Book Review - "Shaped by God's Heart"

Milfred Minatrea is the Director of the Missional Church Center for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He has previously served as a pastor and is a church consultant.

I was given this book by Sylvan Knobloch at IBSA and I have found it to be very helpful. The book is laid out in three main parts:
(1) The Church in a New and Changing World
(2) The Nine Essential Practices of Missional Churches
(3) Structures and Strategies for Becoming Missional

In a recent article, I summarized Minatrea's definition of "Missional" (an adjective for being 'On Mission') as basically meaning that while we still "send" and "support" missionaries to every part of the world (as we traditionally have); we also "see" ourselves as missionaries where we are, and we "serve" as missionaries where we are as well.

I found Part Two of the book to be the most practical, and therefore the most helpful. Minatrea's "Nine Essential Practices of Missional Churches" include:
(1) Have a High Threshold for Membership
(2) Be Real, not Real Religious
(3) Teach to Obey Rather Than to Know
(4) Rewrite Worship Every Week
(5) Live Apostolically
(6) Expect to Change the World
(7) Order Actions According to Purpose
(8) Measure Growth by Capacity to Release, Not Retain
(9) Place Kingdom Concerns First

I personally found #1 and #3 to be the most helpful, and #4 the least helpful, since I am a big fan of Bible-ordered worship!

All in all, this is a very helpful book. I believe that if we are going to reach post-Christian America in the 21st Century, we are not going to accomplish it through 19th Century methods. I would recommend that you invest the time to read this book and carefully think through the ideas contained within it. I hope you will gain valuable insights and that you will seek to apply those you believe to be helpful.