Mission Mover: Beyond Education for Church Leadership

by Thomas G. Bandy, Leonard Sweet (Afterword), Brian D. McLaren (Foreword by)

Mission Mover calls the reader to go beyond safe, ineffective leadership in service to the institutional church into preparation to follow Jesus into the mission field of contemporary culture. There are, says Tom Bandy, two different paths one can choose in preparing for ministry. On the one hand is the path of training to be a "church leader," in which you wait for 3-4 years to complete a specialized education, then spend your career trying to settle down in a place where you’re comfortable, where you can hope that no judicatory leader will move you and no conflict will crush you. On the other hand is the path of "mission movers." You’re on this path if you literally can’t (and don’t) wait to start your ministry, if you’re working among those for whom your heart bursts, if all you require is the confidence to know that you can learn what you need when you need it, and if your passion for personal growth and pragmatic adaptability will get around any conflict or obstacle that throws itself in your way. If you're on this second path--or if you're a congregational leader trying to help others find which route they should follow--then Mission Mover can be your indispensable guide.

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rachel B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic premise of this book is explaining that a person doesn't need to go to seminary in order to serve God “on mission.”

There are a lot of good points here, but the book is quite repetitive and there were a few instances of the author interpreting Scripture in very questionable ways.

The format (a rather one-sided email exchange) is outdated and clunky. A straightforward text would have read more smoothly.