St. Joseph's Girls Orphanage

St. Joseph's Girls Orphanage

In the world of stories from friends and companions whose paths have crossed with Missional Wisdom Foundation, Maggie and Darryl Patterson have played a role. Through a desire to find and be "more" in the world, and fueled and inspired by family tragedy, these friends have taken a derelict orphanage in Australia and turned it into a place that serves vulnerable children. (Originally published by Eternity News, by Tess Holgate and Bryce McLellan)

On the outskirts of Goulburn, in country NSW, an ordinary couple are hard at work turning the old St Joseph’s Girls Orphanage into a community hub, complete with café and accommodation for vulnerable women and children.

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationSeptember 22, 2017MWF connections, missional, missional livingComment

The B-I-B-L-E

The B-I-B-L-E
The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, Week 2
by Andrea Lingle

The B-I-B-L-E, yes, that’s the book for me.

Actually, I have a rather volatile relationship with the B-I-B-L-E. It is a book that I have read and re-read, but do not understand. It is surprising, confusing, infuriating, and precious. There are stories that have left me terrified, inspired, and everything in between.

San Luis Valley

San Luis Valley Summer Internship Reflection
by Amber Oxley

Hi y’all! My name is Amber Oxley and I am the house steward of the St. Francis House in Dallas, Tx. I joined the Missional Wisdom community three years ago in this house. We’ve experienced transition and joyful ministry in the house with various residents since we began with the support of Lakewood United Methodist Church three years ago this August. Last summer, I was given an opportunity to serve in a pastoral internship in the Rocky Mountain Conference.

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationSeptember 15, 2017summer, Epworth House, Epworth ProjectComment

Foundational Issues

Foundational Issues: The Wesleyan Quadrilateral
The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, Week 1
by Adam White

We all need foundations to build upon. This exists physically for the construction and repair of houses and buildings, emotionally for establishing relationships with each other, and spiritually for our faith.

Devotional, Wisdom for the WayAdam WhiteSeptember 13, 2017theme VI, The Wesleyan Quadrilateral, Adam WhiteComment

It Is Time

It Is Time
by Bret Wells

Since the first cohort in 2011, Launch & Lead (formerly known as The Academy for Missional Wisdom) has been equipping people and teams from all over the US to launch and lead alternative forms of Christian community, and/or provide support to those who do.

Devotional, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationSeptember 6, 2017Launch & Lead, Bret WellsComment

Heroes You Should Know

"Hurricane Harvey hit Texas on Saturday, taking lives and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. Once the storm downgraded to Tropical Storm Harvey, even more damage was done, bringing in unprecedented flooding and raising the death toll to eight, a number expected to rise. In Houston alone, an estimated 30,000 will be forced to flee their homes and seek shelter; 450,000 others will require some sort of disaster assistance.

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationSeptember 1, 2017disaster relief, missional, missional livingComment

Journey

Journey
by Robert Bishop

As we prepare to begin a new series of devotional thoughts in a couple of weeks, we have asked some Missional Wisdom Foundation staff members to tell us more about some upcoming classes and events.

Autumn is close, and the kids have either gone back to school or are well on their way. Back to school isn’t just for the kids, though. If you’ve been searching for a way to grow your engagement in your community, the Missional Wisdom Foundation has you covered.

The Gospel is Sweet

The Gospel is Sweet
by Larry Duggins

[A couple of weeks ago,] I watched the first harvest of honey from the bee hives at Haw Creek. There was joy, there was learning, there was cooperation and helping – there were so many wonderful affirmations of how a group of bee keepers can be a church.

Wisdom for the Way, SpotlightMissional Wisdom FoundationAugust 25, 2017Haw Creek Commons, bees, honeyComment

What Doesn't Missional Mean?

What Doesn't Missional Mean?
What Does Missional Mean?, Week 14
by Andrea Lingle

For the last three months we have been on the journey of contemplating what does missional mean?

We discussed how the Gospel serves as a missional initiation to reorient our lives in following Christ.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalAndrea LingleAugust 23, 2017Andrea Lingle, missional, What Does Missional Mean?, Theme V, conclusionComment

Be the Artist...

Be the Artist God Created You to Be!
by Rev. Gary A. Shockley, a friend and supporter of Missional Wisdom Foundation, and member of our Dispersed Community

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” -Pablo Picasso.

Because we are made in the image of Creator we are all creative. Every one of us has the potential to do something that sparks imagination, expresses feelings, provokes thought and helps others to experience beauty: painting, sculpture, music, dance, gardening, writing, cooking, singing, preaching, coaching, teaching, praying (and the list goes on) are all forms of creativity.

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationAugust 18, 2017art, MWF connections, creativityComment

Neighboring

Neighboring
What Does Missional Mean?, Week 13
by Andrea Lingle

Living missionally might, with all of its connection with New Monasticism and intentional community, seem impossible for those living within the confines of a school schedule and a minivan.

L & L Student, Diane Rheos

Launch & Lead Student, Diane Rheos
Diane shares here the ways in which she is using the skills she is learning to launch and lead new communities.

A Community in Partnership with a Great Lead Team
The WaySide is an intentional Christian community connected to Fremont United Methodist Church in Portland Oregon.

