New Observations on Intensely Local Ministry Intensely local ministry is an investment, and investments take time to compound and grow. —financial investments take time to grow, and so do relational and ministry investments. At first, the payoff for investing seems slow and puny. But like the twenty-year-old who invests $100 a month for 45 years … More Missional Musings on Intensely Local Ministry
Not Much Basketball going on outside in Illinois right now, but this will all melt and it won’t be long before driveways are free for play again. Here’s an idea that costs you no more than some time and maybe some sore muscles. Here’s a story from my neighborhood three years ago in Bolingbrook. So … More Living Missionally in a Multi-ethnic ‘Hood
Indisputable 21st Century Facts: Relationships in our neighborhoods with our neighbors are characterized by three things, They are not natural They are not normal They are not necessary The first two items are a product of the third. Because our relationships with our neighbors are not necessary to our lives or our neighbors, almost all … More Necessary, Normal and Natural–NOT!
Monday is for Discussion On Friday I wrote about meeting Barbara. The incident raised a whole new set of issues for what it means to be INTENSELY LOCAL in ministry. Two Categories: Personal issues, and Neighbor issues. In the first category are those things related to heart, motivation, and creativity. (Here’s a starter list) How … More Cracking the Nut of the Neighborhood
The following is a response I gave a number of years ago to a non-christian blogger who was trying to understand Christians. His name was Zack and I think he was genuinely seeking truth. He was also very committed to being secular, and “progressive.” In this post, I simply wanted to raise some doubt in … More Engaging the Non-Christian Mind
For 18 years I had lived 8 houses away from Barbara. In Spring of 2010 I met her for the first time. Crushed over the new and horrifying news just reported by Ed Stetzer (researcher on the modern church), that last year only 3% of American Protestant churches participated as the primary financial support for … More 18 Years of Ineffective Living
Today’s Tweets on living Missionally in our Community Intensely local ministry means getting our hands dirty in the intensity of our neighbor’s lives, the sin, the crises, the joys and the sorrows. Intensely local ministry means we are not content to do ministry at arm’s length. We take the high-risk path of regular contact with … More What Does INTENSELY LOCAL Ministry look like?
What does an “intensely local” ministry look like? Revised from an earlier post: Our vision at Trinity Church for the future. This is what we would like to see happen in the thirty towns from which our congregations are composed. For our movement in central Illinois, it means being immersed in our neighborhood, connected to … More Fleshing Out an Intensely Local Ministry
Monday is for Discussion (updated August 2017) “Intensely Local” — a vision of the future (Dateline October 2025) (a potential future newspaper article) Communitas is a cluster of house churches being planted in suburban Charlotte, NC that has a unique approach to the “missional question.” The church has a big vision. They want to be a … More Lord Willing: A Snapshot of What the Future Might Be
A Two Paragraph Parable Karl was troubled. The medical researcher looked out the window and down into the valley of the mid-sized town he called home. He had only lived there three years, but it had become in every real sense “home.” He loved its climate, its rhythms, and most of all, it’s people. The … More Penetrating Post-Christian Communities with the Gospel
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