The Relational Mission

Over the past couple months, I've been writing posts about the beatitudes. I assumed that I would write about them in a linear fashion, that I would write them quickly, and then I would move on. But reflecting on the beatitudes is like a good science experiment. Once you have an answer to a question, three or four more questions arise. So, I've been pondering this question: Why are mourners blessed? I know that Jesus said that they would be comforted. But I've been wondering if there is something within the essence of mourning that brings blessing. Is there something that we can experience while mourning that produces within us the ability to be comforted? While my thoughts were formulating, I came across this great passage from Parker Palmer's book Healing the Heart of Democracy . While the book itself is focused on how we can change heart issues related to citizenship in America, this passage has a much broader application, one that I think provides insight into how m...

What does it mean to develop a spirituality that is dispersed into the life we lead seven days a week? What does it mean to move beyond the kind of spirituality that most Western Christians have developed, the kind that Helland and Hjalmarson call “temple spirituality”? In Missional Spirituality , they write, “Temple spirituality is dualistic: Sunday is sacred while Monday through Saturday are secular. Temple spirituality views God as a church-based deity whom we worship once per week, but Jesus was a seven-days-a-week mobile Messiah” (27). Missional spirituality is the metaphorical phrase that the authors use to capture this seven-day-a-week life with God, a phrase that many could easily misunderstand because the term “missional” is being used today to mean so many different things. Everyone, it seems, wants to be missional, but so many can miss the meaning. For instance, it might be tempting to think that this book would be synonymous to something like "evangelistic spritual...

When we read, “And let us consider how how we may spur one another on toward love and good works, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing ...” (Hebrews 10:24-25), the meaning seems obvious. When the writer talked about “meeting together” we assume that we know what that means. There are no complicated theological terms. There is little about the Greek that reveals some kind of secret insight into what was meant that we don’t get in English. When the writer talked about “meeting together” we assume that we know what that means. But sometimes we miss the meaning of this passage because we read our current experiences of church into the first century. We imagine that gatherings today look very similar to gatherings held in the early church. When we do that, we actually hinder our ability to understand the world of the New Testament. This is where Joel Comiskey’s new book Biblical Foundations for Cell-Based Church is so helpful. It pulls back the curtain on t...

"Blessed are the meek." The more I meditate on the beatitudes and prayer through them the more I realize that my natural first response to them is "Really! Jesus you've gotta be kidding." They just go against the grain of how I've been encultured to think and act. Think about it with me. Happy are those who do not possess power over others. Happy are those who are not trying to attain possessions so that they can show the world their worth. Happy are those who are not climbing the ladder of position so that they can make things happen. Happy are the meek. Is it possible to be any more counter cultural? When we think about those  in our world who have the ability to get something done, we don't envision "meekness." When Steve Jobs passed, so many were singing his praises about all he had done. But with that they were talking about his character. Meek? Not! Not even close. But Jesus said that the meek are blessed because they will inherit...

How does a small group make a difference in the world? How can a small group become more than just a nice Bible study or a fellowship group? How can your group become a group that has in impact upon people and even change the world around you? Some have adopted a new structure or they start calling their groups by the name "missional community' and the set up a new set of expectations for these groups to be missional. But in most cases, the outcomes don't match up with expectations. Some communities will simply jump into it and just start doing it. They will take a leap into the world of making a difference. Most groups, though, need a step-by-step process that will help them grow in love so that they can "put love where love is not." Here is an introductory video on how a group can grow in it's ability to make a difference. This is the third video in a three part series. Click here for Part One . Click here for Part Two .

It was rainy today in Houston. A typical winter, yucky day. Yes, I can wear shorts but this is just dreary. This makes me think about life and the journey of finding God in the midst of the everyday and ordinary stuff that we do. This day makes me think about the suffering of the world, those who are facing great pain and loss. I think about the Christians who are being martyred as I write this. About wives who try and stay faithful to God when their husbands couldn't care less. About parents whose kids are making poor decisions. About people who have made radical choices to serve God, but things did not turn out like expected. The journey of following God will be marked by rainy days, rainy seasons, and sometimes even rainy years.When you are in those dreary times, all you can see is rain, grey and nothingness. The sun is nowhere. But those days are part of the journey. The dreary seasons teach us that walking with God is not about stepping from one triumphal act to the next...

Missional community is not a structure or a formula that will change your small group and make it a group that has an impact on the world or cause it to grow. It is an free, life-giving space where we are released grow in love so that we can naturally and organically make a difference in our world. So the question is this: How do we grow in love? Three options come to mind: Make it happen Magic Practice Here's a video that introduces this. (This is part 2 in this series of three. For for the first video, click here .)

I've been trying for two weeks to write this post. I knew what I wanted to write, but I did not know (the kind of "knowing" that really matters) what this beatitude means. After all, it is the most paradoxical of all the beatitudes. On the surface it makes no sense whatsoever. If a synonym for blessed is "happy," as some translations put it, and mourning is associated with unhappiness, then in some ways Jesus is saying "happy are the unhappy." At the very least, we must admit that Jesus' way of seeing happiness is absolutely different than the common ways that we view it in our culture. I think part of the insight we need comes from the shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). Over what was he weeping? Lazarus' death? The fact that he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead? That his followers did not have faith? I've heard all of these reasons and while any of them might be true, I think there is something that ...