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    Presentations & Dialogue About the Future of Theological Education – Join Us!

    October 6, 2011 // 3 Comments »

    Back in August I posted about a partnership brewing b/t Northern Seminary and 3DM as we share a vision for discipleship-oriented theological education.  I also intimated that I would be sharing about more work along these lines in the future.  I’m here to make good on that promise.

    We all know that 3DM is coming to Chicago to conduct a workshop on discipleship and mission at the end of the month, right?  This is happening on Friday, October 28 in the morning and afternoon.  Following this will be the annual Missional Learning Commons, which starts that evening and wraps up around 3PM on Saturday.

    Well, before all of this goodness, Northern will be hosting an event on Thursday evening during which 3DM will present a video and paper as a way to spark some conversation about the future of theological education.

    From Mike Breen’s blog,

    One of the things that has become abundantly clear in our work with pastors and leaders is that there is a devastating disconnect between the ways that our seminaries and theological schools train and equip leaders for ministry and the realities that these leaders are facing day in and day out.  Noticing this has caused us to begin asking (along with many others), “What is the future of theological education?”  While we don’t think we have all answers to that question, we do have some thoughts and would like to invite you to an evening of dialogue about this important topic in Chicago.

    So here’s your shot, if you have thoughts, questions, concerns, or ideas about the future of theological education, we’d love for you to join us and contribute to the discussion.  The video and paper will be made publicly available in November, but those who join us for this event will have some advance access to them.

    Note: We don’t anticipate this being a large event, but we really do want to advance the word to those who share a genuine interest in this topic, so please feel free to use the social sharing options below or your own avenues of social networking to let others know about this Thursday evening event as well as the workshop and Commons.  Here’s some additional details on the Thursday night event…

    Posted in 3DM, chicago, conference, kingdom, leadership, missiology, missional learning commons, missional theology, Northern Seminary, post-christendom, theological education, theology

    Northern Seminary & 3DM: Discipleship Oriented Theological Education

    August 4, 2011 // 5 Comments »

    It’s interesting how things come together. I’ve been cultivating a growing interest in the future of theological education, especially under the direction of missional approaches to theology and ecclesiology since about the time I started into my own seminary experience, almost seven years ago now. Shortly thereafter, through a handful of professors and some involvement in Pasadena Mennonite Church, I was introduced to the Anabaptist tradition and its unique approach to theology and ecclesiology. I was especially taken with the way in which, for them, discipleship wasn’t something extraneous to “being saved,” but was the way in which we fully receive and participate in the good news of God’s salvation. Personally then, I’ve got these two passions, missional approaches to theological education and the centrality of discipleship for how we understand and practice being the Church.

    Working at Northern Seminary, a school that is radically committed to exploring the best ways to come alongside the Church and Christian ministries to equip men and women for service and leadership in an increasingly Post-Christian context, sometimes affords me the opportunity to bring these two areas of passion together. This is especially true as I am in Pawley’s Island, SC working with my pal Doug Paul and other members of the 3DM team as we develop a partnership that will 1) Make it possible for participants in 3DM Learning Communities to earn seminary credit for the work they do over the two years of that journey and 2) Bring discipleship front and center as the focus of earning an Certificate, MA, MDiv, or DMin from a seminary.

    Northern, in my opinion, has gotten quite good at creating partnership-driven programs that afford students the opportunity to craft degree programs that are both rooted in concrete ministry contexts and directly related to the area of Christian ministry and leadership that God has called them to. This partnership with 3DM is no exception. Over the course of two years, 3DM guides pastors and leaders through not just the ideas of creating a discipling culture, multiplying missional leaders, launching missional communities, and establishing centers of mission, but the nuts and bolts of those endeavors as well. This is what makes them so unique. They are not just content providers, they serve as mentors and coaches through two years of implementing these ideas. The nature and fruit of this process is more than enough to make someone scratch their head when comparing it to traditional models of theological education, which are almost always class based rather than ministry based. This partnership is a deliberate attempt to begin to rectify this shortcoming by creating a definitive bond between theological reflection and ministry experience with a view toward spiritual formation.

    Crafting syllabi and shaping the contours of these various degree programs is just a part of what I’ll be spending my time on while I’m down here with the good people of 3DM We’re also working on a couple side projects that I think will add some value to the conversations and initiatives related to the reshaping of theological education and the place and practice of discipleship in the Church.

    Posted in 3DM, anabaptist, christendom, church, discipleship, Fuller Seminary, leadership, missional, missional theology, Northern Seminary, post-christendom, salvation, spiritual formation, theological education, theology

    Missiological Research: Missio Dei, Salvation & Discipleship in Post-Christendom

    February 17, 2011 // 10 Comments »

    A few weeks ago now, I pointed to a couple posts that Tony Jones has offered about the missional church.  I mentioned that I was particularly interested because of some intersections those posts had with the research I will be doing over the next few years as part of the DMiss cohort I am a part of.

    I am still very much at the early stages of articulating my research project, not to mention working through all the details of what it will entail in terms of field work.  But, I thought I’d go ahead and throw what I am working with so far out there and see what sort of feedback others might have.

    The DMiss degree is structured around equally important labors of academic and field research.  In the joining of these two different kinds of research, the aim is to be both descriptive – what is actually happening in concrete contexts, as well as constructive – how do insights gained from field and academic research combine to help these local contexts change, adapt, or improve.

    My ultimate concern has to do with the relationship between soteriology (how we understand salvation) and the structures and practices used for disciple-making in missional churches for a Post-Christendom context.

    Given this central interest, I plan to do research in local churches that will help me understand just how this is playing out.  In terms of academic research, I plan to focus on the intersection of the missio Dei (as it pertains to soteriology), Anabaptist theology (as a non-Christendom theological framework), and missional ecclesiology (as it pertains to discipleship).

    So, descriptively, I hope to be able to give an accurate and insightful portrayal of the soteriological vision of multiple church contexts and how that vision relates to their structures & practices for making disciples in Post-Christendom.

    Constructively, I hope to be able to articulate what might be called a missional soteriology (vision of salvation rooted in the missio Dei) and then reflect on the implications of this for disciple-making in Post-Christendom.

    At the end of the day, I am hoping that the results of this research will benefit, first and foremost, my own various “missional church” tribes.  In my view, if the research that I am to do doesn’t serve these contexts, it is of no real use.  Additionally, I have a great concern for how this research might benefit the field of theological education as it continues to grapple with the challenges of equipping leaders for ministry in a context in which the church is increasingly pushed to the margins of society.  Bottom line, we do not know how to do this well and if centers of theological education are going to figure out what it means to equip missionaries as opposed to managers, some major shifts are needed.

    Would love to hear any thoughts you might have on what I am setting out here.

    Oh, by the way, several others have encouraged my to try and find some funding for this research so that I might be able to conduct it on a broader scope.  If you have any thoughts along those lines, I’m all ears.

    Posted in culture, discipleship, DMiss, leadership, missional, missional theology, post-christendom, salvation, theological education, western culture

    Launching Missional Communities (Book Review)

    December 6, 2010 // 13 Comments »

    Like many others, I received a free copy of Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide by Mike Breen & Alex Absalom to read and review here on my blog.

    I should probably say upfront that I have a ton of 3DM (the training network behind this book) friends.  I love them, their hearts, and their ministries, so as I come to this book, I’m already biased in favor of it.

    The easiest thing to say about this book is that it’s practical.  While it’s easy, even fun, to read, it almost can be treated more like a resource manual than a book.  It doesn’t need to be read straight through and it’s easy to reference bits and pieces depending on your interests.

    Before diving into all the good stuff I want to say, let me go ahead and get my one major criticism out of the way.  There is a small chapter entitled, “Attractional vs. Missional” in which the authors attempt to argue that we need both.  My opinion, however, is that the argument fails on both theological and analogical fronts.  They use the pre-Reformation phenomenon of Roman model churches (if you build it they will come) and Celtic model churches (more outward focused) to suggest that we need attractional and missional kinds of churches playing off of one another.  The analogical problem here is that what is generally meant today by attractional and missional does not at all correspond to the realities and circumstances in which these models of churches existed.  As for the theological problem, I can probably best articulate that by sharing the last sentences of the chapter and my notes in the margin.

    The quote…

    We just need to understand what Attractional does well and do it.

    We need to understand what Missional does well and do it.

    My notes…

    Impossible – attractional and missional churches are such because they have divergent understandings of basic Christian doctrines.  What we need is a theologically robust understanding the relationship between the the Missio Dei, the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and the Church.  This will lead us not to the ‘best’ of these two models, but to a cohesive vision of a missional ecclesiology.  This is the great error of ‘AND’ thinking; you never get to core issues because you spend all your time trying to artificially hold incompatible things together.

    The saddest part of this is that the underlying genius of the book actually does this work.  It undercuts the errant theology and philosophy driving attractional churches.  I just wish they had been more direct in stating it.

    UPDATE: Be sure to check this post Mike Breen offered in response.

    OK, on to the far more substantive praise.

    The authors fully communicate their heart for the life and ministry of local churches in their various forms.  They offer not just a proposal, but a methodical plan for churches of any size (though it seems pretty obvious that they have in mind mainly new, smaller communities and then more established larger communities in mind) and kind to begin to incorporate missional communities into the life of their larger church community.

    Discipleship, leadership and mission are the driving themes of both the book and the entire philosophy of missional communities.  To get the point of the book, you have to understand that from the author’s perspective, the task of the church is discipleship – period – the end.  And they are right.  You also have to embrace the idea that the replication of leaders is imperative to the larger task of discipleship.  If you don’t equip and empower leaders, you can kiss your changes of exponential discipleship bye-bye.  Again, I’m totally with them here.  Finally, mission is the context in which leaders are equipped and disciples are formed.  Amen!  If you can embrace and own these three things, then you’ll love this book and what it offers.

    A few final things.  I deeply appreciate that they didn’t skip over the tough (practical) issues like kids, schedules, and finances.  they address these things as only those who’ve lived through the ins and outs of the details could.  They also interspersed quotes and stories from those who have gone through their 3DM training and others who have implemented missional communities (or some derivation thereof) into their larger church context.

    Seriously, it was a great book – something that we are finding valuable at Life on the Vine even.  The guys behind 3DM are doing a good work and the people who contributed stories to the book are the ultimate testimony of that.  I highly recommend you pick up a copy or two to read through with a group that’s interested in the whole idea of missional communities – you won’t find a better practical guide for sure.

    Posted in books, church, discipleship, God, kingdom, leadership, LOV, missional, review, stewardship, theology

    Missional Learning Commons – Conversations on Missional Leadership

    October 20, 2010 // 1 Comment »

    We tend to think of leadership as an activity and not a relationship.  But in terms of creating a culture of discipleship, equipping each other for ministry, and mobilizing people and groups for mission, the relational aspect of leadership is of enormous significance.

    Having already engaged in conversations around the themes of missional discipleship and missional family, the Missional Learning Commons will round off with a discussions about missional leadership.  Speakers, topics, and bios are below.  More information and registration here.



    David Fitch: The Hazards of Being Paid to Pastor: Overcoming the Bad Dynamics of Money

    Summary:

    When a pastor gets paid a set of negative dynamics are set into motion. Power relationships develop within a community. There are expectations from people who “give.” Ministry can turn inward and into politics. All of this works against moving a community into mission. I offer a couple observations and simple moves to subvert these dynamics.

    Bio:

    David Fitch is a co-pastor at Life on the Vine in northwest Chicagoland and a church planter/coach. He is also Lindner professor of evangelical theology at Northern Seminary’s programs in missional church studies teaching on matters having to do with gospel and culture. He is an author with his next book – The End of Evangelicalism? Discerning a New Faithfulness for Mission coming out in January 2011. Dave is married to Rae Ann and dad to their son Max.

    Fitch, Take 2: Leadership is Submission: The Counter-Cultural Way of the Cross in Leadership

    Summary:

    Leadership that leads into the new territories of mission will always produce conflict. This is the inevitable prospect of a community pushing into Mission. The Missional leader is not one who manages this conflict from top down. Instead, through the posture of humility, service and trust in the Spirit, out of Scripture and mutual discernment in prayer, he or she leads the community through inviting it to seek what God is doing, hear and respond. In this way of non-coercion and submission, the “revolutionary” community is birthed, brought together in Christ “on the way” of Mission.

    Amy Rozko: Global Perspectives on Missional Leadership:  Reflections and Observations from Cape Town 2010 (The 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization)

    Summary:

    Local churches bear the responsibility not only of equipping leaders for ministry in an increasingly globalized world at home, but also of mobilizing them for participation in God’s Kingdom work across the globe.  Doing so necessitates that we have a meaningful sense of what God is saying and how God is working in other parts of the world.  In this session, Amy will offer reflections on the state of the church around the world from a recent gathering of 4000 global church leaders and invite us to discuss the implications for churches in terms of leadership development.

    Bio:

    Amy is excited to have just participated as a delegate to the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa.  She and her husband of just over a year, JR, live in Elgin, IL where she also works for International Teams US as the Director of Mobilization.  They are an active part of Life on the Vine in the Chicagoland suburbs.

    Posted in chicago, conference, leadership, missional, missional learning commons

    Lausanne Congress Update

    October 19, 2010 // 1 Comment »

    Internet here in Cape town has been spotty and expensive, but here’s a few tid bits from our first few days here.

    I have spent most of my time at pastors conferences.  This is an entirely different feel.  To be honest, it feels weightier, more significant.  This probably has something to do with the fact that the bulk of the people here have made unspeakably greater sacrifices to follow God than the average pastor in the US.  It should also be noted that you would never get this sense in talking to the people here – which probably stems from another difference – no one is grumbling or complaining about how no one will follow them or get on board with their vision. They are too busy doing some of the most significant Kingdom work around the world to worry about stuff like that.

    As this conference is being touted as one of, if not the most, diverse gatherings of Christian leaders in the history of the world, the vibe of it just defies explanation.  Rubbing shoulders and having conversations with people in contexts that I can scarcely imagine will certainly be one of my highlight coming home.

    As someone put it yesterday, there is something “interesting” about being part of a gathering where there are “a lot of chiefs and not all that many Indians.”  (There were actually a handful of Native Americans sitting right behind us when that got said – thankfully they had a sense of humor.)  Basically every other person I meet is President of something, author of a book, or Archbishop of some diocese somewhere.  Oh, Rene Padilla just passed me and there goes the wife of Bill Bright – no kidding.  It’s encouraging to see so many people who are used to being treated as a VIP engage as part of the “common folk.”  Easy, I suppose, when you just don’t think in those terms.

    OK, hopefully more later.  Be sure to check out blog posts from Andrew Jones and Skye Jethani.

    Posted in evangelism, lausanne, leadership

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