Michael Frost - The Road to Missional: Journey to the Center of the Church

I have no hard research to back up what I am about to say, but I am willing to stand by it anyway: I think that if we have not already passed the tipping point in relation to the adoption of the idea of missional church, then we are awfully close. From what we know about the sociology of knowledge and the diffusion of innovations, all that it takes for an idea to be inevitable in a given population (in this case, the evangelical church in the West) is the adoption by the innovators (2.5 percent) and the early adopters (13.5 percent). In other words, 16 percent is the tipping point in any given population!

From what I can observe, the majority of the best thinkers and our most progressive practitioners have conceded that the missional conversation has both deepened our theology and given our ecclesiology its much-needed basis from which to understand ourselves and negotiate the challenges of the twenty-first century. I, for one, am hopeful because I believe that behind this term is a cluster of ideas, paradigms, and methodologies that contains nothing less than the seeds of hope for the future of Western Christianity. If this is true, then there is a real chance we will see renewal of Western Christianity in our time.

So, the term missional is now being appropriated at a massive rate. But so very often this is being done without the foggiest idea of what it actually means and the impact that it should have on our thinking and practices. The simple adoption of vocabulary without grappling with the inner meaning of words always devolves to jargon. I have heard of missional Sunday school, missional Greek classes, missional this, and missional that. The danger of this is clear: when everything becomes missional, then nothing becomes missional. This book speaks directly into that situation.

Michael has been one of the finest evangelists in Australias recent history. In my opinion, he is also one of the worlds best mass communicators, bringing biblical depth to large audiences with an almost uncanny cultural verve. At the same time he has also managed to be a leading activist and practitioner of the missional cause, both locally and internationally. But with this book he has come of age as a missiologist and a theologian in his own right. And here, I think, we really get to the heart of the purpose of The Road to Missional , because it is one of the theologians essential roles to help us both understand the meaning of the words that shape the people of God, and to guard against the dilution of the world-changing power of those words.

One of the things I love about this book is the fact that Mikes very distinct personality and commitments are evident throughout. Those who know and love this remarkable man (as I do) know that he can be an amazingly winsome, witty conversationalist. But we also know that Mike does not suffer fools lightly and doesnt mince his words either, and so being around him might not always feel comfortable. This is because Mike is a potent mixture of prophet and evangelista person who tells truth in two different ways. As evangelist he has been an excellent spokesman for, and recruiter to, Jesus and his cause. As prophet he is as likely to simply kick your butt... a role I think he seems to relish at times.