We are getting to know how we can be supported by our lead team, which we call The WaySide Outside. Together we hosted an all church event on Sunday July 23rd . In Portland each summer there are Sunday Parkway events. The city closes a loop of streets and hundreds of people get on their bikes and make the circuit. The WaySide house-mates suggested the idea of an event to host a BBQ and then participate in the ride. The WaySide Outside Team were enthusiastic supporters. Together we provided a BBQ lunch for everyone in attendance that Sunday morning, and then a group of people decorated their bikes, and rode on the Sunday Parkways cycling route.

Missional Imagination

Missional Imagination
What Does Missional Mean?, Week 12
by Andrea Lingle and Bret Wells

The active work of the Missional Wisdom Foundation is lived out through ongoing missional experimentation. These experiments are developed through a conjunction of the contemplative stance and missional imagination.

Imagination is what we experience when a story takes root in our mind. As the tendrils of narrative spread, new regions of brain activity are ignited. Once our imagination is fully
engaged, we not only hear the story but we see the story; we can smell it, taste it, touch
it...experience it.

L & L Alum, Mary Beth Taylor

Launch & Lead Alum, Mary Beth Taylor

This week’s spotlight is taken from Together: Community as a Means of Grace by Larry Duggins.

Reverend Mary Beth Taylor noticed a different kind of community while she was Associate Pastor at Littleton UMC outside of Denver. Mary Beth, also a graduate of Launch & Lead, noticed that many people enjoyed spending some of their recreational time having a cold beer and some appetizers at the local pub, just like she and her life partner, Steve. She pulled together a small group of people and formed Open Space, a community that meets monthly in a local bar and grill.

Model Trains and Tadpoles

Model Trains and Tadpoles!
What Does Missional Mean?, Week 11
by Adam White

What do model trains and tadpoles have in common? This newsletter article!

This week we are looking at two stories of missional living from two different communities of faith, a local church and a neo-monastic community.

L & L Alum, Nora Ortiz Fredrick

Launch & Lead Alum, Nora Ortiz Fredrick

This week’s spotlight is taken from Together: Community as a Means of Grace by Larry Duggins.

Nora Ortiz Fredrick is a consultant, fund-raiser, and entrepreneur in Anchorage, Alaska. Nora, a graduate of the Missional Wisdom Foundation's Launch & Lead program, noticed that the timing of traditional church services makes very little sense in Alaska. Many people are drawn to Alaska by its natural beauty and the wide variety of outdoor activities is offers, yet churches were asking people to take several hours out of the very middle of their weekends to come into an urban setting in order to sit indoors for worship.

From Pity to Compassion

From Pity to Compassion
Author: Andrea Lingle

Being missional or sent out is tricksy. It is tempting to go out in one’s strength toward those considered needy. We, here in the safety and security of privilege, come to you, there in the lowness and dislocation of your need. If the people of God move out, missionally, from a place of certainty, then a missional way of life just becomes another, hip crusade. It is the way of pity, and no one wants to be pitied.

Launch & Lead Alum, Lynda Fickling

Launch & Lead Alum, Lynda Fickling

This week’s spotlight is taken from Together: Community as a Means of Grace by Larry Duggins.

Table fellowship has been a traditional part of the life of many Christian denominations for years in the form of Wednesday night dinners or Friday fish fries. These activities, however, were typically inwardly focused—serving the people of the church—and were large gatherings. Lynda Fickling, director of servant ministry and spiritual director at St. Luke’s UMC in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and a graduate of the MWF’s Launch & Lead program, decided to combine the joys of table fellowship with the idea of small groups by developing Kitchen Groups. Lynda put together a leader’s guide that provided insight into hosting a simple dinner in a home.

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationJuly 14, 2017Larry Duggins, Together, community, Launch & Lead, AlumComment

Together

Together

What Does Missional Mean?, Week 8

by Larry Duggins

This week’s meditation is taken from Together: Community as a Means of Grace by Larry Duggins.

I believe that community itself is a prudential means of grace. Our Creator lives in a constant state of life-giving community, thriving through an inseparable bond between Father, Son, and Spirit. Our Creator made us in the Creator’s image, so we, ourselves, long for the same kind of community connection, and it is the prayer of the Redeemer that we experience that kind of community with each other and with the Creator. Through learning to love each other in communities, we live into our nature as the reflection of the image of God, fulfilling the desire of God, which draws us closer to God.

Launch & Lead Alum, Ben Floyd

Launch & Lead Alum, Ben Floyd

As my family and I sit in the midst of boxes and pictures taken off the walls, we’re able to take some time and reflect on the last 4 years and how God works in our lives in ways that are often beyond our understanding. My upcoming appointment in the UMC in Todd, NC, is a sure sign of God working in us and through us. I will be serving as campus pastor of Blackburn’s Chapel, connected to Boone UMC. Along with this privilege I will also be serving as executive director of a non-profit that seeks to build community through listening, presence, and working with an intentional community of 3-4 young people who seek to live into their calls as disciples and disciple-makers in rural ministry. I can’t help but see this placement as being related to the work and formation I’ve been a part of through the Missional Wisdom Foundation. It was at the initial retreat for my Launch & Lead cohort four years ago that God spoke to me in a voice that was unavoidable. His call to me and my family was clear after that weekend – we were meant for ministry, more than what we were doing at the time. For me, that call took the shape of seminary and candidacy in the UMC for ordination.

Wisdom for the Way, SpotlightMissional Wisdom FoundationJuly 7, 2017Launch & Lead, AlumComment