Missional Resources List October 2015

MISSIONAL RESOURCES LIST OCTOBER 2015

INTRODUCTION Here is a list of ‘missional’ reading/study/discussion material to assist individuals and group further grapple with the ‘once in 500 year’ challenge facing the Christian Church in the west and more particularly here in Australia in the 2000’s. Alan Roxburgh’s book “Joining God, Remaking Church, and Changing the World” is one of the most recent contributions. Alan would argue that this material offers a pattern and process for the missional journey which is not about reading more or ‘studying’ but is a pattern where learning will happen through listening, discerning, experimenting. A community of people grounded in Scripture are encouraged to ‘go with Jesus’, into the neighbourhood and to travel lightly. This is the pattern of the sending of the seventy. It’s [mission dei] God’s mission in the world which we are invited to join. It’s not just social action or community work, but rather engaging in our neighborhood, seeking where God is already active and discerning how as communities of faith, we can join that activity. This is the work of offering not just attractional but incarnational ‘gospel.’ It’s about being the ‘good news’ of the Kingdom of God at a time when the society in which we live has moved the church to the fringes, not the centre of it’s life. From a range of surveys 44% of the Australian population were ‘in church’ at least once a month in the 1950s, dropping to approx. 14% by 2009. We know this, we are in the middle of it all. Nothing short of a total reimagining of the church’s life and shape will be faithful to our call to ‘follow Jesus.’ One of our biggest struggles is that all our conversations, hopes and plans are centred on the church as we’ve known it. We are also still too reliant on Minister centric leadership models where clergy get to ‘do’ it all and to ‘be’ it all.

How can we get more young people in church on Sunday? How will this community service program/extra mid week event result in those people attending on Sunday? How is this activity preaching the ‘good news’ of salvation we find wrapped up in Jesus life, death & resurrection?

Risking analysis paralysis or groups forever reading to ‘get ready’ to follow Jesus, into the neighbourhood, travelling lightly… seeking where God is active in the community, seeking to join in and to ‘name it as such,’ here are some resources to encourage/explain/extend and offer a grounding for action.

GROUP WORK Exploring what we mean by becoming “Missional” And rediscovering God’s call to follow Jesus, into the neighbourhood, travelling lightly…

“Missional Essentials” 12 Session Discussion Guide Brad Brisco + Lance Ford A kind of introduction to ‘missional’ study Check out the 10 copy deal http://www.missionalessentials.com

“The Tangible Kingdom Primer” An 8 week guide to incarnational community, based on Hugh Halter & Matt Smay’s book ‘The Tangible Kingdom’. Might be hard to get. Missio Publishing

“The Forge Guides for MIssional Conversation” Scott Nelson 5 study guides Mission, Community, Culture, Vision, Power with 6 group sessions http://www.missiopublishing.com/the-tangible-kingdom-primer/

“The Forgotten Ways Handbook: A Practical Guide for Developing Missional Churches” Alan Hirsch The apostolic pattern for the church and it’s participation in God’s mission The book to read is listed below…

Patheos Blog Article A blog article encompassing the breadth of this conversation, which could lead to plenty of discussion over a meal http://www.patheos.com/blogs/markdroberts/series/the-mission-of-god-and-the-missional-church/

READING FOR LEADERS/INDIVIDUALS These could also be read in bites and used as a basis for discussion by a core group who gather, share hospitality, share their ‘listening to the community’, try to discern where the church is being called to act, experimenting and so on…

1 “The Shaping of Things to Come” Frost and Hirsch Sourcing lots of the seminal material to outline the challenges and aspects of our missional invitation

“Introducing the Missional Church” Alan Roxburgh http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Missional-Church-Matters-Allelon/dp/0801072123/ref=sr_1_6? s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443520369&sr=1-6&keywords=alan+roxburgh https://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Shaping_of_Things_to_Come.html?id=XO-yWnuF-PIC&hl=en

“Transforming Mission “David J. Bosch (Orbis, 1991) The textbook on this area and a brilliant analaysis of the shifts and changes through to a seventh paradigm of missional church in our emerging context http://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Mission-Paradigm-Theology-Missiology/dp/1570759480

“The Open Secret -- An Introduction to the Theology of Mission” Leslie Newbiggin (Eerdmans, 1995) Returning from missionary work in India Newbiggin gained insights about the cultural/contextual changes http://www.amazon.com/The-Open-Secret-Introduction-Theology/dp/0802808298

“Joining God, Remaking Church, and Changing the World” Alan Roxburgh http://www.amazon.com/Joining-Remaking-Church-Changing-World/dp/0819232114/ref=sr_1_1? s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443520369&sr=1-1&keywords=alan+roxburgh

“Structured for Mission: Renewing the Culture of the Church” Alan Roxburgh http://www.amazon.com/Structured-Mission-Renewing-Culture-Church/dp/0830844244/ref=pd_sim_14_1? ie=UTF8&refRID=017NBY8NKWJV2VPQYH9Z&dpID=41TLLeYCqZL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_

“MIssional Quest” Brisco and Ford Written for leaders wanting to take their churches on the missional journey It includes study questions http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=4105

“The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church” Alan Hirsch The apostolic pattern for the church and it’s participation in God’s mission http://www.amazon.com/The-Forgotten-Ways-Reactivating-Missional/dp/1587431645

“Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture” Michael Frost Exploring a contemporary understanding of being ‘resident aliens’ Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Press, 2006. http://www.amazon.com/Exiles-Living-Missionally-Post-Christian-Culture/dp/0801046270 “The Road to Missional” Michael Frost Leading communities into engagement in God’s mission in the world Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011. http://www.amazon.com/Road-Missional-Journey-Center-Shapevine/dp/0801014077/ref=sr_1_1? s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443522282&sr=1-1&keywords=road+to+missional

“The Out of Bounds Church?: Learning to Create a Community of Faith in a Culture of Change” Steve Taylor http://www.amazon.com.au/The-Out-Bounds-Church-emergentYS-ebook/dp/B004BA51F4 Exploring what’s going on in missional church and outlining some rediscovered and some new practices and focus for the church in our time

With thanks to Alan Roxburgh, Michael Frost, Steve Taylor and others