I was about to set off to university. My friends and I headed north for a week of camp sponsored by Young Life — it was at the extraordinary Malibu Club on Princess Louisa Inlet in British Columbia. They called the camp “College Prep” and the message was clear: We’d been Christians in high school, […]
The Secret Ingredient Transforming Communities for Mission
I’m asleep in the early morning hours. There is a knock on my door, and a monk lets me know it is time to be in the chapel. Again. Praying. Again. Throughout the day it is a rhythm like breathing. To the chapel to pray. Back out to work. To the chapel to pray. Back out […]
And Where Does JESUS Want Your Community to Go?
From the response to Monday’s post one thing is clear: I’m not the only one who cares about community and mission. It seems like a bit of a flash point, actually, whether people see community life leading to mission or as something that stands on its own. I want to explain why I’m on this topic: Jesus cares […]
Where’s Your Community Going?
I was guest preacher at a little country church. There are thousands like it. They looked to be teetering on the brink of the abyss, hardly able to muster the leadership and funding to survive. My wife was chatting with one of the members — someone with a lot of complaints about their denomination’s influence […]
Exploring Models Of Christian Community
When Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-c. 550) set out to form a new Christian community — a monastery — he did it all wrong. If he’d been a member of my denomination we would have set him straight. He should, of course, have started with a “mission study.” We want our communities — typically local […]