In order to develop a pioneering missional spirit, a capacity for genuine ecclesial innovation, let along engender daring discipleship, we are going to need the capacity to take a courageous stand when and where necessary.

Think of mission like the paddles of a defibrillator applied to the chest of a dying church.

At some point preoccupation with safety can get in the way of living full lives.

Truth is narrow, but grace is wide.

The fact is that if Jesus's future kingdom is secure, those who trust in its coming will enact it now.

When the church is in mission, it is the true church. The church itself is not only a product of that mission but is obligated and destined to extend it by whatever means possible. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith that adheres to Jesus. To obstruct this is to block God's purposes in and through his people.

But herein lies the rub: Christianity has been on a long-term trend of decline in every Western cultural context that we can identify.