Verge Highlights 2 - Missional Communities

Here are some more Verge highlights.

Dave Ferguson discussed how to get the church excited and motivated toward the mission of God? This is how he establishes apostolic cultures or entrepreneurial environment.
1. Ordain every Christ follower. Who are you called to impact or reach?
2. Lead with a yes. Ask how later on. Be comfortable with mistakes and failures.
3. Teach people to “go” and not just “bring.”
4. Plant the gospel before planting a church.
5. Incarnational and apostolic/reproducible – deepening and sending. Reproduction must be a part of it.

Saturday Morning – Missional impulses

Hugh Halter defined "incarnational" as being an "advocate for non-Christians.” He used the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. This is a great picture of how we do more than pastor our churches, but pastor our communities and truly be an advocate.

Jeff Vanderseldt encouraged us to “equip the church to be worship leaders," which is to do anything where Jesus is exalted. He also suggested that missional people are highly connected to the rhythms of culture. He defined them as: 1. Story. We must know the redemptive story and how each person’s story fits into that redemptive story. 2. Celebration. We engage in cultural celebrations and bring the “best wine” like Jesus did. We bring the best wine because we bring freedom, redemption, etc. 3. Eat. Hunger pains show our created desperate need for God at all times which reminds us of the gospel. 4. Recreate. This includes both rest and taking risks to restore beauty.

Dave Gibbons kept it real simple and said that the mission is to Love God and Love Neighbor. Who is our neighbor? From Luke 10, our neighbor is someone not like us, someone that it isn’t easy to love. He asked 3 questions that every church leader should ask: 1. What is in your hand? Your strengths, your passions, etc. Most important is the realization that the Holy Spirit is in your hand. 2. What is your pain? Pain is the platform to humanity. Transform it and let it be used. 3. What is outside your hand? Who are the fringe, marginalized, the rahabs of the city?

Communitas – Saturday Afternoon

Alan Hirsch said, aim at mission and you also get community. Middle class living can be a hindrance to missional community because it is so often obsessed with comfort, security and safety. We let the gospel affirm our lifestyle.

Hugh Halter – Mission in the burbs.
Hugh Halter talked about how to engage culture. Become friends of non-Christians and learn the stories of your neighborhood rather than just the demographics. He knows that he is a friend when they invite him to hang out with their friends. Mission in the burbs also involves “leaving” just like a traditional missionary. Leaving comfort, leaving what you like to do by yourself. Assess how much time you spend with lost people.