The Relational Mission

(This is the first of a series of posts on Leading Missional Small Groups) There are so many plans and programs for leading groups today in the church, that the opinions of what works and what doesn't is confusing to sort out. One of the central group questions is about the ministry of the group beyond the confines of the weekly meeting. The range of opinion about this ranges from have closed groups that only focus on building community to open groups that try to personal evangelism and multiply groups through growth to groups that are 20-50 in size so that they can work together to target a specific need, neighborhood or people group and ministry with the specific group of people. Opinions, opinions, opinions. And writers seem to proclaim them with such authority as if there way comes directly from the pages of Scripture, as if the 11th commandment is Thou shalt do mission through groups this way. But there is something more fundamental than finding the right group strategy ...

I am teaching a 13-week class on Spiritual Practices. I think I am doing it for myself as much as anyone else. But I'm also doing it for the normal people in our church who are not mystics or don't care to learn about spiritual disciplines by reading a book that uses Latin and is over 200 pages long. I don't understand why something so simple as developing consistent rhythms of connecting to God has to be so difficult. Tonight's session is about how our personality type affects the disciplines that we practice. I grew up thinking that there was a one-size-fits all approach to how I practiced my relationship with God. It was called a Quiet Time and it was supposed to happen when you first get up in the morning. After all, this is what the spiritual giants of history have done. In college I heard about the radical prayer life of Luther and then I later learned about how Pastor Cho in Korea prays three hours per day. In the late 1990s a popular book came out encouraging pe...

Over the last few weeks I've been downsizing my library. It's shocking just how little the used bookstore gives for a good book. But I needed to downsize in a big way. With downsizing has come reorganizing. It's remarkable how many small group books I have on my shelves. I think I have enough for seven shelves. And even more shocking thing is that I've read almost all of them. As I sorted them I was reminded of Solomon's words, "There's nothing new under the sun." I wondered if there was anything new that we can really say about groups. It's not like we are going to suddenly discover a magical key that will unlock their power, even though there are quite a few on my shelves that make such claims. As Jim Egli once told me, "If you love God, love others and teach others to love God and others, your group will go places." I'm not sure that those were his exact words but that was his point. Good groups are based in very basic things abou...

I'm not sure an accidental book is possible, but if it is then MissioRelate is just that. I sent it to the publisher this week and as I reflect on it I see just how much it is a serendipity. Some books are intentional. I can envision the end product and I can develop it according to that plan. But this book is just about the polar opposite. Let me list the reasons: 1. I never intended to write this book. I had plans to start working on a couple other projects. However three chapters were deleted from the Missional Small Groups book I did with Baker when we realized that they were targeting a church leadership audience, while MSG targets groups leaders. 2. I shared these three chapters with some pastors and they found them helpful. So I thought it would be good to get them in print. My original idea was to simply give the material away for free but then I pitched the idea of revising The Relational Way and including the chapters in it. Randall Neighbour liked the idea. So I made the...

About 30 miles north of Dallas lies hundreds of acres once owned by my grandparents where they ran a dairy farm. My grandfather sold the property in the 1960s but when I was a kid my father rented it for raising beef cattle. But cattle was only one part of my farm heritage. We also raised sheep, chickens and even rabbits at one point of my childhood. We cultivated wheat, oats and hay. In my blood runs the dirt, sweat and tears of generations of farmers. I learned a lot on the farm. For one, I learned that it is hard work and while I'm not medically allergic to farm labor I think psychologically I am. But there is another lesson that that shaped my imagination, one that applies to my work now as a pastor. I learned from my father that caring for animals begins by working with what you have not what you wish you have. What exactly does this mean, to work with what you have not what you wish you have? If you grew up on a farm, you know exactly what this means. Farmers have no time...

Today I trained leaders at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI. It was great fun to help people realize the stories that are being told in and through their groups and to begin to ask different questions about how to move the stories along. It was refreshing to help people refrain from judging their groups if their stories failed to measure up to some kind of ideal or radical vision. They began to see how to think in terms of meeting people where they are and then invite them on a journey into a new story. Most groups tell a story that looks much the same as the story lived out by those outside the church, they just put a small group on top of their normal American lives. The missional story stands in contrast to the normal story. But the key to it all is to understand your own story of community. What is happening there? What live does the group do? What does it value? What are the basic patterns of rhythms of life therein? Instead of small group principles and leadership how t...

I had a disturbing conversation with another pastor this week. This person expressed admiration for a book that has become quite popular right now. His words to me were, "This book really kicks people in the pants so that they will get up and do something." I walked away disturbed for two reasons. First, for the life of me I cannot understand why people think this particular book is so great. It's more of the same message that I've heard all my life in the church: God loves you, you should love God, now show God how you love him. Of course it is a little more nuanced than that, but that was the basic message I got out of it. The second reason for my disturbing feelings is much greater. I began asking myself if the people in my church really need another kick in the pants. Then I reflected on my church in Houston where I led as an elder for eight years, the people in the church in Vancouver where I served on staff, or the various people in many other congregations with...