I was down at Exponential the other week and ran onto lots of friends. They were telling me about some of their current programs and training for leaders. Additionally they shared some books and other resources they wanted me to share or that I had found good reading.
I can’t mention all of them but here are a few.
- A lot of you will know the names Hugh Halter and Matt Smay from our Leadership Network book “A Tangible Kingdom” (affiliate link to buy here). They also do some great training around the country and have some really neat workbooks as companions to their materials. Check it out here: http://missio.us/
- I ran onto Mike Breen (and his wife Sally and daughter Libby) and Steve Cockram amongst the crowd. They do some great work in Missional Communities. While at their booth they showed me their new “Launching Missional Communities” field guide and introduced me to Alex Absalom, a compatriot that helped write that materials. Their ministry 3dm has a special event coming next month that is FREE in sunny South Carolina. You can find more details here: http://www.weare3dm.com/
- Speaking of all things missional, I got a copy of the Missional Manifesto (you can too if you go to http://www.missionalmanifesto.net ) I know the authors and they are good friends. I don’t sign on to manifestos and statements but I think it is a fine document worthy of consideration. And I do appreciate some serious thought put into short definitions of key buzz words, which I think this tries to do.
- Speaking of resources I see Lifeway has created an updated Church Planting Assessment tool here - http://churchplanter.lifeway.com/. As someone trained in the dark ages of these tools I value the updates and refinements brought on by research.
- I read two books from the UK which I think you can get the Amazon UK. Diamond Geezers is from my friend Anthony Delaney. Anthony is a pastor in Manchester, England and the book is primarily for men to build a well built life legacy. I also was able to read Breakout: One Church’s Amazing Story of Growth Through Mission Shaped Communities by Mark Stibbe and Andrew Williams. Their book describes their journey and its fits and starts of remaking an older church into a new model. For those in older churches, I think it is well worth your time.
- Finally, I did get to sit into a brief meeting with the Future Travelers team of Alan Hirsch, Ed Bahler and Bill Cochenour. I think their statistics are way off but I love all three men. I think their program is appropriate for some churches wanting to move towards a missional program model.
I know I saw many others of you down in Orlando and forgive my frail memory if I promised you a mention. Feel free to accost me in the comments and mention your own deal there!
do shout out can help to the emotions of your friends?
Posted by: freelance writers | January 19, 2012 at 08:21 AM