Mission Lab

Episode 042 - Stay In Your Lane

Is the pastor supposed to be the only one in the church who utilizes his or her gifts? Quite often that seems to be the case. First looking at some sobering stats from our local Seventh-day Adventist conference, we reflect on how every member has been gifted for ministry, discussing the fivefold gifts in Ephesians 4:11-16, and how the success of the church depends on every member of the body utilizing his or her gifts. 

To take a quick Fivefold Gifts survey, go here: http://fivefoldmissions.org/fivefoldsurvey/

To order Alan Hirsch's book, 5Q, click here.

To submit a question, email: shawnbrace@gmail.com 

Follow us on Twitter @mlabpodcast.

Episode 041 - Are We Trying to Make Everyone Seventh-day Adventists?

There seems to be a growing sentiment among Christians in general, and even Seventh-day Adventists in particular, which says that we shouldn't "steal sheep" from other denominations. Is this a correct attitude? We grapple with this important question, asking whether there is any room for introducing others to our "truth" and whether the goal of discipleship is to get everyone - whether they're Christians already or completely unchurched - to become Adventist.

Episode 040 - The Story of God

Shawn goes solo and offers a telling of "The Story of God," showing the big picture of the Bible's overarching narrative. He shares a few thoughts on how one can organize gatherings for an ongoing telling of the story, how it can be shared with those who don't know anything about God, and a few resources in learning the story better.

Episode 039 - Crossing the Bridge: What the Gospel and Mission Have to Do With Racial Reconciliation

This is a critical conversation. Shawn sits down with our good friend and missional community member Judi to talk about what the gospel and mission have to do with race. We talk about the importance of empathy and validating a person's experience and feelings, and genuinely listening to their stories without trying to delegitimatize them. We also discuss how being gospel-people has everything to do with racial reconcilation and how missional communities can provide safe spaces to have such important conversations.

Episode 038 - What's a Pastor To Do?

There seems to be an increasing number of pastors, especially those who are new in ministry, who are becoming disillusioned with "traditional" pastoring. The good news is, the "traditional" way of doing it is probably not biblical. We discuss how pastors can reframe their ministry around mission, discipleship, and community.

Episode 037 - What We Talk About When We Talk About Discipleship

The word "discipleship" is such a buzzword today. It is populat to talk about its importance. We also mention it frequently. But what does it mean? And how do we do it? We grapple with this important and significant question, offering our take on what it means to make disciples and how we do it.

Episode 036 - What Scares Us

Pretty simple: we reflect on what scares us about mission, discipleship, and the church. 

Episode 035 - Doubting Thomas, a Seventh-day Agnostic?

Shawn sits down with our good friend, Tom, who is a part of our missional community. We talk about his journey as a young man growing up in a Catholic home, his brief stint in Judaism, how his wife's prayers have borne fruit after 30 years of marriage, and his doubts and decisions relating to Christianity, discipleship, and the Bible. At the end of the day, we rejoice in the fun he's having as he explores life in community and on mission.

Episode 034 - Ain't Nobody Got Time For That

We pick off a few ideas from Rob Bell, Brene Brown, Jeff Bezos, Esther, Jesus, and Paul and encourage people to realize that "we are the committee." God is longing for people to have the courage to move forward to participate in His mission, prayerfully and graciously being who He wants us to be.

Episode 033 - Does God Need Us to Dress Up?

Does God need us to dress up? That's the question we explore in this episode, asking whether we need to wear suits and ties and nice dresses when we gather together. Not surprisingly, we say the answer is a resounding "no!" In fact, to do so may give the impression of non-inclusiveness. And it may be idolatrous, as though God needs to be appeased by us by wearing some sort of arbitrary costume.

We share this powerful quote from one of our favorite authors, Ellen White: "“On Sunday many popular churches appear more like a theater than like a place for the worship of God. Every fashionable dress is displayed there. Many of the poor have not courage to enter such houses of worship. Their plain dress, though it may be neat, is in marked contrast with that of their more wealthy sisters, and this difference causes them to feel embarrassed” (CTBH 85).