One of the books I’m reading during this Lenten season is Off-Road Disciplines by Earl Creps.
I think I first saw the book in the Cokesbury bookstore at Asbury Theological Seminary a few years ago. I thought it was a creative look at a different set of spiritual disciplines in the 21st century, specifically for missional leaders.
It’s certainly not your typical disciplines (e.g., prayer, Scripture, worship, etc.). They’re disciplines for missional leaders, divided into personal and organizational categories. Personal disciplines include: Death, Truth, Perspective, Learning, Witness, and Humility. Organizational disciplines include: Assessment, Harmony, Reflection, Opportunity, Sacrifice, and Legacy.
Here are a few statements I highlighted …
Both …
This book argues that missional leadership derives not from methods or strategies but from the work of the Holy Spirit to rearrange one’s interior life (xiv).
and …
A missional perspective springs from a transformed interior life that gives us moral authority to lead God’s people (14).
address the importance of the Holy Spirit in the work of missional leaders. It’s not our ministry/leadership — it’s God’s — and we depend on God’s presence and power for effectiveness.
Saying ‘I need you’ crucifies my impersonation of omnipresence (as well as omniscience and omnipotence), opening the way for a kind of humility that brings isolated individuals together into healthy communities (82).
The practice of evangelism involves making room for the Spirit to draw the sought into a saving encounter with the Seeker through Christ. The Church’s job is not to save people but to shape the space in which God calls them to himself (145).
Caring profoundly about the sought and developing venues in which to interact with them creates only the potential for mission. Nothing else happens without the agency and power of the Holy Spirit (150) … The Spirit dimension involves the infusion of God’s presence and power into the venues (personal, electronic, institutional) in which the Church interacts with the sought (152).
Finally, a quote from Gen. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army …
The tendency of fire is to go out; watch the fire on the altar of your heart (181).
Missional leaders must guard their hearts, making sure their passion stays strong!