It’s always a pleasure to receive Fred Peatross’ ‘Abductive Columns’ email. His latest one, entitled ‘The Shift’, arrived in my inbox this morning. I found it resonated deeply with some of my own recent ministry experiences. It especially connects with where I have talked in some recent sermons about the priority Debbie and I give to making relationships with people in the community. We do not rush back from dropping off our children at the primary school or pre-school. We make friends with other parents and carers. We have received quite a few prayer requests as a result. It feels deeply fulfilling.

With Fred’s permission, I reproduce below some of his email. He is not currently blogging, so there is no hyperlink. However, if this whets your appetite for his writing and would like to receive his emails, then email me and I’ll pass your address onto him. You can also find some of his books on Amazon: Missio Dei is his most recent.

Anyway, on with the quotes:

Leaders in consumer churches spend large amounts of time and energy keeping the machine running. But for the weary leader, leading is like being caught in a revolving door of disappointment and frustration. Those who haven’t given up are beginning to burn out. They know no other way to do ministry, and if running the machine isn’t it, then what is?

State by state and city by city, more and more Christian leaders are discovering an organic way of serving God. Granted, the changes are shaking their world, and their future is anything but smooth.To be active, to be a producer in the faith community, to build and create a culture of missional believers, to share the burden, are all the labor pains of forging a missional community. Facilitating this type of transformation is one of the most important tasks for the leader today.Like a first love, these leaders are beginning to find passion again; a passion that can sustain them for the tough road ahead…
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The rise of the missional church is the single biggest development in Christianity since the Reformation. In many places the church has redefined itself as a missional enterprise where mission is lived-out in the local pub, over the backyard fence, or across the street one block down-a huge difference from the missions that accompanied the Enlightenment and practiced by the church for the last century. The Reformation gave us the denominations but the missional church is a much simpler taxonomy. It comes down to this. People either get it or they don’t.

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