Discerning Mission

Rethinking "Welcome"

Fri, 03 May 2013 19:25:00 GMT

"A radically welcoming community seeks to welcome the voices, presence and power of all people — especially those who have been defined as The Other, pushed to the margins, cast out, silenced and closeted — so they can help to shape the congregation’s common life and fulfill the reconciling read more...

As We Rethink Evangelism...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:10:00 GMT

"Many church members today recognize that evangelism is vitally necessary for the church to have a future amidst widespread decline. At the same time, few prospects provoke greater dread and discomfort. This conference offers an opportunity to reframe evangelism in a grounded, holistic, accessible read more...

Campbell's Soup - Stupid Like a Fox

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 20:46:00 GMT

Courtney Young is a May 2012 graduate of Luther Seminary - MDiv with an emphasis in Congregational Mission and Leadership. Missional, millenial and now, a new mother, Courtney shares her thoughts with us here:

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the church and social media. Partly because I read more...

Exploring scholarly approaches to mission

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:12:00 GMT

The international journal Missiology , the premier journal in the field, has made its current issue ( January 2013 ) available for free online this month. If you're curious about the scholarly discussion on missional leadership -- and we hope you will be -- check it out. In particular our own Terri Elton read more...

Discerning gratitude

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:14:00 GMT

Discernment for missional leadership must never become a recipe, but living in gratitude has to be one of the ways in which we honor God. Here's a thoughtful reflection on gratitude from a resource somewhat on the margins of religious community -- and therefore all the more pointed. Read the whole read more...

Spiritual direction and missional leadership

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 22:40:00 GMT

Here's a very thoughtful reflection , written in the context of a spiritual direction training program, on spiritual direction as a form of missional ministry. A brief excerpt:

Spurning the attractional methods of much of contemporary American Christianity, the missional church is incarnational -- read more...

How to be an un-welcoming congregation

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:08:00 GMT

[Author’s preface: In my travels I have visited many churches (mainly Lutheran) and have experienced both the best and the worst in terms of how congregations welcome or do not welcome outsiders. Some well-intentioned efforts go awry and can be counter-productive. Sometimes the effort is not read more...

Really, I'm not that different...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 04:32:00 GMT

I read articles all through seminary like " Spiritual Nomads ," an article The Lutheran published to offer their explanation about what makes us Millennials tick (i.e. why don't we come to church). I used to read these articles and wonder myself why my peers didn't go to church. What wasn't read more...

Missional thought of the day...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:31:00 GMT

Ran across this interesting video from Brian McLaren... how does his video relate to your understanding of the missional church today?

Tweeting the Consultation...

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:46:00 GMT

Last weekend's Consultation on the Missional Church - The Road to Emmaus: Missional Church and Global Media Cultures - was a treasure-trove of rich conversation. But not all of it emerged from a lecture hall at Luther Seminary in St. Paul. There was a rich and robust twitterchat going on around during read more...

Christ in the keyboard...

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 05:43:00 GMT

The new issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics arrived in our inbox yesterday. Along with an excellent set of essays about the interface of religion and technology, the email included this photo illustration of an 'enter' key shaped as a cross. The juxtaposition of the cross (the place where God meets read more...

I want my, I want my, I want my MTV....

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:17:00 GMT

In his daily post on his in the meantime blog, Luther Seminary professor David Lose hits the proverbial Refomation nail on its digital media head.

Just a little post-Enlightenment missional nostalgia in honor of Reformation Day, check it out.

Remembering Reformation

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 05:01:00 GMT

There was an interesting facebook conversation on the ELCA Clergy Group this past weekend. The topic was about whether or not it is appropriate to tweet or live-blog a worship service. Clint Schnekloth (the facebook group's moderator and one of the workshop leaders at the upcoming Consultation on the read more...

Being welcoming to young people

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 01:23:00 GMT

Here's a provocative piece that begins by reflecting on the Pew report we mentioned earlier, and then continues with a set of suggestions for changing church practice in welcoming young people. Among the suggestions, author Sam Davidson lists "get social," "marry everyone," "renovate," "new schedules" read more...

The rise of the "nones"

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:23:00 GMT

There's a new Pew Report out, with clear indication that there is an increase in those who say they have "no religion." Rev. Clint Schnekloth has by far the most interesting response I've seen , arguing that:

As a weird hipster Lutheran...I am, to begin with, happy with the increase in the number of read more...

Being missional is being present

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 12:48:00 GMT

Being present is at once the most basic part of being a pastor, and the hardest. Here's a poem of a day from a sole pastor . I'll give you the conclusion to entice you to read the whole piece:

The truth is, honey, we're all wiping out all the time. There's a little bit of everything every day. Sometimes read more...

In light of Mark 9: how do we engage suffering?

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:59:00 GMT

How do we help missional congregations take suffering seriously? How do we help each other to enter into our pain, and the experiences of those who are "the least among us"? We'd love to share examples from your congregations.

Innovate, listen, revitalize

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 01:02:00 GMT

Check out this great new -- FREE -- e-book resource: Renew52 . It's 50+ ideas for revitalizing your congregation, from leaders under the age of 50. The list of contributors is beyond stellar, and these are thoughtful essays you can use to catalyze a committee discussion, inspire your council, or just read more...

Benedictine practices and emerging adulthood

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 16:03:00 GMT

Cheryl Fleckenstein shares insights from her DMIN research project, which explored Benedictine spiritual practices with emerging adults (particularly prayer, lectio divina, and work).

Choosing faith over fear

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:32:00 GMT

Steve Cloer offers a nuanced and appreciative reflection on the missional transformation underway at Southside Church of Christ, in Forth Worth, TX. His article appears in the latest MissioDei Journal, which has many other excellent articles. Check it out!