Denise Crane

New MWF Leader, Denise Crane

I am Denise Crane, one of the new leaders of the Missional Wisdom Foundation. I should probably start by explaining that I hate being in the spotlight. It’s just not my cup of tea. That said, after I got over the knot in my stomach at being asked to write about myself for this week’s spotlight, I realized that it gives me an amazing opportunity to talk about how wonderful it is to get to walk with these people who make up the Missional Wisdom Foundation and all the other people who journey alongside us. That is worth talking about!

Wisdom for the Way, SpotlightMissional Wisdom FoundationOctober 28, 2016Denise Crane, MWF Leader, Lead TeamComment

Will I? Will You?

Will I? Will You?
The Rule of Life, Week 1
by Andrea Lingle

For the next several months, we will be looking at our Rule of Life. A Rule of Life is a set of intentional practices that an individual or group adopts as a guide for living.

Missional Wisdom Foundation has a lovely Rule of Life.

Wisdom for the Way, DevotionalAndrea LingleOctober 26, 2016Rule of Life, Andrea Lingle, Theme IIIComment

What Kind of God?

What Kind of God?: Reading the Bible with a Missional Church
by Bret Wells

What kind of God is God? If, as the Apostle Paul claims in Colossians 1:15, Jesus is the exact image of the unseen God, then what is that God like? And how might the revelation of God in Jesus—God’s will, God’s nature, God’s action, God’s plan revealed fully in Jesus—change how followers of Jesus read the Bible?

Together

As we prepare to begin a new series of devotional thoughts in a couple of weeks, we are going to do sometime a little different. For the next two issues we will be telling you about some books by our Missional Wisdom leaders that will be published soon.

Together: Community as a Means of Grace
by Larry Duggins

Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to travel to a number of cities to meet with people who are interested in repurposing a church building to be used to connect with the neighborhood in new ways.

Bonhoeffer House

Bonhoeffer House
by Ryan Klinck

Bonhoeffer House, an Epworth House in East Dallas, has been going through a transformation this past summer. One of the original members and the house steward of the house, Adam White, transitioned out of the house to be married (hooray!) at the beginning of the summer. The remaining members began to pay attention and pray together about this new season the house found itself in.

Embraced

Embraced
The Missional Community as a Means of Grace, Week 9
by Andrea Lingle

It was a late summer Sunday morning. All my kids had been delivered to their Sunday school classes at the Methodist church we attend.

My oldest was given his third grade Bible at the morning service. I showed him mine before we left for church. I took his picture. My second wore a dazzling, jeweled dress. Her golden blonde hair isn’t combed. Third-child-second-son has just moved out of the nursery area. He is both proud and nervous. I assure him that he will be fine. Baby wails as I close the door of the nursery.

The Epworth Project

The Epworth Project
by Ryan Klinck

The past few months for the Epworth Project have been a full experience. Back in May, the spiritual formation team who oversees Epworth sat down and revamped the application process for bringing people into the houses. This process included bringing new aspects of discernment into the interviewing process and once the new residents were welcomed into the home. During the summer, the staff had the pleasure of interviewing and accepting ten new residents into our houses!

Wisdom for the Way, SpotlightMissional Wisdom FoundationSeptember 30, 2016Epworth House, Epworth Project, Ryan KlinckComment

The Missional Family

The Missional Family
The Missional Community as a Means of Grace, Week 8
by Adam White

We were created for one another.

I believe that God’s missional desire for us as followers of Christ and sacred children of this earth is to enter into deeper loving relationships with one another.

L & L Alum, Hannah Terry

Launch & Lead Alum, Hannah Terry

Meet the minister building bridges between refugee communities in Houston, TX: Hannah Terry, an alum of Launch & Lead (then The Academy for Missional Wisdom). Hannah's work with FAM was recently featured in Houstonia online magazine.

"It was while she was attending Duke Divinity School in North Carolina that Terry was recruited to Westbury UMC, thanks to her fierce curiosity and her intense desire to build bridges—qualities church leaders saw as crucial in continuing their outreach mission to address what they call “the disparities next door.”

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationSeptember 23, 2016Launch & Lead, Alum, refugees, MWF connectionsComment

A Hermaneutic...

A Hermeneutic of Perfecting Love
The Missional Community as a Means of Grace, Week 7
by Adam White

"...Are you going on to perfection? …Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?”

