Just wanted to recommend another book.

The title is Breaking the missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putnam. I spoke at a church planting conference last year and heard Ed talk about some of the themes in the book. First of all, I really like the guy. I like reading people I like. Secondly, I think he is one of the leading minds in America right now on church planting.

One thing he said was so good: “We need to stop thinking like pastors and start thinking like missionaries.”

The book says it this way: “Evangelism is telling people about Jesus; missions involves understanding them before we tell them.”

One of my passions is cultural exegesis. We’ve got to “understand the times” like the ancient tribe of Isachaar. We’ve got to incarnate the gospel in creative ways like Paul.

Too many pastors are getting A’s in Bibilical Exegesis and D’s in Cultural Exegesis. We need to get A’s in both/and. I think Breaking the Missional Code is a good orientation.