Free Breaking The Missional Code: Your Church Can Become A Missionary In Your Community Ebooks Online
Across North America, many pastors are excited to see churches growing as they achieve their mission to connect the message of the gospel with the community at large. Still others are equally frustrated, following the exact same model for outreach but with lesser results. Indeed, just because a "missional breakthrough" occurs in one place doesn’t mean it will happen the same way elsewhere. One size does not fit all, but there are cultural codes that must be broken for all churches to grow and remain effective in their specific mission context. Breaking the Missional Code provides expert insight on church culture and church vision casting, plus case studies of successful missional churches impacting their communities. "We have to recognize there are cultural barriers (in addition to spiritual ones) that blind people from understanding the gospel," the authors write. "Our task is to find the right way to break through those cultural barriers without removing the spiritual and theological ones."
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: B&H Academic; 59351st edition (May 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0805443592
ISBN-13: 978-0805443592
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.9 x 8.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #527,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #608 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Churches & Church Leadership > Church Administration #867 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Ministry & Evangelism > Missions & Missionary Work #1590 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Churches & Church Leadership > Pastoral Resources
This book is about how we do church. More specifically, it is about the need to reinvent or change the church in order to make it more attractive and welcoming to the culture where it is planted.The book contains some very challenging and helpful information for church planters/pastors/leaders and local church mission teams. For example, the authors begin with a helpful picture of the U.S. changing "glocal" (global/local reality) culture and practical steps to identify the unreached/unchurched people in their community. I also appreciate the emphasis on discipleship and the acknowledgement and warning that we an actually attract a crowd without having a church.Every church should continually examine human imposed traditions and customs, which can cause a church to stagnate and die. The church must be willing to grow, adapt and try new things to stay healthy and effective. However, the book puts too much emphasis on style, technique and marketing know-how. The authors point to the many "successes" of other churches as a defense of the importance of being missional.My concern is that while these successful churches have found a niche in their community and experienced growth, some grow as s a result of marketing rather than conversion. When we reinvent the church in order to attract the world, there is a tendency to eliminate or compromise the gospel, because it is divisive, offensive and even foolish to the world. Breaking the Missional Code touches on this fact but continues to advocate style and technique over the importance and power of the gospel itself. There is a great temptation for niche churches to offer another, more palatable, gospel in order to avoid offense.
In my opinion, this book really misses the mark for many reasons. #1. It is poorly organized. It wanders around and is long, wandering and redundant. There are about 2 or 3 original ideas and then the rest is all rehashing. #2. Considering that we are talking about spreading a faith that is alive and vital, this book goes on and on about strategy, but is remarkably silent regarding anything that would make me believe that the authors are "on fire for Jesus." Excuse me, but where is Jesus in all of this methodology? I begin to get the idea that the authors are more on fire for breaking the code than they are for Jesus. #3. It is a bit self aggrandizing and egocentric. There are a lot of references that make a big deal about "code breakers" and especially the authors' efforts in that regard. This brings me back to #2--"Look at me--I'm a code breaker!" Well, yes... and you can use this to sell me a computer or the latest fashion trend, but now you're going to sell me Jesus? The point being: Fresh bread is amazing--nobody has to sell me on it--it doesn't need an add campaign or fantastic sales methods. Just put the bread in front of me and I will buy it. What does it say about the authors' beliefs about Jesus that we need to talk about amazing code breakers in order to bring people into relationship? #4. This book makes reference to the importance of having the right theology and then hints that this might have something to do with changing gender roles. If there is a problem with the roles that men and women are playing, please just come out and say it. Don't make hints and assume that the reader knows what your doctrinal issues are. If good theology is important enough to mention, then it is important enough to be specific and be prepared to defend it.
Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community Recovering Hope for Your Church: Moving Beyond Maintenance and Missional to Incarnational Engagement (TCP The Columbia Partnership Leadership Series) Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement The Money Code: Become a Millionaire With the Ancient Jewish Code 2012 International Plumbing Code (Includes International Private Sewage Disposal Code) (International Code Council Series) Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church Again Who Runs the Church?: 4 Views on Church Government (Counterpoints: Church Life) Practical Theology and the One Body of Christ: Toward a Missional-Ecumenical Model (Studies in Practical Theology) Surprise the World: The Five Habits of Highly Missional People Called Together: A Guide to Forming Missional Communities Sticky Faith Service Guide: Moving Students from Mission Trips to Missional Living The Apostle Paul and the Christian Life: Ethical and Missional Implications of the New Perspective Secrets of Making and Breaking Codes: A Hands-on Guide to Both Simple and Sophisticated Codes to Easily Help You Become a Codemaster GENETICS: BREAKING THE CODE OF YOUR DNA (Inquire and Investigate) The Missionary Kaleidoscope: Portraits of Six China Missionaries Blessed Teresa of Calcutta: Missionary of Charity (Encounter the Saints (Paperback)) St. Innocent of Alaska: Apostle and Missionary Henry Martyn: Pioneer Missionary to India and Islam Junípero Serra: California, Indians, and the Transformation of a Missionary (Before Gold: California under Spain and Mexico Series) The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice
