I'm reading Hirsch right now. Thanks forthe other recommendation. I will definitely check it out.

Hey James!
Thanks for this site. I grew up in Coppell (not too far from McKinney) but now I preach in McGregor (west of Waco by about 15 minutes).
We've got some friends from Southaven, MS that worship with you...I know it is a big place...but if you happen to know Will and Suellen Delaughter please hug them for us. I was their worship and involvement minister (and their neighbor) in Southaven.

John Dobbs...fellow alumnus and friend from Magnolia Bible College...along with Allen Coker who was a roommate and fellow employee of mine. Actually, Allen was my boss at MBC for a time, but I won't go into that! Ha!

Missional things...
I feel as though missional ideas have always been a small part of my personal fabric. I'm not saying I've understood those ideas, nor am I saying that I've acted on mission at every turn in my life...I'm just trying to say that I was taught early in my life about the importance of relationships and can now look back and see how heavily mission and relationship should be tied together. When I was asked to be the Involvement Minister at the last church I worked with, I began to study, read and understand that real involvement isn't nearly as programized as it is created in one-on-one, family relationships. I now realize how difficult it can be if the system that exists is not nearly as interested in mission as they are in keeping folks busy and entertained. I'd like to grow in my understanding of how to bring those two ideas together and bridge that gap so that reaching the lost in our world won't be viewed as something we MUST DO, but instead be viewed as something we LIVE TO DO.

My story:
- grew up in NE Mississippi (Fulton, MS) in churches of Christ
- married my wife, Kristy, in 1996. we have a daughter, Holley (11) and son, Drew (4)
- 12 years at Magnolia Bible College in central MS (admissions, fundraising, event planning, financial aid, Chief Administrative Officer)
- BA in Bible from MBC; 15 hrs in Leadership & Mgt from Amridge U
- came to National Park Church in Jan 2008 (www.nationalparkchurch.org) for first preaching gig

I was heavily influenced by church growth model and trained in full-on evangelistic techniques. I didn't run across the idea of "missional" until about 2005 with McLaren's A New Kind of Christian and conversations with friends who were reading others. I am very interested in learning how to help my church have a missional DNA.

hey James
thanks for the hello message. Yes I'm a friend of Jason but not on his mission team. Jason came to Australia many years ago and reached out to us in our small congregation and he was the first missionary in a long long while to come and want to spend time with us. I'm so grateful to his encouragement.

Binh

This is so funny that you ask this, because the next two Sundays are going to be different for us. Basically we are going unplugged, but not by choice. What I mean unplugged is, we will not be meeting in the school cafeteria, but outside in the covered play area. There is not any power out there so we will not have any powerpoint. So Im having to select songs that we really know well. I do have some books I made with sheet music, but most of the members there, the newer ones aren't use to sheet music so I am not sure how they will do with that. I should have made a book with just lyrics, I am thinking they would do better with that. Tomorrow will be a learning experience for sure. Im actually picking them now as we speak....first week on a new job...yep I got a job....so I had to put it off with all the adjustments Ive had to make this week. Im looking at doing 5 songs we know pretty well. Shout Hallelujah, At the Name of Jesus, Clap Your Hands, How Great Is Our God, and I will Never Be the Same Again as the first set, and our send off song will probably be We are the Body of Christ....it'll be interesting to see if the body needs the music or not! LOL. Were you just curious?

Howdy friend. It was a pleasure...thanks for the opportunity.

I am currently in the middle of the 2nd week of a 3-week paternity/sabbatical leave and will not preach again until September 6. On that Sunday, I'll begin a 13-week series through Revelation.

Thank you James for welcoming me.

Hello James! I just e-mailed you something, I hope you get it. God Bless!

My husband is a preacher and we lived in Arkansas I believe the same time Mike and his family did. My husband, Hugh, and I think so much of them. So I was thrilled when he came to work at World Radio. So sorry he is leaving but I am so happy for him.

Thanks for the welcome, I will get to everything eventually. Mike is a dear freind and has such a wonderful family. I will miss him here at World Radio but we will continue to work together through Genesis Alliance and WR. Thanks Again!

Dear Brother James Nored,
It seems our missional outreach net work is not working properly. As I have tried my best to open the comments of Jamima Hansen the web gives the note our opologies : this page was not found why it is happened like this? kindly do the favour in thisregard
yours brother KOTA SAMUEL RAVINDR NATH

James, I hope to keep posting soon. Have been swamped lately. I'm not holding to my commitment very well, so please forgive me.

I think it's so relevant and connects well to people who are trying to live their lives on mission in the midst of their (non-church) jobs. I think ministers often feel ill-equipped to address or even have awareness of issues in the workplace because they work in a Christian bubble of sorts. I think the overarching message of the Office series to many working people is probably: "hey, the gospel has something to do with all of my life - not just my participation in a religious service on the weekends." So for that reason - brilliant.
How did you go about discerning issues in the workplace for the series?

It was no big deal. If I remember correctly, I got me something to drink and since I wasn't quite finished with the book, I read a couple of chapters and enjoyed my alone time. It's summer.....

Thanks, James. Love your series on the Office at High Pointe. Brilliant.

I thought the mission alive lab was great. I went to the theology lab in March with one of my elders and to the strategy lab this time with a different elder. Both times I was thrilled to have an elder with me. A lot of the value was the time I got to spend with each of these men. We are at a crossroads as a congregation and I am thankful for all the help I can get. We have spent over three years changing our theology to missional theology but now we face the challenge of missional living in a bigger way than we have yet.
Not much good is said around here about our governor.

Thank you it is good to be back.

James sorry for just getting back with you regarding the question that i asked. Thanks for your response. I am still studying that and definitely in prayer as I study.

WE ARE AT HALLELUJAH VILLAGE CHURCH TRUST / JESUS RURAL MINISTRIES IN VELLORE TAMIL NADU STATE INDIA THANKS PRAY FOR US WELCOME TO INDIA VISIT OUR CHURCH AND REMOTE MINISTRIES