What I was seeing in Don was one of my first glimpses of what I now recognize as a missional leader. With all the caricature that’s standard fare in discussing the emerging, missional movement, the truth is that these ideas have been out there for a very long time in men like Don, in Henri Nouwen’s work, in missionary leadership thinking and in wise, Jesus-following pastors who understand the Kingdom of God is both bigger and smaller than denominational headquarters told you at the last pastor’s conference.Read the whole thing here.Dr. Dan Morgan- from the SBC’s Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary- recently listed Seven Characteristics of Missional Leaders:
* They grasp the importance of leading like Jesus.
* They don’t assume a friendly environment in which to carry out church life.
* They work opportunistically rather than routinely.
* Their focus is on the Kingdom, not preservation of an institution.
* They foster relational structures rather than institutional structures.
* They disciple with a view towards deployment on mission, not servicing the organization.
* They believe the Kingdom is bigger than the church.Hmmmmm. Don was doing exactly that all those years ago. He didn’t call it missional or emerging. He wasn’t twenty-something. He didn’t listen to loud rock music or have David Crowder’s hair. But this is almost exactly the kind of ministry path he was following.
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