The First Time I Tried Starting a Missional Community I Failed
Have you ever tried starting a missional community from scratch?
“Missional” is a label we give to the qualitative and descriptive aspect of how a church or group of people actually lives. My buddy Hugh Halter says it simply,
“It’s about how much like Jesus people become… how much they influence, woo, and transform the culture in which they are placed.”
A family, group of friends or church that lives like this… Sounds good!
Well, a few years ago my friends all thought so too. We were excited to be rebels who were starting a missional community.
Excited, that is, until things progressed to where we moved beyond our weekly meal and discussion about being missional. It was time to start heading out and building new relationships, serving those in need in our city… actually making disciples.
That’s when everyone recoiled a bit.
Let’s Try This Missional Community Thing Again
Now I’ve learned how to make discipleship and mission a reality–something simple that everyone can live out in everyday life.
What I didn’t know back in those earlier days of starting a missional community was that while most Christians want to make disciples and live on mission with God, they also feel way to busy!
Often, when moving toward a lifestyle of discipleship and mission, people become overwhelmed with what they perceive as the risk of their family time, “margins” and sanity!
The secret is moving from “additional” to “intentional” in our thinking.
Discipleship is not a set of activities we need to jam into our lives, or a series classes that we need to take. And a missional community is more than just a weekly meeting of our small group with a name change.
It’s a series of simple, rhythms or “moves” we can easily, and intentionally, engage in our everyday life. Step by step.
Imagine…
- Making new friendships that naturally lead to “doing life” together.
(I can show you how.) - Or knowing how to talk with others about spiritual things without feeling awkward or pushy.
Discipleship becomes a way of life that includes your kids, close friends and neighbors.
That’s what my family and friends now experience.
If you want it… I’m here to get you started without all the headaches, stop/starts and frustration.
The best part? It’s 7 simple steps.
This process takes a little effort and intentionality. But it’s not complicated. And it’s one of the fastest ways I’ve discovered to get started with others making disciples and building community.
(You can do Steps 1 and 2 today!)
I want to give you access to this free Start-Up Guide (including ‘How To Start a Missional Community From Scratch’). Just click the button below and I’ll send it over.
Marriage, Singleness, and Our Identity in Christ
Most of us in the church have heard the message, even if no one said it out loud: get married, have a family, and you’ll be complete. We’ve built so many of our rhythms and language around marriage as the destination that singleness has quietly become a waiting room.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re going to look at how the church’s narratives about marriage and singleness have limited us — and what it looks like to find real wholeness and identity in Christ, whether you have a ring on your finger or not.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- What the Bible actually says about marriage — and what it doesn’t
- Why singleness in the church gets treated like a problem to fix
- How our language about marriage unintentionally excludes and diminishes
- What it means to be complete in Christ regardless of relationship status
Birthright: Living Out of Our Transformed Identity
The way of the world is: We do things (perform, serve, work etc.) to have value in the eyes of our family, friends, parents, spouse, siblings, boss, pastor etc.
If we do a good enough job and are perceived as valuable, then people will want us around. We will be wanted. Out of this activity we often form our identity. What we DO has led to who we ARE. Or at least we think it has. But there is a huge problem with this, it is terribly dangerous, it eventually crushes us, and it goes against how God now sees us.
Don’t believe the DO=BE lies anymore.
If we are in Christ, then the Bible teaches we have been transformed and given a new identity. We have become part of a family of missionary servants, sent to serve the world and make disciples of Jesus.
This is who we are. This is our new identity. This is the secret.
And this is true of us as Christians EVEN IF WE NEVER KNEW IT. This is our birthright!
The more we understand and believe this to be true, the more our lives will be transformed.
We’ve all seen and heard this before if we’ve ever been baptized or witnessed a baptism ceremony. But maybe we missed it. In Matthew 28:19 Jesus laid out the entire picture and command for us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” There it is. The mission of the Church and the means to accomplish it.
Our baptism is not some salvational magic spell or just a culturally ancient ritual; we are baptized, soaked, established into a new identity. Into the NAME OF the Father, and the NAME OF the Son, and the NAME OF the Holy Spirit…all a huge identity statement. This is who we now are. Looking briefly at each of these…
We are baptized into the name of the Father.
Our name has everything to do with whose family we are a part of. God is now our Father. We are his dearly loved children. In Christ we are brothers and sisters; That makes the Church a family. It is part of our transformed identity.
We are also baptized into the name of the Son.
We have entered into an identity relationship with Jesus. He is our King, who came and lived as a servant to all, and we now are his servants, serving his glorious mission, as we serve others as a way of life. Being a servant is now a part of our renewed identity.
Finally, we are baptized into the name of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the New Testament the Holy Spirit is the sending agent of the Church. He empowered Jesus while on Earth, he guided and comforted the early Church and his indwelling presence transforms our identity into “sent ones”: literally missionaries.
As Christians we are all missionaries.
Because of who God is, and Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we truly have become a family of missionary servants sent as disciples who make disciples.
This is our birthright. You may not have always known this to be true about yourself…but the next best time start believing it is now!
Why You Keep Saying Yes When You Mean No
Most of us say yes way too often — and we know it. Whether it’s fear of what others will think, or just not wanting to miss out, we keep adding things to our plate until we’re running on empty. We’ve mastered the art of the reluctant yes. And it’s quietly costing us more than we realize.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re going to dig into why saying no is so hard, what the Bible actually says about commitments, and 10 practical ways to say no with grace. Plus — how to back out of something you never should have said yes to in the first place. This one is freeing.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- Why fear of man and FOMO keep you locked in yes
- What Scripture actually says about bailing on commitments
- 10 ways to say no gracefully — plus one for telemarketers
- How to back out of a commitment without burning a relationship
How to Stop Loving Stuff and Start Loving People
Being blessed with material wealth, things like a nice home and decorations, cars, clothing and mountains of electronics, is great. I’ve been given all of these things in my life and I’m grateful. But at times, some of these “good things” become “the things” that I begin to worship or protect, in a sense, forgetting what is truly important.
This Could Be Me…This Could Be You
After living in community for a while in Tacoma I met an older couple, not yet retired, but getting close to that stage of life. They were really cool folks who loved food, wine and riding motorcycles. What’s not to like? (more…)
Does Your Gospel Actually Sound Like Good News
A lot of us have been in church for years. We’ve heard the sermons, read the books, studied the theology. But when a real conversation opens up — with a neighbor, a coworker, a friend in crisis — we freeze. The gospel we know in our heads just won’t come out naturally. That tension is real. And it matters.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re going to explore why so many believers struggle to talk about faith naturally — and what actually changes when you get the gospel right. You’ll discover how your upbringing shapes the way you see God, and why the gospel is genuinely good news for every part of life today.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- How your upbringing quietly shapes the way you see and share the gospel
- Why so many believers feel awkward or scared talking about their faith
- What it looks like to experience the gospel in everyday life — not just Sunday
- How gospel fluency transforms your relationships, community, and conversations
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ABOUT ME
I am the author of the top selling book, The Gospel Primer. My latest books, Transformed and Small is Big, Slow is Fast came out recently on Zondervan.
I help those with a high commitment to intentional living in the areas of their discipleship, family and mission acquire the leadership skills and tools necessary to succeed and leave a lasting legacy.