Milfred Minatrea, Shaped by God’s Heart: the Passion and Practices of Missional Churches. Jossey-Bass, 2004.
Referenced in: Missional Communities – Missio Dei
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This volume is a rare combination of research and practice. It is a Leadership Network equivalent to Lois Barrett’s Treasure in Clay Jars produced by the Gospel and Our Culture Network.
It stems from a two-year interdenominational study of two hundred congregations who were experiencing missional transformation. Each of these churches sought to move “from maintenance to mission.” The study revealed nine practices of missional churches:
- Missional Practice Number One: Have a High Threshold for Membership.
- Missional Practice Number Two: Be Real, Not Real Religious.
- Missional Practice Number Three: Teach to Obey Rather Than to Know.
- Missional Practice Number Four: Rewrite Worship Every Week.
- Missional Practice Number Five: Live Apostolically.
- Missional Practice Number Six: Expect to Change the World.
- Missional Practice Number Seven: Order Actions According to Purpose.
- Missional Practice Number Eight: Measure Growth by Capacity to Release, Not Retain.
- Missional Practice Number Nine: Place Kingdom Concerns First
Each practice has a separate chapter. These chapters are followed by a discussion of the unique structures and leadership strategies of missional churches, along with insights on how churches change toward becoming more missional.
One of the most helpful features is the Missional Church Cultural Assessment that could be adapted for use in any congregation.
From the Publisher
Discover the tools to create a new kind of church and move from merely surviving to thriving.
Increasingly, today’s churches have become isolated from rather than engaged in the world. Many ministers and lay leaders—who have stable churches, good relationships with their congregations, and useful ministries—feel there is something vital missing.
Shaped by God’s Heart reveals that it’s not the church’s activity level that defines success but whether its activities accomplish God’s mission for His church. This book helps ministers and church leaders move beyond mere survival and maintenance toward a thriving missional mode for their congregations. Missional congregations become fully relevant to today’s society without losing what is distinctively Christian in their spiritual practices.
This important resource draws on an extensive two-year field study of two hundred churches from a variety of denominations and geographic regions. Milfred Minatrea—a missiologist, urban strategist, and practitioner in ministry—shows how these vibrant congregations are abandoning themselves to God’s purpose in mission and presents the best practices for reenergizing Christian spirituality in a congregational setting. Shaped by God’s Heart includes a Missional Practice Assessment tool to evaluate a congregation’s position on the continuum between maintenance and mission and to determine the actions that will move the congregation toward becoming a true missional community. He also outlines key strategies that successful churches have used to become relevant in a postmodern society without losing what is distinctly Christian in their spiritual practices.
As Minatrea emphasizes, knowing God’s purpose and pursuing it with deep passion, is the first step in becoming missional. Minatrea outlines the nine common practices that characterize missional churches. In addition, each of the book’s chapters contain relevant exercises for reflection and application as well as resources for additional study.
Once transformed, missional churches have a profound effect on their members’ lives out in the world. Their influence results in new followers of Christ and the development of new communities of faith.
About the Author
Milfred Minatrea (Irving, TX) is Director of the Missional Church Center for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
***For additional information on this resource, including reviews, click the bookstore links. Check the reference at page top or the links below for resource guides on related topics.***
See Resource Guides on Related Areas:
- Missional Perspectives, Introduction
- Missional Church Resources, Introduction and Index
- Church Leadership and Renewal, Index to Resources
See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Ministry Leadership: