As I mentioned a few blog posts ago I am reading Live Sent by Jason C. Dukes. I am a part of the Ooze Viral Bloggers and received this book the other week to read and write blogs about the book.

Jason’s overarching metaphor for the idea of living missionally or as he calls it Living Sent, is the metaphor of a letter. Being a letter to the culture, your family, your neighborhood, and the world. I have to say I loved the metaphor and how it also changes the metaphor for church.

In Chapter 2 entitled “Rethinking Church” he works on redefining the metaphor of the church from being a fueling station to a Post office. Here is what he says, “But Sunday mornings cannot be viewed as just “fueling stations” any longer. They must be viewed as Post Offices, gathering and sorting mail in order to send out those letters into daily culture.”

I am not quite finished with the book, but there has been much in this book that has encouraged me in the midst of planting Veritas. There has been much to challenge me. There has been much to remind me.

I think the two biggest statements that has helped me, and are worth the price of the book (I would actually buy this book with my own money, if I hadn’t got it for free) are these:

“But, because of our emphasis on “going to church” and trying to “grow the church” (something Paul wrote that only God does)……” This statement has helped me to cut myself some slack regarding the growth of Veritas. Not that I just sit around and do nothing, but that ultimately it is God who will grow HIS Church.

“The question may not be ‘what do I need to do to live sent everyday. The question may be this- what do I need to stop doing so that I can live sent everyday.” So often in these books it’s like, “Now what am I going to have to add to my life to fully live this out. What he is getting at with this question is the idea that maybe we need to drop something from our calendar so that we can be more fully sent into the world. In another place he said this, “Maybe a bit less ‘church activity’ on their schedule and a lot more of ‘being the church’ in the midst of whatever their schedule already is. Why add ‘church’ to what you do when you can be the church in all you do…..People go to church too much and are not being the church enough!!!”

I have a lot more thoughts on this book, and I will write another blog in the next few days of some other thoughts, quotes, and comments I have regarding this book. One of these thoughts revolve around the being sent to my family, and not just seeing this “missional” life as being sent to others outside my family (which it is also that).

So until I write that post, I will contine to try to Live Sent, to my family, to my neighbors, my friends, my enemies, my community, my world, and on the net as well. May you go and do likewise.