These are a couple of the questions each clergy answers in the United Methodist Church before becoming ordained.

Cochran House

Cochran House

In the midst of all the negative news floating around recently, it's great to see this article featuring Cochran House, Epworth Project, and Missional Wisdom Foundation on DallasNews.com!

Receiving and Offering Grace...

Receiving and Offering Grace With One Another
The Missional Community as a Means of Grace, Week 6
by Adam White

Jesus Christ practiced radical hospitality.

What does it mean to practice “radical hospitality?”

For Christ and the disciples, it meant relying upon the hospitality of others to fulfill their service and missional life. Within three of the four Gospels, Christ givesauthority to the disciples and sends them out without means or resources, asking them to rely upon the hospitality of strangers to fulfill their mission (Matthew 10:6-16, Mark 6:6b-13, Luke 9:1-6).

Every Day...

Every Day is a Pilgrimage
by Maria Bergh, former resident of the Epworth Project

Every day the sun makes a pilgrimage across the sky and, cognizant or not, we follow. Preoccupied by daily tasks, it is hard to sense the direction and speed we are traveling. But with a little grace and intentionality we can draw out the patterns and rhythms and see our lives as a pilgrimage homeward to God.

Wisdom for the Way, SpotlightMissional Wisdom FoundationSeptember 9, 2016Epworth House, Epworth Project, pilgrimageComment

Showing Up

Showing Up
The Missional Community as a Means of Grace, Week 5
by Adam White

We should never underestimate the power of showing up.

I serve at a local United Methodist Church in East Dallas and have the humble opportunity to lead different classes, studies, and programs. Every week there is a Wednesday Bible study where a group of around ten to twelve older adults come and engage in discussion around scripture.

The Gathering: Burleson

The Gathering: Burleson
by Rachel Wells

We had tears on the way to school this morning. Normally that is not a good thing. But this case was a little different - it was my eight-year-old, confessing that he was very nervous about the teacher rearranging the seating assignments today.

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayRachel WellsSeptember 2, 2016Rachel Wells, intentional community, missional living, four things, Rule of LifeComment

Constant Communion

The Duty of Constant Communion
The Missional Community as a Means of Grace, Week 4
by Andrea Lingle

Whoever you are, wherever you are, and whenever you are will affect how you see the world. We live in a tribal world. We are white and black, gay and straight, male and female, religious and “none,” introvert and extrovert, “in a relationship” or single, coffee or tea, Instagram or Reddit. We are a diverse species and we all fear invisibility, so we draw lines around ourselves. This is me. These are mine. This is what I believe.

What Do You Love About This Place?

What Do You Love About This Place?
by Bret Wells

The WNC3 cohort of Launch & Lead met at Haw Creek Commons this weekend for their 3rd training retreat (which means they’ve now completed about 75% of the 2-year program). This event, which focuses on principles and skills related to community development, also functions as a springboard into the practicum phase of Launch & Lead.

So much of what we do in Launch & Lead is designed to help our participants to develop a posture of curiosity, discovery, and expectation as we encounter the world around us. That isn’t to say that we turn a blind eye to, or adopt a naïve dismissal of pain, dysfunction, injustice. On the other hand, we also realize that constantly seeking out and highlighting everything that is wrong is not any more effective or beneficial.

Spotlight, Wisdom for the WayMissional Wisdom FoundationAugust 26, 2016Launch & Lead, Haw Creek Commons, listening, Bret WellsComment

Logical

Logical
The Missional Community as a Means of Grace, Week 3
by Andrea Lingle

Have you ever done a logic puzzle? You get a list of clues, make a grid, and figure out, through astounding feats of intellect and crossing off of boxes, who sat next to whom and what color shirt they had on and what they ate.

Community Garden

Haw Creek Commons Community Garden
This week's guest author, Kate Rudd, is the Cultivator at Haw Creek Commons in Asheville, NC.

Haw Creek Commons has a new addition: a community garden! The 3,000 square foot Haw Creek Garden is situated in front of the parsonage, or Haw Creek House, and is open to neighbors who want to learn and grow food.

Words

Words
The Missional Community as a Means of Grace, Week 2
by Andrea Lingle

I am fascinated by words. Specifically names. If you have ever read a decent fantasy novel, you will have a firm grasp of how important names are. Names give you power over a thing. You should never tell anyone your true name, or they will have power over you. If you know a thing, you will know its name. Good stuff.