The Lausanne movement is a historic expression of evangelical mission. Some of the world’s finest theologians, missiologists, and practioners have contributed to the Lausaunne movement. In a recent article, a task force reported on the role of counseling in mission. Counseling is traditionally viewed as a critical part of pastoral ministry. How might it be missional? Have you experienced missional counseling?
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If you were at our service on Sunday, you heard us talk about Fight Clubs. Here are some resources you can read, then just grab a couple friends and start fighting!
Less than a year ago I preached a sermon on Gospel-centered Fight Clubs vs. Eckhart Tolle’s higher consciousness. As I closed the sermon I dreamed out loud that one day our city would be filled with lots of little fight clubs, gendered groups meeting to help one another beat up the flesh and believe the promises of God. The response was remarkable. People started asking for tools and methods right away. I wrote up a “how to” piece and then published an article on Fight Clubs. They became viral in our community. As a result, people are fighting sin and treasuring Christ more than before.
We vowed that Fight Clubs would remain an organic, viral thing that is relationship based and would not compete with our primary community structure—City Groups. No sign-ups. Now that our church has grown considerably, I preached another message on Gospel-centered Mortification this Sunday from Colossians 3:5-11. Again, the response was remarkable. Even unbelievers are interested.
Our minister of Missional Community will be leading a three week discussion group on Porn Again Christian at a local bar for the next three weeks to help guys fight sexual sin in particular. Our hope is that this will serve as a stepping stone into Fight Clubs. We’ve seen a lot of fruit from this peer-based discipleship. Not only does it fit our generation, it promotes Christ-adorning discipleship, and it can be missional.
A new national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends project finds that nearly half (46%) of the public would rather live in a different type of community from the one they’re living in now — a sentiment that is most prevalent among city dwellers. When asked about specific metropolitan areas where they would like to live, respondents rank Denver, San Diego and Seattle at the top of a list of 30 cities, and Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati at the bottom.
Even though the survey shows that many Americans have a bit of wanderlust, it also finds that most are satisfied with where they live now. More than eight-in-ten rate their current communities as excellent, very good or good. People who have moved at least once (63%) and those who have lived in the same place all their lives (37%) are equally content with their current home.
Are you content with your community? Why or why not? A few more interesting stats:
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