William F. Stapleton

This 5th installment in the “Being Missional” series builds upon Romans 12:5 “and we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” The community of believers as we found them in the early church, and as we must become in postmodern America, is a transformational community. By that, we mean that it is composed of people whose lives have been transformed by Christ, that it involves people who continue the transformation of lifestyle through obedience to Christ, and also that the presence of the community in the world transforms the world around it. The structure and practice of the Christian community are in view in this session.

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What God IS is Love

“Beloved, let us love one another,” John writes, “for love is from God, and everyone who does love is born of God and knows God.  Anyone who doesn’t do love cannot possibly know God, because what God IS is love.”  Not only by His longing for our freedom, but by the love, which is both His chosen mode of being and the very essence of His existence, shall we come to know and understand God.  Once these things are in place, we can begin to understand what to expect in our relationship with Him.

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This little series of talks is aimed, in a roundabout way, at helping us all have some common metaphors, examples and stories that will provide us with a common framework for understanding what we mean when we say “Missional.”

Part 4 continues the discussion on what it means to be missional, looking at the structure of the church. Our idea of proper organization is probably not biblical, since the New Testament says precious little about actual church orgainzation. We have been given great latitude concerning the practical aspects of organization in the church, and yet we continue in the same pattern we have used for hundreds of years. We need to consider organizational principles that will meet the needs of the church in the new century, not in the 16th century

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This little series of talks is aimed, in a roundabout way, at helping us all have some common metaphors, examples and stories that will provide us with a common framework for understanding what we mean when we say “Missional.”

Part 3 continues the discussion on what it means to be missional, looking at the elements that make up church with a view to sharpening our focus. The church needs leaders, everyone knows. But how do we get transformational leaders if all we do is look at those faithful few who are still happy with the status-quo in the church? We need to look outside the box, perhaps even outside the circle of people we like, and who agree with us, to find the leaders who can carry the church into the next generation.

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On the Longing of God

I find it almost a universal truth these days that people sense an empty spot in their lives in regard to understanding who God is and what He’s trying to do, both in the world and in their own lives as well.  Through this series of teaching sessions I’ll explore the various ways of coming to know God more intimately, understanding Him as a Father of fathers, and highlighting the difference between knowing ‘about’ God and actually coming to ‘know’ Him in a personal, intimate and, some might say, dangerous way.  My goal here is more to provoke independent thought than to give pat answers, since I believe, as the book of Hebrews teaches, that the first step in faith is to “believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

In this introductory session we will explore the steps God has taken to draw men and women near.  God longs for fellowship with His lost creation, and finds that through the sacrifice of Christ.  In truth, we can never know God apart from what Jesus has revealed to us about Him.  But we find that as we approach Jesus, Himself very God, we come into intimate relationship with the Father as well.

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This little series of talks is aimed, in a roundabout way, at helping us all have some common metaphors, examples and stories that will provide us with a common framework for understanding what we mean when we say “Missional.”

Part 2 continues the discussion on what it means to be missional, looking at the elements that make up church with a view to sharpening our focus. The church really just consists of people, so before we look at better structures for leadership and better church management, better buildings and physical plant, etc. we’d best begin by building better Christian people who intentionally live a missional lifestyle.

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Faith and finance were never intended to get a divorce. God intended them to be in a healthy relationship. The Bible has more verses on money and commerce than it does on faith, prayer, heaven and hell combined. Go figure. The problem is that we have misinterpreted and misapplied that teaching on faith and finance. God has blessed us to be a blessing to others, and that has an economic application too. This series of teachings is aimed at helping developing leaders think through some of the scriptural issues surrounding money, wealth and mammon as a means to producing the kind of growth God’s Kingdom is all about.

In this session we’ll discuss our attitudes toward stewardship, money and wealth and define prosperity.

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Faith and finance were never intended to get a divorce. God intended them to be in a healthy relationship. The Bible has more verses on money and commerce than it does on faith, prayer, heaven and hell combined. Go figure. The problem is that we have misinterpreted and misapplied that teaching on faith and finance. God has blessed us to be a blessing to others, and that has an economic application too. This series of teachings is aimed at helping developing leaders think through some of the scriptural issues surrounding money, wealth and mammon as a means to producing the kind of growth God’s Kingdom is all about.

This first little musical and philosophical mashup is intended to set the stage for following pieces on faith and finance. Just listen, and then think it over before you move on to the next part.

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