Above: A photo of author, Reggie McNeal.

Below: A guest post by pastorbuddy, Grant English.

I had the incredible honor of listening to Reggie talk yesterday. I’ve read his books, I’ve heard him multiple times – he never gets old. It’s like listening to Yoda…and he’s about that same height. My favorite quotes from yesterday.

Being missional starts with the understanding that Christianity is not a western philosophy but an encounter with the real person of Jesus.

I’m not here to help you do church better. I’m here to challenge you to BE the church FOR your community, not just IN your community.

The Church, not A church. When people say “a church” they reveal that they don’t get it. We are THE church. We church wherever we go.

Missional Church is a redundant term.

Missional is simply the people of God partnering with Him in His redemptive mission in the world. He is already at work, we are to be a people of blessing in that work.

The Church is a people of blessing. This mission predates the church because blessing is the character of God himself. See Genesis 12.

How can we practice being the church? Start asking “how can we be a people of blessing?” How can we bless at our jobs, schools, clubs, social circles, city, community?

Every church ought to have at least one school they have adopted. Showing up at a school once a year to paint the playground is NOT a partnership. Pray for those teachers, provide school supplies, ask them – “what do you need to help you overcome the obstacles that you are facing?”

The problems of our community first manifest themselves in our schools.

We aren’t the point. The Church isn’t the point. Thinking the point is the church is like thinking the airport is the point of travel. We go to places and the airport is the means to the ends. It’s a vital part of our journey but the journey isn’t about spending time in the airport. The Airport is a tool. Same for church – she is a connector to real LIFE and Kingdom.

One of the largest obstacles we face in the West is the Outsource Mindset. We outsource everything – car maintenance, lawn mowing, education and even spiritual formation. Program based churches feed this monster. What is needed is more people-development, more life on life, as we go, in the middle of life church.