Inside the Jan/Feb 2017 Issue

The Agile Church

Scenario: You’re Stuck in an Elevator With a Church Consultant: In the 10 minutes it takes to get the car moving again, what does the expert have to say? We asked seven consultants for their abbreviated pitch. Their ideas and counsel may help get your church moving again.

Innovation and Agility: If your church is going to thrive, change is inevitable. But change is all too often the precursor to chaos. Or catastrophe. So how do you maximize success and sidestep failure? Check out four areas of church-tested insight from Larry Osborne.

What Is It That Actually Fuels Mission? We strive in ministry, expending a remarkable amount of energy—and we know the cliché: Sometimes we generate more heat than light. But maybe more heat is what we need: the fire of God’s presence. David Fitch writes, “When discipleship means discerning Christ’s presence in my life, discipleship is inseparable from mission.”

And Speaking of Discipleship: A few years ago, the Navigators commissioned Barna to assess the state of discipleship in the American church. The result was a dark cloud with a lot less silver lining than one might hope for. In Go: Returning Discipleship to the Front Lines of Faith, Preston Sprinkle surveys the study, then plots a path forward.

“Theology should inform ministry, but if it limits whom you minister to, then you have the wrong theology.” Andy Stanley tells us this, then punctuates the point with: “Just ask Jesus.” Grab yourself a cup of strong coffee—the in-depth interview runs 4,766 words—and join Stanley in wrestling with the question of method and message. The Agile Apologetic is crucial to our mandate to speak to this culture and reach this generation.

Don’t miss this vital discussion on the health and future of the church—and be encouraged; “don’t grow weary in doing well.”

@JamesPLong
Editor