upcoming fun

In addition to moderating my first presbytery meeting next Saturday (Valentine's Day!)... and it being a "biggie" with the controversial Amendment B vote, I am preparing for my first venture onto the missional lecture circuit.

The Presbyterian Global Fellowship is a fellowship of Presbyterians "seeking to reclaim the missional purpose of the church." For more detail of vision, purpose, and implementation strategies, see their self-description HERE.

This year PGF is offering regional conferences, like THIS ONE in Atlanta in two weeks. I have been asked to co-lead a workshop described (by them) as follows:

Maximizing MPG (missional per gallon): small churches
Robert Austell, Charlotte, NC, and Jerry Deck, Carol Stream, IL

Smaller numbers doesn’t mean fewer gifts. In fact, smaller churches are uniquely equipped for helping God transform their communities and the world. Join two smaller church pastors who have worked with their sessions and congregations to be the “sent” ones of Jesus in the world.

Basically, I'm going to talk about how Good Shepherd has caught a vision for missional ministry (aka lighthouse/searchlight ministry)... and put it into practice. I'm excited to be able to share some of the tools we have developed and hope they will prove useful for other small churches.

I hope to report on how the workshop goes and how the material is received. If they throw tomatoes, I'll probably quietly remove this post and move on... but hopefully, there will be some positive response. :)