Except for those who have lived in a cave for the last forty years, we all realize that monumental shifts are taking place in society. The shifts are not just the casual interests of new clothing fads and music tastes, but the way people think and live.
Of all the changes, one of particular interest is the overall decline of Christianity, as people have known it for the last two hundred years. The so-called “Dones” are walking away from the institutional church, and not many of the so-called “Nones” are waking up on Sunday morning with plans to attend a church service.
For this reason, Mission Alive is committed to starting what we call Innovative Faith Communities. These are communities of believers committed to following Jesus, who are trying to extend the gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God—in relevant ways to the neighborhoods they serve. The Reimagine Church SubStack, hosted by Mission Alive, publishes original articles addressing the theological and practical issues related to this mission work in North America.
In the past, we have enlisted authors from various theological disciplines to write a series titled Reimagining Church: An Innovative Approach to Mission in North America. This series focused on the theology that drives mission, and we followed it with Reimagining Church: Stories of How Innovative Faith Communities Work, a more practical exploration of how that theology becomes theological praxis. Both series included some authors who are well known among Churches of Christ and others who are lesser known, but all have shown their commitment to thinking beyond the traditional lenses of what it means to be a church on mission with God. We also feature regular editorials written by me and other articles written by Tod Vogt, the Executive Director of Mission Alive. Most recently, Tod has written a series of articles titled Bold By Design, which explore the leadership challenges churches face as they seek to reimagine what it means to live on mission with God.
If the Reimagining Church SubStack interests you, you can go to the Reimagine Church SubStack and subscribe by clicking the “subscribe” buttons embedded within this article.
-K. Rex Butts, D.Min