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An advocate and champion for movements of gospel-centered Missional Communities, Verge Network exists for church leaders, students, entrepreneurs, artists, urban innovators, business leaders, community development specialists, non-profit leaders, church planters and everyday leaders - anyone pursuing the mission of God, in community, whatever the context, for the sake of the Gospel. Verge leaders and churches are engaged in the mission of God, centered around the gospel, in community, and understand the value of staying current on issues surrounding the mission of God. Verge Network has a passionate and engaged audience of leaders who want to see the Gospel change them, change their communities, change the neighbors and change the world. Verge Conference was launched in 2010 as a gathering for people engaged in the mission of God with the gospel in their every day context. Our first year we sold out three weeks in advance with more than 2,000 attendees and nearly 3,000 people from 11 countries engaged online via live stream. The conference prompted Verge Network which champions movements of gospel-centered missional communities and missional leaders by offering timely and topical information, video, interviews, articles and on-going dialog about living on mission, in community, centered around the gospel. In 2011 Verge partnered with Exponential, the largest church planting conference in the U.S., to equip 4000+ leaders to learn what it means to live out the gospel on mission in community. Verge is for everyday people and leaders who are pursuing the mission of God with the gospel in their context. Verge leaders and churches are engaged in the mission of God, centered around the gospel, in community, and understand the value of staying connected. Check out these ways to stay connected and share VERGE with others:

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Know Culture’s Story: Hirsch & Ford | BOOK PREVIEW

Speaking the Lingo (All Mission is Cross Cultural)

All missionaries must deal with language. To speak the lingo means to understand and adopt the language forms of the people we love and serve. We do so in order to represent Jesus meaningfully in the group itself. Tim Keller, one of the elder statesmen of the missional church world, encourages us to enter and re-tell the culture’s stories with the gospel rather than the other way around. For instance, in church circles there is a certain insider-language…a common worldview that allows us to simply exhort Christianized people with little or no real engagement, listening, or persuasion. In a missional setting communication should always assume the presence of skeptical people, and should engage their stories, not simply talk the church’s insider story and language. This requires that we are sensitive to story and language and how these inform identity and community.

The older culture’s story was to be a good person, a good father/mother, son/daughter, to live a decent, merciful, good life. Now the culture’s story is—(a) to be free and self-created and authentic (theme of freedom from oppression), and (b) to make the world safe for everyone else to be the same (theme of inclusion of the ‘other’; justice). To “re-tell” means to show how only in Christ can we have freedom without slavery and embracing of the ‘other’ without injustice.

To listen to the cultures stories we need to be attentive. Once again movies and art form will give us a good clue because great art is a way in which people seek to express meaning. For instance, in what way do the movies Revolutionary Road, The Matrix, The Pursuit of Happiness, or whatever, tell us about our cultures story and values? Test this, try asking people what their absolutely favorite movie is, and why this is so, and you will hear a lot about that person. This is true of all artform in whole culture groups.

Paul in Athens is very sensitive to their religion, poetry, and philosophy (Acts 17). In Athens Paul exegetes the culture, allowing the biblical story to inform and guide him—but he starts with the culture and ends with Gospel. In Jerusalem it’s a different story; he whips out his big black King James (or equivalent) and he begins with Scripture and proceeds to culture. The more and more America slips into the encroaching post-Christian experience, the more and more we are going to have to take an Athenian approach to engaging it. In a missional context Christians must learn to behave like culturally tuned missionaries.

To be continued in Part 9…

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Until Then:

What do you think about Alan and Lance’s take on speaking the language of the culture? What are the challenges to behaving like “culturally tuned missionaries”?

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Alan Hirsch & Lance Ford have released their newest book, “Right Here, Right Now: Everyday Mission for Everyday People.” Join us as we release exclusive content from the book’s opening chapter! Read the previous installment, Part 7, below or start from the beginning…

More information about the book

In this inspiring yet practical book, Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford show you how to live missionally regardless of your situation, vocation, or location. Touching on issues of discipleship, spirituality, and church at every level of experience, Right Here, Right Now calls you to be the person God has made you to be.

You can purchase the book here: Amazon.com
You can check out the book’s website here: Book Website

Follow Alan on Twitter: @alanhirsch | Follow Lance on Twitter: @lanceford