We’re excited to have Jonathan Brink joining us for the TransFORM East Coast gathering, April 30-May 2. Jonathan has been a part of the leadership team for TransFORM, and he recently posted some of his thinking on missional community formation over on his blog, The Adventurous Way.

Jonathan writes,

With the advent of science and technology, the world is rapidly changing. Denominations are in overall decline and church attendance for those under 35 is significantly waning.

Yet what if this process is opening us up to the possibility of a larger framing story, one that requires a new way of thinking about how we organize and engage God’s mission of restoration in community?

Later, he concludes,

What would it look like to gather together under the larger framing story of the Kingdom? What would it look like to participate with Jesus in God’s mission of restoration for all creation? What would it look like to create and support missional communities that begin with participation in God’s Kingdom mission?

We believe the time is now to create something fresh and new, a missional community formation network. The network would gather together those individuals, leaders and organizations already participating in the larger framing story. It would also seek out those looking to participate in the Kingdom. It would develop missional communities of practice much like the current church planting networks. It would also foster training and development in missional practices and activities.

It would create a basis for unity founded on grace, and centered on the authority of Jesus. It would advance robust theological conversations across the traditional borders. It would include opportunities for each expression to continue to flourish, knowing that God works in different ways for different people.

I’m grateful to Jonathan for writing this, and I hope that others will engage him on these ideas. (And I’m excited for him to come and share more with us at the East Coast Gathering!)

Read the whole thing and add your voice to the discussion »

I’m excited to announce that two Marks have been added to the speakers list for the upcoming TransFORM East Coast gathering, April 30-May 2:

Mark Scandrette is the founder and executive director of ReIMAGINE! in San Francisco and the author of Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus (Jossey-Bass, 2008). He’s also the “star” of a few short videos we’ve produced and posted in the TransFORM “Video” section. Check out a recent blog post from Mark on “Living in the Questions.”

Mark Van Steenwyk is the founding member of Missio Dei, an Anabaptist intentional community anchored on the West Bank of Minneapolis that pursues Jesus’ way of simplicity, prayer, hospitality, and peace. He’s also a writer, speaker, grassroots educator, and a co-conspirator with the Common Root. He and his wife Amy, along with their son Jonas, live with a random assortment of friends at Missio Dei’s Sattler House. You can read many of his thoughts at JesusManifesto.com.

More speakers and workshop topics will be posted soon, so check out the event page for updates and please RSVP to let us know you’re coming!

Brian’s new book is coming out soon, and we’re excited that he’ll be talking about some of these themes at the TransFORM East Coast gathering, April 30-May 2. Here he is talking with Spencer Burke about the book (obviously recorded before they banned* videoblogging and driving):

*Only a prediction at this point

Kathy Escobar has written a great blog post on “the difference between ‘cultivating communities’ and ‘building churches’”:

i think it’s fairly easy to build a “church.” the typical elements are not that hard to find–a gathering place, music, a good message, and some kind of programmatic glue will usually do the trick. if the music and the message are good enough, some Christians out there will come. i’m not saying they’ll come in droves–i think that’s a unique phenomenon these days, but i do believe that if the basic elements are there, some people will come and find what they are looking for.

cultivating real communities is a whole other animal.

i believe that finding ways to knit hearts together, share life and meals, gather around a common purpose but allow for a wide range of diversity and perspectives, nurture a spirit of justice and action, and somehow create a safe and challenging container to learn to love Jesus, ourselves and others and be loved by Jesus, ourselves, and others requires a whole different way of thinking.

She goes on to outline four ways that “cultivating communities” and “building churches” are different:

Read the whole thing »

And plan now to participate in the TransFORM gathering in Washington, D.C., April 30-May 2. It’s a free event focused on equipping men and women to form new missional communities of practice—and Kathy Escobar is going to be one of the main speakers!