Forge America

I was stoked to discover today that Forge are kicking off in the US.

Originally an initiative out of Australia, driven in large part by the work of Alan Hirsch and Mike Frost, who get so many mentions on my blog I’m fearful they might think I’m stalking them.

I’m not...really I’m not...I just think that between them they have the best handle on what it means to be missional in the West in the 21st Century, so it’s worth keeping a close eye on what they have to say.

My noodlings about Mission”Al”
My noodlings about Frosty

Forge America describe themselves like this:

Forge is an innovative mission training network that seeks to equip Christian leaders for mission in a first world setting.

Forge recognizes the enormous cultural shifts that have occurred in the world over the last few decades and is committed to developing leaders who can live and serve incarnationally, who have a holistic view of life and mission and who are able to re-think church structures recognizing that one size does not fit all.

Forge encourages the dreamers, entrepreneurs and the risk takers in our churches to boldly seek new expressions of church and new approaches to mission so that we can be genuinely connected to the heartbeat of our communities.

The Forge dream is to see both new missional communities birthed and established churches encouraged refocusing on the task of mission within their communities

Forge has emerged at a time when it is widely agreed that we find ourselves in a new mission context. In our present cultural climate most experienced evangelists and missionaries recognize that intentional mission responses and church planting is the most effective approach. Forge is a bold initiative that specifically addresses these challenges by linking experienced mission practitioners with emerging missional leaders. Forge aims to focus its energy on developing leadership that can understand the missional challenge and proactively develop strategies, approaches and teams, to be able to take the church onto new and uncharted ground.

You may want to check out the forthcoming Forge Missional Imaginations Conference in April, hosted by Wheaton.

Forge’s National US Director is fellow Aussie, Kim Hammond

As a double whammy bonus on this post, here’s a great little interview with Alan conducted by Andrew Marin of Love is An Orientation, and a link to Churchplanters conference where Hirschy gives a great lecture on the whole Missional deal....it’s really worth taking the time with a coffee to listen to this presentation if you want to get some perspective on this missional business (you have to give ‘em your email address)

Missional in 2 minutes

This is not the whole story, and obviously only a two minute snapshot which largely ignores the Biblical roots of missional Church, but I think it’s a reasonable starting point to get a notion of what missional is all about.



If you want to go deeper – and you really have to if you want to really understand the roots and reality of missional Church - go and read some Hirsch and Frost, or check this vid out over a coffee.

Here’s a more expansive explanation from Alan Hirsch

I always try to give an acknowledgment the source of any video I post on here, but I struggled a little to find the precise source. I was kind of in the same quandary at The Well Mission’s Andrew Feil, whose cheeky wee comment made me smile.

...found this on Tim Chester’s Blog, but he got it from the Missional Church Network Website, who found it the twitter feed of Alan Hirsch, who got it from Jeff Maguire’s YouTube...

Reclaim

Reclaim Promo from Communications Bureau on Vimeo.

Today in Atlanta – and into the weekend - The Salvation Army holds the RECLAIM event.

There’s an outstanding roster of speakers and workshop leaders, including missiologist, author & all round top bloke Alan Hirsch, the wonderful Phyllis Tickle and Pete Rollins, who has recently made the move to the US from Northern Ireland.

Hirshy has had numerous mentions on this blog because of the impact of his writing – together with his buddy Mike Frost – on my understanding of what it means to be a missional – sent – people.

I love it when our tribe reaches out to other wise voices to help inform what it is to re-engage with mission...so important for a movement that sometimes struggles with the balance of it's calling as a radical Jesus following mission movement and the challenges of also being a massive global social service agency.

It’s good too that some of the workshop themes are taking on the hot potato of human sexuality. I’m willing to be knocked down on this, because I haven’t researched the facts on this, but I can’t remember a time when a Salvation Army conference has dealt with it in such a head-on fashion. I’m glad the initiative has been taken.

We’re on a journey.

Wish I was there!

I’m looking forward to hearing how it went...

Alan Hirsch in UK

Next Tuesday I’ll be popping down to the West Country to hear Alan Hirsch speak at a West of England Baptist Association event at Clevedon Baptist Church

…looking forward to hooking up with Alan, whose books The Forgotten Ways and The Shaping of Things to Come (with Michael Frost), have had such a profound effect on my view of mission.

HT to Willow Creek for the Hirshy pic

The Forgotten Ways

Those lovely folks at Amazon were kind enough to send me a copy of Alan Hirsch’s The Forgotten Ways + reactivating the missional church, so I’m looking forward to getting on and reading it. Alan’s buddy and writing partner Michael Frost’s work has featured heavily on johnnylaird lately, as Michael’s book EXILES has had a profound – and even unsettling - effect on the way I look at being/doing Church. It’s always a good sign when a book is so good you want to share it with someone else, so I’ve passed my copy of EXILES over to my buddy in Sheffield.

If The Forgotten Ways hits the spot like EXILES, it will be a good read.

I’d also ordered Alan & Michael’s collaborative effort - The Shaping of Things to Come - at the same time as The Forgotten Ways, so that should be pitching up shortly.

For more on Alan Hirch and The Forgotten Ways check out the new(ish) blog