Day one of our trip to Austin is nearing completion. 

As a staff, viagra we attended the “GETTING PRACTICAL WITH THE MISSIONAL CHURCH” track.  The thrust of our day was how to unleash people as disciple-makers.  I think each one of us walked away challenged by what we heard.    Personally, seek two things stood out for me today.   First, I can be living as one sent (a missionary) regardless of those around me.  Maybe a better way to say this is that my responsiveness to God’s calling is not dependent upon others. 

Second, it is easy for the church not to recognize the gap between our view of Jesus and how our culture views Him.  As a result of this gap, we need to work to understand how we will engage culture in a way that people will see Christ.  When I lived in a foreign culture, it was easier to see this gap because I was not an insider in either the church or the secular world – at least for a short time. If I Fruit machines want to speak the hope of Christ to those without hope in a way they see Christ, I need to reorient my life so I have a platform (relationships) for them to see the truth in my life.  One additional thought that I noted in this discussion – as we engage culture, as individuals and as a church, it will drive us deal with the needs that we discover.

Another highlight for me personally was connecting with Dan Hash, a friend from Josiah Venture.  Dan is inspiring and it is always fun to hear about the new trails he is blazing.   I’m looking forward to connecting with a couple of other friends from JV tomorrow and catching up with how God is using them now.

Thank you for praying for us as we spend dedicated time as a staff wrestling with how we, as a church and personally, can bring glory to God by being disciple makers.