How to learn from your mistakes
I’ve made so many of the them but I’d like to think I learn from them 
Most of the time I do, at times I lapse.
Kingdom of God article from Scot McKnight (pdf)
Thanks Scot for writing the posts and Bob for compiling it and making it available! REALLY good stuff. Ifind myself deepening in understanding “the Kingdom of God” and connecting with its reality and implications!
The Durham Tradition and its Exegetes– an Encomium
I meet a Malaysia NT scholar who did his PhD in Durham .. I found him very insightful .. I’d had some interesting conversations with a Hong Kong NT scholar also from Durham …. also good interaction. Maybe it’s just their character, but then again maybe Durham contributed a little too huh?
How to be Good (at Preaching)
good reading before preaching tomorrow!
strategic planning is stupid
I’ll need some time to digest marko’s thoughts here and perhaps interact. If I say this our loud in some denominational meeting the next coupld of weeks, or ven the upcoming denomination convention, or just in front of some fellow pastors… it would raise more than a few eye brows!
Mission First?
This reminder of Cosby’s statement … “That in all his years of service he has never (and he emphasized ‘never’) seen a group go from community to mission. Rather, he said one should organize around mission and community will follow. “ is still haunting me.
ah.. great! I’ve always wanted to know more about the Kingdom of God and the ‘gospel according to Jesus’
… and it seems McLaren is writing a new book on it too? I’ve been following Mcknight’s posts, and been learning a lot… Now they’ve got it in pdf!
I think this is a great comment and similarly would add a parallel (and its not mine but I can’t remember where now) that we are called to make disciples , not plant churches. Churches happen where disciples create community with each other. Yet the idea today is that we embrace an imperialistic attitude towrd mission and plant churches first.
Kevin ~ Scot’s piece is really a gem for those who are willing to re-look at the theme of “the kingdom of God”. Of course, there are many other metaphors related to the Gospel, e.g. new creation, justification, etc. But, we can’t ignore this one and it’s quite neglected in our setting and times also misrepresented and limited to a more “miraculous” and “other-worldly” intepretation thus losing its immediate impact to us.
Garth ~ Thanks for popping by. The phrase “plant churches” has sadly often looks like “plant a new business” or “expanding a branch” (like banks). I think insights like the one Gordon Cosby gives us … draws us back to what is more essential and crucial. So, even though some of us might still use this kind of terminology (some might decide to change of course) – the meaning we attach to it would be closer to what i believe is REALLY God’s mission!
thanks Sivin, also Alan Hirsch puts it well over at Paul Fromonts page when he says…
“I am more conviced than ever before the organizing principle of the church is actually its mission and not its ministry. When we organize around ministry we never seem to get to mission even if we intend to. If we organize around mission, we have to do ministry, because ministry is the means by which we do mission.”