Canoeing the Mountains – Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

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It is not so much that God has a mission for his church in the world, but that God has a church for his mission in the world.” Very stimulating read. Pretty light on the gospel - being more biblically grounded and gospel centred would've made the whole thing much stronger for me. In particular I thought he could've made use of Paul's example in 1 Corinthians 9 - 'I have become all things to all people that by all possible means I might save some ... I do all this for the gospel ...' - which would've been far more compelling ground to urge us to change for the cause of reaching out to the lost around us. Bolsinger splits his wisdom into five parts. First, in “Understanding Uncharted Territory,” Bolsinger emphasizes that good leaders in this age recognize that the world in front of them is nothing like the world behind them. [2] For the church, the environment in which we pastors led churches in the past was to open a building and put out a sign; this is all it took for people to come. People were favorable to the church. But now, Bolsinger warns, we live in a post-Christian society, where people are suspicious of the church and unwilling to give up a good Sunday. His point? If we lead with the methods we used in the 1950s, we will be quite upset about the declining results. Bolsinger also notes that a large number of pastors are leaving ministry behind each year because they do not have the tools needed to lead in the church of the twenty-first century. Seminary did not train them to lead, but only focused on skills necessary to preach, serve in hospitals, lead weddings, etc. Many pastors were trained in a setting where they could assume people would come to hear and respect what they had to preach, but people in our society simply do not care anymore about our message. These changes in the world ahead are only more evident in a society marked by Coronavirus.

People do not resist change, per se. People resist loss. You appear dangerous to people when you question their values, beliefs, or habits of a lifetime. You place yourself on the line when you tell people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear. Although you may see with clarity and passion a promising future of progress and gain, people will see with equal passion the losses you are asking them to sustain.”

Nearly two million people come to Alaska every summer, some on large cruise ships, some in single kayaks–all in search of the last great wilderness, the Africa of America. It is exactly the America Heacox finds in this story of paradox, love, and loss. The River Wye stretches 215 kilometres from the Welsh Cambrian Mountains to the Severn Estuary, just north of Bristol. During its meandering journey, it drifts along lush green meadows, through mysterious wooded valleys, and past several interesting towns. The book-loving centre of Hay on Wye being just one of them. The Ultimate Guide to Whitewater Rafting and River Camping introduces new rafters to the skills, equipment, and knowledge required to mount a multiday whitewater rafting trip. Rafting equipment, skills, and techniques have changed drastically in recent years, and this book provides the latest information on equipment selection, care, repair, and use; whitewater rafting techniques; reading rivers; hazard evaluation and basic rescue; camping techniques; river cooking and living; and expedition planning. With minimal gear, an inflatable kayak and a can-do attitude like no other, Sutherland coolly embarked on epic thousand kilometer journeys along the remote north shore of Molokai and the coast of Alaska. Sutherland’s writing inspires, shatters perceived barriers and may make you question our dependence on GPS, Go-Pros and Gore-Tex gear.

ministry is not only the means to bring the gospel to the world, ministry together is how God makes a congregation into a corps that is ready to continually bring the gospel in new ways to a changing world. As missionaries who have been thrown together into unfamiliar surroundings with little more than a sense of call and commitment to each other, when we love each other and are dedicated to our mission, we change.”To live up to their name, local churches must be continually moving out, extending themselves into the world, being the missional, witnessing community we were called into being to be: the manifestation of God’s going into the world, crossing boundaries, proclaiming, teaching, healing, loving, serving and extending the reign of God. In short, churches need to keep adventuring or they will die.” Part Four goes deeper into the issue of "Relationships and Resistance." Leaders cultivate relationships with six groups of people: