The end of this series of essays is really just a beginning. From here, I hope we can move together from theory to concrete application. Friedrich Engels once wrote that, “an ounce of action is better than a ton of theory,” and one transformed relationship certainly beats any series of essays I could write. While…
The word “mission” comes from the Latin missio, which means “sending.” As a missional movement, we are sent by the Holy Spirit out into the world to glorify God and invite everyone into the life of challenge and transformation that Jesus has shown us. Just like the first Christians in the Roman Empire, we are…
We read in the Book of Acts that, in the days and weeks following the coming of the Holy Spirit among the disciples, a tiny, rag-tag, mostly clueless band of disciples grew into a movement that was felt all across Jerusalem. People were being healed, lives were being changed, and a new community was taking…
We have talked a great deal about our mission as Christian fellowships, but how do these communities form in the first place, and what sustains them? Most fundamentally, of course, the Spirit of Christ gathers us and holds us together in unity by his grace and power. As Paul writes to the Corinthians, “I planted,…
Our encounter with Jesus changes everything. When Jesus approached Simon, Andrew, James and John while they were working as fishermen by the sea, his call to them was so compelling that they immediately left behind everything that they had known – family, profession, security – and followed Jesus.(1) When we experience Jesus’ presence and hear…
Taking up the cross and following Jesus is not a once-and-for-all decision. It is a choice that we must continue to make, day after day, year after year. And the deep inward changes that come from surrendering ourselves to Christ’s guidance are generally not sudden. Though many of us experience pronounced “conversion experiences,” these intense…
“This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” – Mark 9:7When Jesus is at the center of our life as a community, he enters into our midst and serves as our Leader. He sends the Holy Spirit to console and guide us, and through his Light he purifies us and prepares us for…