Bell by Lokesh Babu on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
That is the title of a free ebook from the estimable Michael Frost. He expounds the five disciplines that his church called ‘BELLS’:
Bless others
Eat missionally
Listen to the Spirit
Learn Christ
be Sent into your neighbourhood
Go here to download it.
Change by Wiertz Sébastien on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Carey Nieuwhof has written a piercing article called ‘What To Do When People Want A Church To Grow … But Not Change‘.
He asks this pertinent question:
Isn’t wanting to grow but not really change actually like saying “I want to lose weight, but I really want a bacon cheeseburger”?
Then he offers six strategies to church leaders in just such a situation.
I can think of ‘bacon cheeseburger’ churches. Can you? Are we willing to face the cost and pain of change, or are we – in Nieuwhof’s word – ‘delusional’?
Decline Push Up by Living Fitness UK on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Ron Edmondson suggests seven things a declining church should do, and seven things a declining church should not do.
A Very Poor Evangelism Effort by Wesley Fryer on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Miguel Labrador writes about two different approaches to evangelism in Ecuador. Have you been involved in either or both types? Did you think one type was a better witness than the other? What lessons would you draw from this for your church?
Solitary by Angelina Koh on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Many church members are the only Christians in their families (or in other networks, such as college or workplace). How do we sustain our faith and witness to Christ? Student and entrepreneur Corinne Carver makes some suggestions.
Social Justice by Elle Ko on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Relevant Magazine recommends five films with social justice themes.
If you have a Netflix subscription, you can watch them on that service.
Have you seen any of this? Will you? Are they capable of changing your mind and your actions?
Congregation by Kevin McGee on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
What is the emphasis in your church? Is it just about recruiting people to do church jobs, or is it on resourcing the congregation to live faithful lives in the world?
Here is an account of the latter. Yes, it may envisage a larger church than many typical British churches if it can gather together a whole coterie of teachers, but possibilities would still be present in smaller congregations.
Is this at the very least a challenge to the question of how world-facing some of our churches are?
Kodak by Insomnia Cured Here on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Could the church be having a ‘Kodak moment’ in all the wrong ways? Thom Schultz thinks so. Is he right? What should we do in order to change?
Discipleship by Timothy King on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
You cannot separate evangelism from discipleship, says veteran professor of evangelism, Robert Coleman. Read why here.
Who do people outside the church think Jesus is or was? It’s important to know what people think so that we may respond appropriately. Sometimes we answer questions that our society is not asking.
Thinking About Mission 