Wow! There are just some people who stretch your mind and challenge you in such a way that it is refreshing – Reggie McNeil is one of those guys. The sessions with him have been top-notched. I wish all our church members were here to listen to this man. He is one of the better communicators that I have heard, especially on the topic of the missional church.
He has a sharp edge about him (blunt and straight forward) that is buffered by a great sense of humor. I guess this is what a person needs especially when they talk about future things, which always makes the Church uncomfortable.
Here are some thought provoking principles that McNeil that talked about:
2) The Church being people-development vs. program-driven. We need to get to a point in our church where we are helping people develop in their relationship with Christ rather than just giving them a cookie-cutting program to experience life transformation. The program-driven church has fueled the fire for the consumer-minded church.
3) The Church being apostolic era leadership vs. church-based leadership. Apostolic leadership is driven by vision and values. They always have the bigger picture in mind, while the church-based leadership is concerned about positions and titles. The apostolic church operates under the preparation modality rather than the planning modality. The preparation mindset gets people ready for what is to come in the future. This is what we need to see more of in the churches today.
These three shifts are already occurring and the Church has to line up with them in order to be a part of what God is doing around the world.
The pastoral staff and I were able to get a quick picture with Dr. McNeil