By now you no doubt have heard of the devastating earthquake that hit Christschurch, New Zealand on Feb. 21, killing 65 people. Click here for the Christian Chronicle article on this. High Pointe Church of Christ is the sponsoring congregation for the South Pacific Bible College in New Zealand. Here is a note…

I can remember Dr. Don Vinzant, one of my Bible professors at Oklahoma Christian University, say to us in a ministry class, "People will leave your church, and when they do, they will all repeat the same lie--I was not being fed." So, as I came across the section below from Lance Ford in the new book that he and Alan Hirsch have written, Right Here, Right Now, I remembered Don's words. 

"Pastors are aware that one of the common critiques uttered by…

Missiologist Eckhard J. Schnabel, author of Early Christian Mission, says, “Jesus had worked as prophetic preacher and teacher, but contrary to the rabbinic model, he did not wait for people to come to him (although that happened as well); instead, he traveled through the towns, villages, and hamlets of Galilee (Mk. 6:56), encountering people where they lived and…

Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (Jn. 20:21). As the “sent out” body of Christ, our life and mission is centered around Christ’s life and mission. In his own words, Jesus said that he came to seek and save the lost (Lk. 19:10), serve (Mk. 10:45), and share the good news (Mk. 1:38). Compelled by Christ’s love for us and our love for God and our neighbor, we have as our primary task the mission of Jesus.

If we are to fulfill this mission, we must do…

One of the major passages on spiritual formation, particularly within families, that is often pointed to is the "Shema":

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.^[…

In the their new book, Right Here, Right Now: Everyday Mission for Everyday People, authors Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford write this:

"It is impossible to be a missional church if we fail to be missional people. Otherwise, missionality is reduced to sponsored programs that centralize the life of the body of Christ, institutionalizing…