Being missional goes far beyond ministries and programs. It is about a way of life for individuals,…

Being missional goes far beyond ministries and programs. It is about a way of life for individuals, as well as what the church does together. And yet, to tell people to go out "be missional" may just create guilt, as most people do not know how to live this out.

This is why helping people develop "missional rhythms" or a set of practices is so important. Michael Frost, in his book Exiles, gives a set of missional lifestyle practices. I have adapted his "BELLS" practices and customized them below.

Also, there are further resources on these practices and concepts on the Exilio website. I have used these in groups of 3-4, and they are quite powerful. The outline below is taken from part 5 of the Story of Redemption.

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BELLS - A Suggested (Missional) Way of Life for Christ-Followers

The original call of Jesus to the disciples was, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people” (Mt. 4:19). In making this call, Jesus was passing down his own mission, which, in his words, was to: Seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10),
Serve others (Mark 10:45), and
Share the good news (Mark 1:38).

In fact, Jesus would later explicitly hand his mission over to the disciples, saying, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).

So Christ followers are a sent, or missional, people, taking up the mission of Christ of seeking, serving, and sharing. (Missional is from the word “missio,” which means “sent.”) All of the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount happened “on the road,” after this calling, to help the disciples in their quest.

Below are some suggested weekly practices for Christ-followers based upon Jesus’ life that can help us in this calling. The practices, adapted from Michael Frost’s work Exiles, form an acronym called “BELLS.”

BLESS three people’s lives each week--one a Christian, one a non-Christian, and the other can be either. A card, a word of encouragement, a gift, a task cheerfully performed--all of these types of small blessings can have a huge impact.

EAT together with others three times a week--one a Christian, one a non-Christian, and the other can be either. By sharing meals together like Jesus, we build relationships. So throw and attend dinner parties!

LEARN more about Jesus by reading Scripture each week, especially the gospels. If Jesus is our model, we need to be learning about him. (For resources on LEARNING and LISTENING, see www.StoryofRedemption.com.)

LISTEN to God’s voice each week through prayer & Spiritual disciplines. Conversations with God throughout the day, specific prayers, and spiritual disciplines such as silence, solitude, rest, meditation on Scripture, and fasting help us slow down, stop building our kingdom, and discern God’s will.

SHARE. our faith, our “BELLS,” and our struggles each week. We should intentionally go each week with other Christians into non-Christian settings, perhaps joining a health club, book club, going to a coffee shop, coaching a sports team, etc. Strike up a spiritual conversation and invite people to join or host a Bible study, come to worship, etc. Christ-followers cam also get together once a week over coffee with 2-3 others or in a small group and share how they tried to live out these BELLS practices. This sharing is joyous & brings voluntary accountability. This get together is also an opportunity to share struggles, confess sins, and give and receive prayer to help us be more Christlike.

What do you think of these missional practices?

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