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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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