READS

This is a "missional bibliography" of sorts. If you're interested in a reading list on missional communities, pick something off this list. I'll continue adding to it. Have recommendations? Send them my way!

Click here for a list of all the authors and books mentioned on my podcast, A New Thing.

Missional Theory
These are books that cover the general concept of missional fairly well.

• Transforming Mission by David J. Bosch
• The Agile Church by Dwight J. Zscheile
• Treasure in Clay Jars by Lois Y. Barrett
• The Open Secret by Lesslie Newbigin
• Missional Church ed. Darrell L. Guder

Reading the Bible w/ a Missional Lens, or a missional hermeneutic
Books that discuss how we read the Bible is important to how we understand the concept of missional.

• Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman
• Reading the Bible with the Damned by Bob Ekblad
• The Mission of God by Christopher J. H.Wright
• Bible and Mission by Richard Bauckham
• A Light to the Nations by Michael W. Goheen

A People's Church History, or a missional history of the Church

Missional is not mission based on power or privilege. It's therefore important to read Christian history from a voice that does not represent these.

• The Story of Christianity by Justo L. Gonzalez
• Radical Faith by John Driver
• The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark
• The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History by Andrew F. Walls
• The Church Before Christianity by Wes Howard-Brook
• Constants in Context by Stephen B. Bevans, Roger P. Schroeder

Mission and Worship
Missional communities are worshiping communities. These books explore how a missional posture impacts how we worship.

• Missional Worship, Worshipful Mission by Ruth A. Meyers
• Ancient-Future Worship by Robert E. Webber
• Worship and Mission After Christendom by Alan Kreider

Mission and Evangelism
Missional assumes the announcement of God's good news. These books re-imagine the spiritual practice of evangelism.

• Radical Welcome by Stephanie Spellers
• A Credible Witness by Brenda Salter McNeil
• Evangelism after Christendom by Bryan P. Stone
• Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism by Walter Brueggemann
• Transforming Evangelism by David Gortner

Missional Spirituality
To remain missional means practicing Christian spirituality in a particular way. These books offer ideas of the kind of practices that shape a missional Christian.

• Surprise the World by Michael Frost
• A Spirituality of the Road by David J. Bosch
• Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren

Organizing for Mission
Becoming a missional community means that we are organized in a way that keeps us externally focused.

• Theology of a Built Environment by Timothy Gorringe
• Structured for Mission by Alan J. Roxburgh
• Ecclesiogenesis by Leonardo Boff
• Church in the Round by Letty M. Russell
• The Church as Movement by JR Woodward, Dan White Jr. 

Gathering a Missional Community
There are age-old tactics that work in gathering a new community. Yet, old assumptions and tools often fail.

• The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
• Community by Peter Block
• Get Together by by Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, Kai Elmer Sotto
• Missional Small Groups by M. Scott Boren

Justice, Mercy and the Mission of God
Assuming that God is already at work within a given context changes how we approach those in need, on the margins, etc. These books are helpful in re-orienting our works of justice and mercy.

• When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett, Brian Fikkert
• Radical Welcome by Stephanie Spellers
• A Credible Witness by Brenda Salter McNeil

Mission From Another Lens
Every missional leader should read these books.

• Silence by Shusaku Endo
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley