I have been blown away by the book Missional Renissance by Reggie McNeal and there is so much in it. So much that is so applicable to our situation as we plant Veritas in September of ’09. Here are some quotes that hit me right in the face (in a good way)

“The program-driven church has produced a brand of Christianity that is despised, not just ignored, by people outside the church. Their antipathy for what we call Christianity exists for all the wrong reasons. Basically, it comes down to our failure to demonstrate the love of Jesus, passing by people not like us on the other side of the road on our way to building greater churches.”

“There is no missional church without missional followers of Jesus.”

“The clearest sign that a conversion from ‘churchianity’ (internally focused and church centric) to missional engagement has occurred shows up in the church budget.”

“Consuming these monies for our own benefit with no community transformation to show for it, is an indictment of those who claim to follow the One who promised that he came to give abundant life to all people.”

“The program-driven systems favors a culture that creates church customers, not followers of Jesus.”

“The Missional Church assumes that service to others is the first step, not some later expression of spirituality.”

“People often grow more in intergenerational environments.”

“The Missional church ventures into the world as partners with God on his redemptive mission.”

Here is also some ideas that I got from the book in regards to concrete ways of being missional through Veritas.

1. Adopt a School
2. Bless Three people this week
3. Prayer Walking
4. Prayer Booth and Prayer Boxes
5. Reduce the number of church events on the calendar so that people are free to be in the community blessing others.
6. Create uses in your current facilities that bless the community in entrepreneurial ways- think coffee shops, art galleries for local artists, concert venues for local musicians, incubator space for young businesses.
7. Get educated on community facility needs that might intersect with your facility capacity.