Here is an article that is worth reading if you are a Beyond Borders thinker like myself.  Eric Swanson, of Leadership Network (and outstanding para-church thinking, equipping and catalyst organization) had this article in their recent Network Advance. It is a great help for seeing the mission effects of when churches become missional.  When churches go on mission with God, the way we look at the world, the mission of God, and our mission in life is effected.  Read and be blessed.

1) Mutuality- The future of missions will be shaped by mutuality between East and West, North and South, sending and receiving nations. Because there are now vibrant believers and thriving churches in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eurasia, and even the Middle East, we in the West shouldn’t think of ourselves as the saving force in world missions. Churches worldwide are learning to come together.

3) Investing in leaders -Leadership is everything. Wherever good things are happening, a capable and passionate man or woman will be leading the way. Churches that are effective overseas have learned to leverage the passion of local leaders. How do you recognize good leaders who will make great partners? The most obvious sign is they are already engaged in effective ministry without any outside help.

says that even in the toughest of countries they don’t leave Jesus at the immigration booth. Jonathan told me, “When we are asked if we intend to proselytize people through our service we tell them, ‘We’re here to make Jesus known and Jesus gets known through his followers doing good’–as opposed to, ‘We are not here to get followers of Jesus.’ So far, that has worked for us.”

5) Greater financial accountability-Churches that effectively engage in global ministry are thinking differently about who, what and how they support missional engagement. The days of cutting a check and hoping for the best are rapidly disappearing. With all the needs and opportunities in the world, global missions leaders of the future are working to maximize every dollar expended on global outreach. Effective missional churches of the future support mission-critical projects that their global partners deem important. This type of giving can only come from a trusted relationship. Churches are learning never to start initiatives that will require western dollars to continue.

6) Business as mission-An emerging funding model ties business and mission together. This is more than missionaries posing as businesspeople but rather missional entrepreneurs who are starting businesses and creating jobs in the countries in which they serve.

7) Focus-There is a power in focus. On the flipside, the most frustrated pastors I interviewed were those whose churches supported scores of scattered legacy missionaries who were serving all over the map. Much of the time, these missionaries were not home-grown but rather nephews of former staff, or friends of friends, or a missionary tied to a designated gift. The often unstated missions goal was to place representatives from the church on every continent of the globe. Churches today are learning to do better by focusing on fewer places of engagement.

Technology -With every breakthrough in communication technology, there have been innovators who have exploited that technology to advance the gospel. The printing press, radio, TV, and the Internet have allowed the church to increasingly enter a world without boundaries. All around us are glimpses of churches that are discovering the power of today’s newest technology–to impact a country without ever physically visiting that country. Tech-savvy mission leaders are shrinking the world with technology.

i. William Gibson, quoted in The Economist, December 4, 2003 Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gibson. Accessed June 20, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes we just need a creative gentle reminder that we are called to “love our neighbors to the same degree that we love ourselves” (McDaniel Paraphrase).  Find someone in the world to stand by today!  Venture out, love someone beyond your normal, everyday circle.  Expand your community!

Playing For Change: Song Around the World “Stand By Me” from Playing For Change on Vimeo.

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Fallen- is what we are; falling is what we are do.  Preventing the fall is what we need to do and learning from our falls is what we can do.

I embrace, with humility, my own fallen human nature and my proclivity to fall again and again into sin and stupidity. I would love it if I could live in relationship with people who truly, genuinely want to see and bring the best out in me.  I hope that I too can speak into and invest my life in people in such a way that I too draw out the best in others.  It was Paul’s metaphor of childbirth when he speaks of “Christ being formed in you” (Gal 4:19) that gave me a clearer picture of the maturation process we must go through.  “Forming” is a process, it is becoming.  Is Christ becoming more and more my form?

Having people in my life who love me past my fallen state and loves me through the forming process is my picture of accountability.  Let this poem I shared in my February 21, 2010 message give you a visual of for the power and beauty of an accountability relationship.

I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.

I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me.

I love you for the part of me you bring out.

I love you for putting your hand in my heaped up heart

and passing over all the foolish weak things that you can’t help dimly see in there

And drawing out into the light all the beautiful things no one else looks quite far enough to find.

I love you because you are helping to make out of the lumber of my life  not a tavern but a temple;

out of the works of my everyday not a reproach but a song                           -Lori Croft