The problem of community

We as the church of Jesus are supposed to “do life” together in the context of community. But how can we really do that, especially in the western context most of us find ourselves in? I believe our ministry does need to be very countercultural, since our context is...
Journey with others

Journey with others

This blog entry is part of a seven-part  series on some of the central principles of coaching… from the perspective of the one receiving the coaching. How can we get the most out of our coaching relationship? Principle #7: journey with others Even though the journey...

I feel your pain

Steve Sjogren says the first step to getting your church involved in meeting community needs is to begin asking the Lord to show you the pain of your community: “Ask the Lord for the gift of knowing and identifying your community’s pain. Every city is unique in...

What’s your definition of “friend”?

When my friends Matt and Hugh moved to Denver with an eye toward incarnational missional living, they set a goal of each making 50 new friends who weren’t believers. Meeting that goal required them to think through their definition of “friend.” It certainly means more...

The big difference one preposition can make

We are called not to be a church in the community, to the community or even for the community. We are called to be a church with the community. It’s an important distinction and an important reminder. To shed more light on what this reality can look like in the...

Leaving our neighborhoods better than we found them

In Guatemala, 50% of the population self-identifies as evangelical, but the communities have not been transformed. That’s a bunch of people who say they’re following Jesus. Yet there is still rampant corruption and injustice in the country. If 50% of the people were...
Community Journey Guides

Community Journey Guides

Need a resource to help you or those you lead bring people together more effectively to live out the one-another commands of Jesus? Our bundle of three Community-focused Journey Guides may be just what you’re looking for. Love Others  Jesus said that all of the...
The three circles and church planting

The three circles and church planting

I was recently at a Missio Intensive in Ashland, Ohio and had an “ah-ha” moment. “Ah-ha” moments are what I call those times when the pieces come together and click into place and you realize something new. You may be familiar with “the three circles” from the...

Why one person can’t disciple another person

Often why the discipleship process doesn’t multiply is because we leave it all up to one person. If one person disciples one other person, then that person disciples one other person… and so on.  The assumption is that one person can bring another person to maturity...