Shaped By God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches Review

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Shaped By God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches ReviewOne of the criticisms most often levied against the larger body of Missional Church writing (i.e. the GOCN series) is that the writers fail to give "concrete" examples of what a missional church "looks like." Minatrea has attempted to fill that void.
There are some legitimate problems with his effort. Nowhere does he explain his research methodology, so one must assume that his research was primarily personal interviews with pastors and church leaders. Neither does he explain the criteria used to identify the churches included in the research as "missional".
Some of his argumentation is convoluted. One example is when he asserts (I'm paraphrasing) that missional churches don't get bogged down in theological matters that distract from mission. Then, a few pages later in the same chapter, he argues that missional churches will have clearly defined doctrinal statements. One is left wondering, "Which is it?"
Also, in several places it seems as though he and his subjects are creating a straw man of sorts out of "traditional" churches. And the churches he most often cites as examples--Gracepoint (San Antonio), Ecclesia (Houston), Antioch (Waco, TX), and Mosaic (Los Angeles)--while diverse, are all at least loosely assocaited with evangelical Baptists. He tells us in the introduction that missioanl churches can be anywhere and in any denomination. So one wonders why he didn't find some to include in his book.
So it isn't a perfect effort. But...it DOES fill a void in the body of Missional Church literature. Beyond simply identifying nine commonalities of practice among missional churches, he leaves readers with the impression that their church can be both missional and faithful to its current local context at the same time. He also presents a few suggestions for moving a church towards a missioanl ecclesiology.
As stated, this is not a perfect effort. But in addition to practical considerations, Minatrea proviides an appropriate basic introduction to the Missional conversation for those not already familiar with the names Newbigin, Guder, or Hunsberger.Shaped By God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches Overview

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