The awareness that the churches shaped out of the European Reformations are in an advanced process of unraveling is becoming increasingly sensed by many. This book proposes a way of addressing this unraveling based on the experiences and knowledge of people who have always had to struggle with the unraveling of their own communities and worlds. It takes us outside the circular conversations of the Euro-tribal churches into dialogue with people who have been marginalized to see how they hav...

The church is living in a time of massive, unprecedented change. Traditional institutions and structures are unraveling in response to rapid social, demographic and economic developments. The existing ways of being the church are no longer meaningful to many. How should the church respond?Many seek to address this situation by tweaking the established institutions, finding new structures, reorganizing congregations or renewing long-established practices. Some even argue that we need to aba...

Leaders in congregations and Christian organizations wrestle with an unraveling of the world in which they have little experience and training. While they are offered unending resources by experts on leadership, some with claims to biblical blueprints, the challenges seem mismatched to those methods. Branson and Roxburgh frame the situation as one in which "modernity's wager"--the conviction that God is not necessary for life and wisdom and meaning--has defined the Western imagination. Bec...

Missional church simply means a way of doing church that is less focused on programs for members and more on outreach to people who are not already in church. This is a fundamental shift in what a congregation is and does and thinks (from an internal to external focus) and thus in how leaders lead. In the Leadership Network Series, the cluster of missional books have been among our most successful: McNeal, The Present Future (over 85,000 LTD); Cole, Organic Church (30,000 LTD); Minatrea, S...

The burgeoning missional church movement is a sign that believers are increasingly feeling the call to impact their communities, which is a good thing. But, says Alan J. Roxburgh, these conversations still prioritize church success over mission--how can being missional grow my church? But to focus on such questions misses the point.In Missional, Roxburgh calls Christians to reenter their neighborhoods and communities to discover what the Spirit is doing there--to start wit...

As our culture shifts from modern to postmodern, pastors and church leaders are finding that old, rigid church leadership systems and structures no longer seem to work. Church leaders are searching for and discovering new, creative ways of leading--emphasizing intuition, creativity, narrative, and an embrace of the chaos and tension of our time.Tim Keel, pastor of a thriving emergent church and a rising leader in the emergent church movement, offers a thought-provoking yet practical...

Guidance for church leaders to develop their own maps and chart new paths toward stronger, more vibrant, and more missional congregationsIn the burgeoning missional church movement, churches are seeking to become less focused on programs for members and more oriented toward outreach to people who are not already in church. This fundamental shift in what a congregation is and does and thinks is challenging for leaders and congregants. Using the metaphor of map-making, the book expla...

In the midst of a massive unraveling where the churches find themselves disoriented and paralyzed, this book invites leaders to embrace three practices formed out of God's engagements with God's people in Scripture and our traditions that direct us toward forming communities of hope.

In The Missional Leader, consultants Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk give church and denominational leaders, pastors, and clergy a clear model for leading the change necessary to create and foster a missional church focused outward to spread the message of the Gospel into the surrounding community. The Missional Leader emphasizes principles rather than institutional forms, shows readers how to move away from church as usual, and demonstrates what capacities, environments, and mindsets are r...

Speaks to the bewilderment and helplessness many churches feel in the face of current eventsPractical new interpretation of changes in the WestThroughout its history, the church has faced crises of meaning and identity in all kinds of changing contexts. The crises facing the churches of the western hemisphere today are no different. At their best, churches have recognized that their challenge is not their own fixing or even “reformation” but a deep engagement...

Many pastors and church leaders have heard the term "missional" but have only a vague idea of what it means, let alone why it might be important to them. But what does it actually mean? What does a missional church look like and how does it function? Two leading voices in the missional movement here provide an accessible introduction, showing readers how the movement developed, why it's important, and how churches can become more missional.Introducing the Missional Church ...

In a time when churches are focusing on finding strategies and techniques to guarantee success, a movement toward the missional church is emerging. Missional churches are communities created by the Spirit with a unique nature and identity. Purpose and strategies of the church are derivative dimensions, the activities that flow naturally from the church that is focused on Spirit-led ministry.The Ministry of the Missional Church leads pastors, ministry leaders, and layperson...