Christ Outside the Gates

I just read this challenging book for my class "Becoming a Missional Church," and I strongly recommend it. Latin American Orlando Costas has a unique vantage point of being a believer who has ministered from the margins to people on the margins, and he gives a compelling call to all believers to reach out to the poor, oppressed, and powerless. My favorite quote in the book is, "Since Jesus died outside the gate, mission has become the crossing of the walls and gates of our secured and comfortable compounds, the continuous movement toward him to bear the abuse he endured for the world... we can know Jesus only as the crucified Son of God suffering and dying for the world amid the outcasts and rejects..." (192).

Dare I Try Again?

Hello friends,

I'm not making any claims that I will have time to keep up with this, but I'll give it another go... Spring is in the air, and I'm feeling ambitious! This week, I celebrated my 35th birthday with so many dear friends and family... I'm excited about this coming year and continuing the journey I'm on... I've been reading many of Len Hjalmarson's articles - they are definitely worth the read if any of you have time: http://www.nextreformation.com/. In one article, "How to Plant a Church Without Trying," he gives this recipe for church planting:
-start with people who have more questions than answers
-resist setting a regular meeting time or making meetings the center
-don’t have a preacher or set curriculum
-focus on life and relationships, not gift and function
-focus on the ordinary, not the “spiritual”
-care for each other in concrete, life giving ways
-be available to one another 24/7
-don’t define leadership or roles
-don't focus your life around Sunday or a building
-do talk about Jesus, His kingdom, and transformation
-do care for one another, pray for one another, and reach out to the lost
-do be authentic, vulnerable, and gentle
-do have fun together, share meals and holidays and life

I am so drawn to this expression of church... I am wondering if anyone else is or how you respond to this?