October 21, 2010 by David Fitch
One Day – Nine 12 Minute Rants – Leading to 9 Conversations About Stuff We All Need to Talk About

What this post is about is the upcoming Missional Learning Commons Non Conference – at least my take on it. We’re gathering for a day of twelve conversations at the Lindner Center at Northern Seminary. We start at 9 a.m.. Each of the practicioners talks for twelve minutes, basically summarizes their thoughts/experience in a rant (what more can you do in 12 minutes?). Then we have a discussion about it – flesh it out, take comments and questions. It’s wide open. The goal? To encourage each other in hearing and engaging with what others are doing on the ground in missional communities. The topics are about typical challenges and questions we’re all facing on the ground in leading/shaping missional communities.The topics and speakers are

1. Cyd Holsclaw: Discipleship in Disguise – Doing discipleship “missionally” as part of everyday life (i.e. not as a program).

2. Michael Novelli: The intersection of Biblical Narrative, Dialogue and Spiritual Formation – story telling as part a discipling community.

3. Mark Van Steenwyk: Missional Discipleship in the Shadow of Empire – how sharing the gospel is a form of resistance to unjust social structures.

4. Helen Lee: The Kingdom Belongs to Such as These: Missional Living In and Through Our Children

5. Jason Lantz: If anyone doesn’t know how to manage his own family how can he take care of God’s church?

6. Ben Sternke: Sorry, We Can’t Come Because We Have Little League That Night

7. David Fitch: The Hazards of Being Paid to Pastor: Overcoming the Bad Dynamics of Money

8. David Fitch: Leadership is Submission: The Counter-Cultural Way of the Cross in Leadership

9. Amy Rozko: Global Perspectives on Missional Leadership:  Reflections and Observations from Cape Town 2010

This is all free except for 10 bucks to help with child care. There’s a Friday night casual meeting discussing James Smith’s book Desiring the Kingdom. We’re all just hanging out together that night. There will also be alot of time to meet, eat and hang out with fellow missionaries during the day on Saturday.  Find out more about the speakers and check out details here. Let people know via the facebook page. Think about joining us? eh?

David Fitch

David Fitch (Ph.D) is a longtime pastor in Chicago, and the B. R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary. He teaches on the issues the local church must face in mission including cultural engagement, leadership, and theology. He's written multiple books, including Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines that Shape the Church for Mission (2016), and the forthcoming 2024 release, entitled Reckoning With Power: Why the Church Fails When it's on the Wrong Side of Power (Brazos, Jan 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Substack.

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