Missional Renaissance

It is great to be back from my renewal leave and family vacation time.  As I turn my attention to the fall, I am tremendously excited about having Dr. Reggie McNeal with us on September 10^th at First UMC, Mansfield for the Fall Summit.  Dr. McNeal serves as the Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network.  His books are must reads for me.  I expect the pastors and lay leadership of the Central Texas Conference to be present. (You can register through the Conference web site www.ctcumc.org or at www.firstmethodistmansfield.org.) In his book Missional Renissance, Dr. McNeal writes: “Going missional will require that you make three shifts, both in your thinking and in your behavior:

• From internal to external in terms of ministry focus
• From program development to people development in terms of core activity
• From church-based to kingdom-based in terms of leadership agenda

These shifts are the signature characteristics of what missional means. They are not destinations; they are compass settings. They point you into the new world. They will move you from doing church as primarily a refuge, conservator, and institutional activity in a post-Christendom culture to being a risky, missionary, organic force in the increasingly pre-Christian world in North America” (Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard from the Church, by Reggie McNeal, pg. xvi). I’ll see you at the summit!