Introducing Breaking the Missional Code

This week, I would like to introduce the book that we will be blogging through together this semester. It is entitled Breaking the Missional Code, and beyond a glowing recommendation by Pastor Mark Driscoll, I don't know a whole lot about the book. We just finished The Radical Reformission by Driscoll in our small group last Fall. It is my hope that this book will provide a framework for continued development, interactive discussion, and ultimately practical implementation of these ideas. I have several copies that Chris Tenny was able to get at discount, so if you are part of the Regen community or otherwise close enough to see me face to face, let me know that you want a book and I can get one in your hands for the low, low price of $12 (while supplies last). Otherwise the book can be acquired from your favorite bookseller.

I intend to post some thoughts on one chapter each week to serve as a springboard for discussion in the meta (blogspeak for comments). This week I've just typed up the table of contents. It looks like they have included all the buzzwords of late: emerging, missional, contextualization, community, and of course, the buzzword that is more than a buzzword, it is the reason for the whole conversation: Jesus.

As we discuss issues of the church, culture, community, and how all these things work together, let's keep it clear that this is all ultimately for and about Jesus. He is the Lord of the church, and our aim is to please him and point others to him as the author and perfecter of our faith.

Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community
By Ed Stetzer & David Putman

Table of Contents

1. The Emerging Glocal Context: North America has changed and is a changing continent. As a result, new methods and models are emerging to reach new and emerging people groups. Understanding the people who live here will help us develop the kinds of churches that we need to reach them.


2. Breaking the Missional Code — Some churches have been able to break the cultural codes and lead the people in their context to consider the claims of Christ. As this has occurred, their growth has exploded—even though these churches tend to look different from each other.


3. Responding to the Commissions of Jesus — Getting involved in missional ministry is not an option; it is tied to the commands of Jesus. He gives us a clear call with unfolding details.


4. The Missional Church Shift — When churches become missionaries in their communities, they do not focus on strategies and formulas that have worked among people who live in other areas. Instead, they find strategies that help them connect with the people in their context.


5. Transitions to Missional Ministry — Churches are beginning to see the value of being missional, and they are effectively reaching the people around them. However, they are different from the successful churches of the past. This chapter describes how some of these churches transitioned to missional ministry.


6. Values of Leaders and Churches that Break the Code — Every church needs certain values and purposes that are transcultural and eternal. Those values are not part of breaking the code, but they provide the tools needed to break through.


7. Contextualization: Making the Code Part of Your Strategy — Lots of books assert that you need to analyze and understand your community in order to reach it. This is easier said than done. This chapter helps you apply the process in your context.


8. Emerging Strategies: Many churches are applying new methods to connect with the people in their context—and God is blessing new churches as they tell the story in new ways in new contexts.


9. Spiritual Formation and Churches that Break the Code — Understanding the spiritual nature and function of a missional church enables the church to focus on its purposes.


10. Revitalization to Missional Ministry — Churches need revitalization. Many congregations are finding renewal as they reinvent and reintroduce themselves to their communities.


11. Planting Missional Ministries — Church planting has become a preferred vocational choice for many pastors, but they are not planting churches the way others traditionally have. Theya re finding new and innovative ways to launch churches within their unique cultural contexts.


12. Emerging Networks: New Paradigms of Partnership — New ways of working together are coming to the forefront. Churches are working together in new ways to accomplish their God-given vision.


13. Breaking the Code without Compromising the Faith — How to engage in missional code-breaking without changing or compromising the faith.


14. Best Practices of Leaders and Churches that Break the Code — How code-breaking churches function as they conduct missional ministry


15. The Process of Breaking the Code — A step-by-step process to understanding and strategizing to reach your community.


16. Breaking the Unbroken Code — Missions is a hard task pregnant with breakthrough opportunities. Yet, in some cultures and contexts, those breakthroughs have not yet come. Our task is to be faithful to the core of our message as we seek new ways to communicate the gospel in each context. Churches are investing in younger leaders and intentionally broadening their view of missions and ministry into new frontiers locally and worldwide.