Know Your Local Calling

Every missional church is keenly attuned to their local situation. I believe that a missional church is engaged both locally and globally as agents of the Kingdom of God. Think about your local setting and ask yourself these questions:

• What are the unique needs around you? In your neighborhood? In your city?
• How do you see these needs revealed socially, economically, environmentally, relationally, politically, and religiously?
• Where do you see the Kingdom of God most relfected? Least reflected?
• What special opportunities or events are found immediately around you?
• What prominent issues stand out in the eyes of the public and/or media?
• What needs and opportunities do the industries specific to your area create?
• What are the most significant changes in your community over the last decade, and what needs does this create?
• What is the creation story of our particular community, and what insights can this give us?
• Does the history of our community reveal any spiritual strongholds?
• How would you describe "lostness" in your community?
• What one positive change in your community would have the most dramatic effect in people's lives and/or the community as a whole?

1 Chronicles 12:32 tells us that the men of Issachar "understood the times and knew what Israel should do." Do you deeply understand your community at this time, and do you know what God is calling you to do?

Your Kingdom Concept

In the book Church Unique my friend Will Mancini teaches us how to discover God's unique vision for our church. He says the first step is to discover your "Kingdom Concept." I love what Will does with this. He says "The Kingdom Concept is the simple, clear, big idea that defines how your church will glorify God and make disciples." He goes on to say that "your Kingdom Concept is what differentiates you from every other church in how you develop followers of Christ."

What is your greatest opportunity to have an impact on the Kingdom? What can your church do better than ten thousand other churches? When you answer these questions you will discover what Will calls "your organizational sweet spot" or your Kingdom Concept. The big question is how do we discover our unique Kingdom Concept?

Will borrows from Jim Collins' model in Good to Great to help us answer that question. In Good to Great Collins introduces the idea of the "Hedgehog Concept." He describes an organization's "Hedgehog Concept" as the intersection of three circles. For Collins, circle one is "What you can be the best in the world at." Circle two is "What drives your economic engine." Circle three is "What you are deeply passionate about." Once a company or organization answers these three questions they are set to discover their "Hedgehog Concept," which is the key to their longterm success. Where these three circles overlap DEFINES their unique "Hedgehog Concept."

Will masterfully applies this concept to the local church using three circles. Circle one is to know your local predicament: "What are the unique needs and opportunities where God has placed us?" Circle two is to identify your collective potential: "What are the unique resources and capabilities that God brings together in us as a church?" Circle three is to declare your apostolic esprit: "What particular focus most energizes and animates our leadership?" Where these three circles intersect is your "Kingdom Concept."

Every church young and old needs to be crystal clear on their Kingdom Concept. Are you clear? Is your church clear?

How Different Generations View and Use the Bible

Have you ever considered how different generations view and use the Bible? I've been watching this, but now Barna offers some interesting research. He says:

As observers of American culture debate whether the nation has entered a post-Christian phase, one overlooked discussion is how attitudes about and usage of the Bible may be changing. A new research report from the Barna Group examines recent nationwide studies on how different generations of American adults view and use the Bible. Read more...

"The Essentials" is Postponed unitl December 11th!

Our popular seminar "The Essentials for Starting a Missional Church" has been postponed from October 30th until December 11th! Please note this change and plan to join us at Crossbridge Church for this new, updated One-Day Intensive seminar for church planting leaders! For more details click here.

Tools and Templates - Free Resources

Are you looking for some tools and resources that will help you as you gather people for your new church? Here are some resources designed for the new church planting leader. We call these our Essential Experiences. Here is an idex of tools that are available to you, absolutely free!

Also, join us for "The Essentials for Starting a Missional Church," on October 30th in Houston, TX. This is a one-day intensive for church planting leaders. Find out more here.

Jesus' Health Care Plan

Wow! This is the best article I've read from a Christian perspective on the health care debate. George Barna writes:

You can’t turn on the TV, listen to radio or read a newspaper without confronting some information about the raging debate on health care. Surveys continue to show that Americans are not well-informed on the issue and are struggling to figure out who is telling the truth about existing needs, the financial implications of the policies under consideration, and how they will personally be affected. Read more...

Things To Ask Before You Redo Your Website

One of my favorite thought leaders and marketing gurus is Seth Godin. He has posted an excellent resource on his blog entitled "Things to ask before you redo your website." Check it out!