He knew that the fastest way to develop them was to engage them in real ministry encounters.
• People often grow more in intergenerational environments. That’s why God created families. (do family mission trips)
• One of the goals of spiritual formation is to help people see God at work in their lives.

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