Praise for "The Missional Leader"

"Alan J. Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk are two of the few people in the world today who understand how we can create an environment for the missional transformation of the church for the postmodern world. Every church leader should read this book!"
--Rev. Dr. Clark D. Cowden, Presbytery of San Joaquin, Presbyterian Church

"Discontinuous change wreaks havoc among congregations and pastors who aren't familiar with the new terrain. When it comes to navigating this new land, Roxburgh and Romanuk have my ear and gratitude. Effective, dependable, useful . . . their wisdom is helping retool our congregation for daring and robust witness. And among my students--who feel change deep in their bones, both its threats and opportunities--this book is a vital companion as they begin their ministries."
--Chris William Erdman, senior pastor, University Presbyterian Church; adjunct faculty, MB Biblical Seminary

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The urgent question for Christian mission in North America today has to do with churches and congregations and the crisis of their identity in the culture of modernity. Alan Roxburgh argues that the crisis is not merely one of internal identity or structures but involves the massive changes that have transformed modernity, including the shifting of the church from the center of culture to the margins. Chapter 1 reviews the marginalization of the churches and their self-under-standing of that context; chapter 2 examines Victor Turner s work on liminality (a term describing the transition process that accompanies a change of state or social position), relating it to the church s experience of marginalization; chapter 3 outlines leadership characteristics required in today s missionary congregations. Alan J. Roxburgh is Senior Pastor of West Vancouver Baptist Church in British Columbia, an adjunct faculty member of Regent College in Vancouver, and author of the recently published Reaching a New Generation.

Our world has changed dramatically in the past quarter century. People are losing faith in technology. Our society has lost consensus and is dividing into competing tribes. Rather than simply condemning these new values, Roxburgh calls the church to respond with Christian community, Christian ecology and Christian spirituality. This fresh and powerful book shows what our new world is like and how the gospel is yet again relevant and redemptive.

The burgeoning missional church movement is a sign that believers are increasingly feeling the call to impact their communities, which is a good thing. But, says Alan J. Roxburgh, these conversations still prioritize church success over mission--how can being missional grow my church? But to focus on such questions misses the point.
In "Missional," Roxburgh calls Christians to reenter their neighborhoods and communities to discover what the Spirit is doing there--to start with God's mission. He then encourages readers to shape their local churches around that mission. With inspiring true stories and a solid biblical base, "Missional" is a book that will change lives and communities as its message is lived out.