There’s a new TransFORM video on the site! This one features Mark Scandrette, founder and executive director of ReIMAGINE in San Francisco. I’m tempted to say that he gives a “master class” on missional community in this 17-minute video, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Watch Mark Scandrette on Missional Community »

In a January 2009 blog post, church consultant Ed Brenegar wrote about “The Missional Shift”:

The most significant transition in the church is a missional one. It is simple. It is a shift from the church as a place for spectators to a place of participants. I saw this coming twenty years ago where the church I served simply wanted me to be the curator for their museum of memories. They worshiped the past, and that past wasn’t worth celebrating. As with many churches, they are backing into future  wondering how to preserve their comfort and security as believers.

The Missional impulse is outward, out the door, into the streets, homes, businesses and playgrounds of communities near and far.  It is a shift marked by greater integration of all aspects of the life of the church.  It is a shift toward a greater experience of God’s love and grace in the context of communal unity and service. It is a shared experience of personal meaning and social fulfillment.  At its heart, it is the church giving itself away.

This Missional Shift is not an organizational movement like so many. It is rather a way to represent the internal change happening in churches by God’s spirit that is expressed in action.

Brenegar goes on to prescribe three actions that “we must take for this missional impulse to take root in our individual churches”:

First, accept the responsibility to take personal initiative to live one’s life for Christ in acts of worship and service.

Second, to enter into conversation with one another that opens up our perceptions of who we are, and what God is doing through us.

Third, respond daily, with discernment and passion, to the needs of the world that God places in our path.

Brenegar concludes, “From this attitude of the servant, a missional ideal will grow and achieve its impact in our churches and our world. It cannot simply be another campaign or movement. Rather, it must be a transition that marks the transformation of our hearts.  This is the missional shift that I see growing in our world today.”

Up For Discussion: Although he admits it may be “beating a dead horse,” Mike Croghan has opened up the question about “What is ‘missional’?” on the TransFORM discussion board, and I’d encourage you to go share your thoughts on the subject.

Welcome to the blog! Getting ready to roll out soon …

UPDATE 12/1/2009: OK I’m sending out the first update to all of the members of the TransFORM Network, and I’m excited to announce the launch of this blog and share some news about what’s happened in the first month:

The site was launched one month ago, and in the first month …
the TransFORM site was visited over 8,000 times
the TransFORM video has been viewed nearly 6,000 times
the TransFORM Network has grown to over 500 members
the @trans4m Twitter account now has over 400 followers
18 groups have been started for regional connection, hyphen-mergent connection, and, of course, Outlaw Preachers (who knew?!)
also posted: 20 resources, 19 videos, 5 events, and more

I’d say we’re off to a great start, but I’m most excited about the future — including our first regional gathering in Washington, D.C., next spring (April 30-May 2, 2010) and other exciting ways to foster new missional communities of practice here in the U.S. and around the world.

Here’s a new song/reminder from Brian McLaren that I found very encouraging as we seek to plot goodness and see good things form: