Foreword by Alan Hirsch
Introduction
1. The Power of a Balanced Anatomy
The biblical genius and design for apostolic structures and
movements
2. Limping or Leaping Through Time
The encouragement of apostolic missionality in history
3. Mother Teresa Wasn't a "Para-Catholic"!
Why "parachurch" is a dirty word
4. So What Is "Apostolic"?
The oft-neglected essential to authentic missionality
5. Holy Discontent and Sanctified Ambition
The apostolic imperative of Ephesians 4
6. Setting Visionaries Free
Pioneering as a second decision entrepreneur
7. Finding Second Decision People
How to engage and release apostolic leaders
8. Running Together!
The exponential leverage of interdependence
9. Movements of God
The extraordinary results of apostolic gifting lived out in
apostolic structures
10. The Momentum of Movements
To kill or to multiply, that is the question
Conclusion: Be a history shaper
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Author
Alan Hirsch is the founding Director of Forge Mission Training Network. He is the co-founder of shapevine.com, an international forum for engaging with world transforming ideas. He leads Future Travelers, a learning journey applying missional-incarnational approaches to established churches and is an active participant in The Tribe of LA, a Jesus community among artists and creatives in Los Angeles. Known for his innovative approach to mission, Hirsch is a teacher and key mission strategist for churches across the western world. His popular book The Shaping of Things to Come (with Michael Frost) is widely considered to be a seminal text on mission. Alan's recent book The Forgotten Ways, has quickly become a key reference for missional thinking, particularly as it relates to movements. His book ReJesus is a radical restatement about the role that Jesus plays in defining missional movements. Untamed, his latest book (with his wife Debra) is about missional discipleship for a missional church. His experience in leadership includes leading a local church movement among the marginalized as well as heading up the Mission and Revitalization work of his denomination. Hirsch is an adjunct professor at Fuller Seminary and lectures frequently throughout Australia, Europe, and the U.S.
Sam Metcalf (DMin, Fuller) is president of CRM, a worldwide ministry focused on pioneering new ground among the unreached and unchurched, bringing lasting transformation among the poor and mobilizing the church for mission. Sam and his wife, Patty, live in southern California and have two children and four grandchildren.
"Beyond the Local Church is a critically dangerous read for anyone
within earshot of Christendom. If Sam is wrong, nothing will change
and the church will continue its downward slide into a remnant. If
Sam is right, the church is uniquely and powerfully poised to reach
the world. Great read, timely, and as usual, I find myself
disagreeing on a few points but mostly muttering to myself, Dang
it, I think he's right!"
*Hugh Halter, author of The Tangible Kingdom*
"Many people today in our backyard, the inner city or across the
world are not attracted to or being reached by our churches today.
Have we been shortsighted in not seeing the potential sitting in
the pew by not training, empowering and sending those whose gifts
would be better used outside the traditional church? Beyond the
Local Church brings an exciting vision for an unrestricted
apostolic empowering and sending that matches the biblical
apostolic age of the first century church. Read, listen and respond
so the true potential of God's calls is realized."
*Judy TenElshof, professor of Christian ministry and leadership,
Talbot School of Theology, Biola University*
"The discipling of nations requires the whole body of Christ to
work together. Apostolic people and structures extend the gospel
across geographic, cultural and linguistic barriers. Local churches
nurture and mobilize disciples for ministry. Both are essential. As
a global mission leader, Sam Metcalf makes a passionate call for
missional synergy and inspires us to unleash new waves of
entrepreneurs for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. This
book is dynamite. Grounded in Scripture, its principles can spark
movements that will change our world."
*Dean Carlson, president, OC International*
"Beyond the Local Church challenges the too common (but ultimately
illegitimate) division between church and parachurch ministries.
Sam Metcalf asks questions and explores categories that are helpful
and thought provoking, regardless of whether someone ends up
agreeing. This book is a necessary addition to the many
conversations being had about how Christ's church should function
from the margins of Western culture."
*Mike Erre, lead pastor, First Evangelical Free Church, Fullerton,
CA*
"I loved the following quote in chapter nine: 'And may God do it
through those of you for whom this book is written, those
apostolically gifted men and women destined to make your
God-ordained contribution around the world through fresh, authentic
gospel movements. May what is written here validate your calling
and encourage you to action. The health and vibrancy of the entire
Christian movement is at stake, and the eternal destiny of the
multitudes hangs in the balance.' The quote is typical of the many
challenges in view in this book. Sam wants to see the Great
Commission carried out, and this book is stellar on apostolic
movements—firsthand research and experimentation and years of
practice have led to its insights. My hope is that many
apostolically gifted men and women will profit from Sam's careful
capture of so many practical insights about apostolic
movements."
*J. Robert Clinton, retired professor of leadership, School of
Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary*
"In Beyond the Local Church, Sam Metcalf provides a fresh,
inspiring and provocative look at how the body of Christ is meant
to function. You won't agree with everything; neither did I. But
that's exactly why you need to read it—to challenge your
assumptions and expand your horizons on a topic too important to
ignore."
*Steve Moore, executive director, nexLeader, Association of
Biblical Higher Education, former president, Missio Nexus*
"Beyond the Local Church reflects Sam Metcalf's experience as a
scholar and as a practitioner of the Great Commission. His metaphor
of two feet walking in tandem is instructive and challenging to
both church and parachurch alike. Metcalf's writing is direct and
edifying and worth reading by those who have been sent and those
doing the sending."
*Kenneth G. Elzinga, professor of economics, University of
Virginia*
"Apostles, prophets and evangelists: prepare to be encouraged as
Sam unfolds history and the Scriptures to illustrate what God
intends for the church to be, why we often don't feel like we fit
in, and how we can best live out our calling and bless the local
church. As I read Beyond the Local Church I found myself finding
new meaning and understanding of my past experiences in the local
church. I love the local church, but it is not the primary place I
am fed or launched into the work that God has called me to do.
Sam's work here has expanded my understanding of the church,
validated my gifting and role and spurred me on to help build the
structures necessary to unleash the fullness of the church in all
its forms. My greatest contribution to the local church will likely
result from efforts that expand and bring new life into the church
in ways the local church cannot do for itself."
*Keith Uebele, senior strategist, Intel Corporation*
"Sam Metcalf makes a compelling case for the biblical pattern of
local churches and apostolic bands in dynamic partnership. The
fulfillment of the Great Commission demands it. Along the way Sam
illustrates these principles with stories and case studies gleaned
from a lifetime of experience in world mission. His chapter on how
to engage and release apostolic leaders is worth the price of
admission!"
*Steve Addison, author of Pioneering Movements and What Jesus
Started*
"This groundbreaking book challenges us to think differently and
more biblically regarding local church and mission. We have become
trapped in our thinking, history and culture about the human
structures God uses. We have argued too often about the legitimacy
of ministries and missions beyond the local expressions of church.
For the sake of the gospel and the kingdom, Sam helps us break out
into a new and deeper understanding of the apostolic and local. We
must take seriously and practically the seminal teaching of this
volume."
*Jerry White, international president emeritus, The Navigators*
"For many years I have pondered the often apparent disconnect
between the local church and vibrant missional movements. At a time
when western Christianity is facing serious decline, Beyond the
Local Church presents a biblically and historically sound
perspective that speaks to this core issue that must be addressed
if the growing secular masses surrounding us are to find the hope,
joy and love of Jesus. The book is a clarion call: it is time the
western church returned to the fullness of what it means to be
Christ's church on earth."
*Marc T. Canner, professor of intercultural studies, Moody Bible
Institute-Spokane, executive director of the Institute of Strategic
Languages Cultures*
"No matter what your ecclesiology may be, Sam Metcalf presents
challenging and provocative ideas regarding the apostolic calling
of the church and how this should inform the way we view and affirm
apostolic organizations and structures that have often been
considered 'para' church. This is a great read for those praying
for gospel movements throughout the world."
*Matthew Lee, director of church planting programs, Fuller
Theological Seminary*
"This is a book that has needed to be written for a long time. Now
it is finally here and in your hands! What better person to write
it than Sam Metcalf, who has spent his entire adult life spawning
these apostolic movements of which he speaks. What I love about Sam
and his style is that this is not classroom theory, but truth from
the trenches. I could not agree more with the words, 'These
apostolic missionary structures existed by the design and plan of
God. They were never afterthoughts.'"
*Hans Finzel, president, HDLeaders, bestselling author of The Top
Ten Mistakes Leaders Make*
"Sam Metcalf has given the best definition and understanding of
'apostolic ministry' I've ever seen. Beyond the Local Church might
challenge your understanding of and/or calling to apostolic or
local church ministry. For me it brought clarity. Along with others
in different ministry contexts, I wish I could have heard this
perspective much earlier. If embraced, missions movements and local
churches around the world could be transformed."
*Debbie Brink, USA senior vice president, SAT-7*
"Sam Metcalf writes out of research and experience with freshness,
humor and passion. The church as a whole desperately needs to catch
up with what he calls the ministries of both left and right feet,
in order to walk as God intended. We need to open our eyes to how
God always intended the church to be. Sam shows the basis for this
in both testaments, as well as in church history, ancient and
modern. The recovery of the sodal as church, linked to
multiplication of churches as normal, is vital if we are to see
healthy missional movements. Both have been urged since the 1970s
in the US and UK, but largely ignored. I trust this book will be a
marker that their time has now come—at last."
*George Lings, director, Church Army's Research Unit of the
Anglican Church, Sheffield, UK*
"Sam Metcalf has written a book for the post-Christendom phase of
church history. For centuries the West enjoyed the security and
power of a culturally established church that exercised dominant
influence. Most people identified themselves as Christians, whether
they lived that way or not. They belonged to churches, confessed
faith in the Apostles' Creed and adhered to a Christian morality,
broadly speaking. Christianity was the air they breathed. No longer
is that the case. It is time to rediscover and implement models of
ministry that succeeded in winning the very culture that is now
drifting from faith. At the center of those efforts were apostolic
people, ministries and movements. Sam Metcalf makes a cogent case
for why the apostolic calling has never been more necessary. He
marshals historical, biblical and contemporary examples to make his
point, and he does it well. I was overwhelmed, convicted and
inspired. It motivated me to think about teaching church history
with this vision in mind, and to keep my eye out for leaders who
can fulfill this apostolic calling. This is the kind of book that
will lead us into the future."
*Gerald L. Sittser, professor of theology, Whitworth University,
author of Water from a Deep Well, The Will of God as a Way of Life,
A Grace Disguised and A Grace Revealed*
"For many years now, I've been encouraging Sam Metcalf to
articulate the valuable contribution that apostolic teams, leaders
and organizations make to the mission of Jesus. Provocative and
insightful, this book can challenge your thinking about what it
means to be the church. Although you may not agree with everything,
this book will help you sharpen your perspectives and
strategies."
*Bob Logan, author of The Missional Journey*
"Beyond the Local Church confirms the rightness of pursuing a
healthy relationship between the local church and those ministries
that operate outside of its direct control. This book will bring
healing to those who have been hurt or alienated by the lack of
understanding regarding the biblical nature of the church and the
complementarity of the local church and apostolic ministries in
their wholehearted pursuit of God's redemptive agenda on earth.
Beyond the Local Church is another salient call for the whole
church to take the whole gospel to the whole world."
*Iliya Majam, director, Harvest Leaders Network, Abuja,
Nigeria*
"Thank God for a treatise that celebrates the role of the apostle
in the continuing expansion of the kingdom of God in this and every
generation. This is the manual for the misfits who lead the charge
to the spiritual frontiers!"
*Bob Shank, founder and CEO, The Master's Program*
"This book is important for anyone considering God's calling to
vocational ministry. From Scripture, history and personal
experience, Sam Metcalf not only persuasively validates and affirms
ministry beyond the boundaries of the local church, but builds an
impressive case for such ministry being necessary for movements of
the gospel. If we take this message seriously, the spiritual
trajectory of the western world could be reversed."
*Richard B. Oliver, attorney at law, Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw and
Pittman, Los Angeles*
"Sam Metcalf has written a book some will find provocative, outside
the lines and perhaps even testy, from a number of perspectives. I
found this effect neither unusual nor unfamiliar, for I have known
and watched Sam for a long time. His is not the ordinary fare. What
no one will question is the intensity and passion he brings to the
mission, which has been reflected in the many years of leading his
folks to take the gospel to unchartered territories, to those who
do not have it, and who perhaps think initially they do not want
it. His life is his most persuasive argument."
*Herbert H. Slatery, attorney general, State of Tennessee*
"For anyone concerned about individuals and groups that work
outside of the established church, this book will hopefully put
your mind at rest. Sam Metcalf challenges our assumptions about the
role of the local church, missionaries, control and accountability,
and offers a biblical and historical basis to free up those with
apostolic calling to do what they do best—creating new forms of
church as spiritual entrepreneurs. It's as applicable in Central
Europe as it is in North America!"
*David Bute, director, Kreativity, Mission Impossible, Cherkassy,
Ukraine*
"This book by Sam Metcalf is the primer that has been missing for
releasing and establishing dynamic apostolic work and 'sent' church
systems that are complementary, rather than merely subservient, to
the local church. I fully expect to pick up this book regularly. I
already have a list of people to whom I would like to give a copy!
Not only does Sam have a grip on the array of literature on
mission, he has also been a practitioner and leader in the field
covered by the literature for many years. I sincerely trust what he
has to say and, more than that, my heart was strangely warmed on a
number of occasions. I love the way Sam honors the local church
while clearly laying out a profound and passionate case for the
restoration of the pioneering and game-changing part of the church.
Rather than just inviting people to settle with us we need to
enhance and enable pioneers who will boldly go, and indeed people
to release them. Sam is writing for all these: the local church
leader such as myself who earnestly desires to reach more people
with the good news of Jesus than those who might come to church;
those who love the local church and want to grow it but feel
constrained by it; those with a sense of history and know that God
has already given to his church the tools for opening a new chapter
in its mission. This book helps me understand myself and gives
joyful voice to truths I instinctively resonate with but didn't
know how to articulate. Let this be a valuable tool in order that
we dust down and release a fresh band of brothers and sisters to
establish churches in cultures and subcultures currently in a
thrall to the 'good advice' of this world, but remain untouched by
the good news of Jesus."
*Adam Atkinson, vicar, Saint Peter's Anglican Church, Bethnal
Green, London*
"In my decades of building research teams to fight cancer, the most
enabling element for highly talented, multidisciplinary teams is
data. In the same way, Sam Metcalf paints the landscape of those
answering the call to go and make disciples using real data from
real apostolic movements. This should rally local churches while
also emboldening those called to take new ground for the kingdom.
Wisdom to affirm apostles who go as well as pastors who shepherd
locally is to be gleaned from the pages of Beyond the Local Church.
Academically, biblically and empirically sound, this workbook of
the Spirit will enlighten and activate those seeking to advance the
kingdom proclaimed by Jesus."
*Michael E. Berens, cancer scientist, Phoenix, AZ*
"Sam's book is a clarion call to the church in the West to urgently
rediscover the sodalic nature, calling and leadership of the
apostolic charism and the essential apostolic structures it must
create for apostles to flourish and the whole body of Christ to be
fruitful and multiply. At great cost to the advancement of God's
kingdom, many apostles have been at best misunderstood and at worst
rejected by the institution of the church, reporting feeling more
at home in mainstream culture where the soil for entrepreneurship
is more fertile. Sam helps us consider how an apostolic gifting and
environment forge the way for all the other charisms to thrive
missionally with deep insights and conviction."
*Annie Kirke, pioneer minister, Missional Communities Diocese of
London, Church of England*
"To agree or not to agree, that is not the question. Whether you
agree with the book's evaluation or not, Beyond the Local Church
will stimulate you and your leadership to deeper and better
conversations on how God moves both in and beyond the local church.
As a pastor and co-laborer with Sam for many years, I have been
challenged and enriched by the material in this book for a long
time."
*George R. Haraksin, lead pastor, NewSong Church, San Dimas,
CA*
"Anyone reading this book will be both challenged and encouraged.
I've been involved in pastoral ministry for fifty years, and yet as
I read this book, I felt the Holy Spirit moving me to be involved
in something very alive and very powerful that would reach large
numbers of people with the good news of Jesus. I plan to band
together with some like-minded people to see such a movement in my
own area."
*William G. Hay, senior minister emeritus, Covenant Presbyterian
Church, Birmingham, AL*
"I've known Sam for forty years, and I can say that few men have
impacted me regarding my understanding of ministry and the
contribution I could make—and who have encouraged me and given me
hope in ministry—than Sam. He helped me understand the differences
and symbiotic relationship between the local church and mission
organizations, which he so clearly and succinctly spells out in
this book. This topic has unfortunately been the focus of many
conversations during our years in ministry together. I say
unfortunately because it is unfortunate that this book has had to
be written and unfortunate that these issues have not been settled
years ago in the body of Christ. It seems we always have two
responses when someone gives such a clarion call: we either respond
like Noah's audience, who laughed and mocked until the flood came,
or like Jonah's audience, who repented and were saved. Sam Metcalf
is one of the most intelligent, insightful and focused men I have
ever had the privilege of calling a friend and colleague in life
and ministry. Few are as qualified and experienced to address this
topic with such credibility and passion. Sam does a great job
laying out the problem between parachurch and local church and the
tensions that seem to exist between the two, and he has given
clear, proven examples and methods that could go a long way toward
solving these tensions. He speaks with forward-looking clarity,
courage and resolve, making many sobering observations about the
gravity of the situation in Western culture and how the church
continues to loose relevancy and respect. Apostolic ministries
desperately need the local church, and the local church desperately
needs apostolic ministries. I just hope those reading this
insightful and important book will respond like Jonah's audience
more than Noah's!"
*Pete McKenzie, The Influencers Ministry to Men, Irvine, CA*
"Beware: this book is dangerous to the ministry status quo. By
recovering a biblical and historical ecclesiology, Beyond the Local
Church is a must-read for any ministry leader—local church or
otherwise. It's a daring vision for the release of many
multiplicative and fruitful movements through full kingdom
partnership. I'm in."
*James Choung, national director of evangelism, InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship, author of True Story*
Ask a Question About this Product More... |