Missio 2

No this isn't some world wide conference that you missed that is meeting for the second time. And it isn't a .{point} anything (as in 2.0) in an attempt to be cool and relevant. It is just the second post I am making about the Missional Leadership Initiative I've gotten myself into.

Last weekend was the first of 6 gatherings we will have over the next two years with Reggie McNeal. It is sponsored by another denomination so I was one of only two participants that weren't part of the family, so to speak. I am friends with two of the other pastors though so it wasn't too weird.

This session focused on self-awareness which was good but it will take some time to process. If you think you do a pretty good job with self-awareness does that automatically make you self-clueless? In the effort to make me even more self-aware I was also subjected to yet another personality/cognitive style test. This one was called the Success Style Profile, a title that practically made me throw-up, but was pretty good anyway.

I've also been assigned to a cohort with four other guys I've never met. We are supposed to meet once a month to cover various topics but I think a lot of people are suspicious of them. Reggie referred often to the group of pastors he has been a part of for a long time. He talks about how they mentor each other, counsel each other, and serve each other, even in little things. He said they have even vacationed together. I think he counts that experience as invaluable and wants us to have a taste of it, even if these groups don't develop into that. He sees that kind of peer mentoring in the Acts church and I think he thinks it is an ideal fit for today's context. Sounds good.

One thing I liked about this gathering was that no matter what situation you came from you obviously had a common interest in thinking missionally or you wouldn't have signed up. As far as I could tell there were people from all kinds of churches. At a lot of conferences there seems to be a tension between the various philosophies of ministry represented. In this case, the majority had to favor a missional philosophy or you wouldn't have come. (Yeah, there are always a few who may have ulterior motives.) I think that allows for deeper thought and dialogue. You think deeper about the philosophy rather than wasting time defending your belief or gritting your teeth at what else is being said.

I should also mention that we stayed at the Salt Ford Resort in the Salt Fork State Park in Ohio. Nice place. They have a ton of deer wandering around. I stepped out on my balcony one morning to watch 4 or 5 of them wandering around right below me. They just looked up as if they were waiting for me to feed them something. I think that must happen a lot. I am interested to see what this place will be like in the warmer months. It was too cold for me to go out for a walk in the woods at this time of year. Yeah, I'm a wimp.