JR Woodward has written a book that gets to the point and one that makes its point very well.

The point of this book is to move the church from merely an institution (although indeed it will stay an institution and that’s a good thing), to a vibrant community of disciples making disciples. 

The book is setup in three parts. 

1. The Power of Culture

Here JR pushes the envelope to show the reader where our culture is going and how we, as the church, should not only engage in it, but create within it. JR navigates to show some of the major ways we are seeing our culture change through the “megashifts” that we are part of.  As an example, how do we navigate as the church in the media shift from print and broadcast to the digital age?  And so on.  JR presents some compelling thoughts on how leadership must be structured, and how the church should be the foretaste of Jesus to our culture within these new megashifts, by going back to the Scriptures, not leaving them.  This part 1 really gets your mind going and desiring to hear JR’s conclusion. Exactly what Part 1 of a book should do.

1. A Leadership Imagination That Shapes Missional Culture

While JR gives you some overall examples of leadership that he believes will not only engage our culture, but also be Scripturally based, he now moves on to the specifics of the megashifts and how we must now look to engage this as the church.  He shows how our leadership Structure is actually making a theological statement to the world (and each other) and how much we truly desire to engage the world.  Not only that, but makes the case that we must change (or really go back to our roots found in Paul and Jesus) or we won’t actually engage the world in the most compelling God glorifying ways.  He really starts down this road to nail down what he is meaning as he starts in with his ideas of polycentric leadership.   Meaning, leadership that is decentralized, yet still leading, not merely having a bunch of people running rampant with no leaders in place.  I believe this is one of the major things the church needs to take note of.  We need to hear what JR is saying here if we desire to multiply disciples, instead of merely multiplying church buildings and services.  He shows how polycentric leadership works in a myriad of places, such as politics and business.   The understanding of this is that the people feel empowered to be led by the Spirit and part of the whole without having to continually “check in” to make sure the powers that be are in agreement with the Spirit.  

He states it in this way:

The apostle Paul was ahead of his time, for he does not propose a centralized leadership structure or a flat leadership structure. Rather he reveals to us a polycentric structure, where leaders interrelate and incarnate the various purposes of Christ in such a way that the entire body is activated to service and matures in love.

This chapter of JR’s book needs to be read over and over again as the church moves forward as a multiplying movement of disciple makers.

1. The Five Culture Creators

For the final part, JR now gives you full handles on what he is speaking on, with Ephesians 4 being his anchor for discussion.  He lays out what it looks like to have each of the culture creators working together and what each of them embodies.  They are laid out as the Scriptures lay them out for us in Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds and Teachers.    While JR further contextualizes each one of these with his own descriptor, the task of giving his insight to what each one does is very helpful.  Not only does he give descriptors and stories, but he also adds at the end, questions, to reveal which culture creator you most likely represent.   

This third part, is very helpful and one that will aid anyone that is looking to transition their leadership structure in the way that is described in Ephesians 4.

Overall, this book is very well done.  After speaking further to JR, I learned that this is something that isn’t merely theory for him, but one that he has been studying for over 12 years and actually practicing for the past 10 years.    

The book leans heavily on the power of the Spirit and the insight given to us by the Scriptures and also those outside the Scriptures.   Many helpful quotes come alongside JR’s extensive research and helpful articulations of his end goal. 

What JR does not do, and I am totally fine with it, is try and persuade you to believe in the Ephesians 4 5 fold ministry from a theological, exegetical framework.  It seems as though he is leaving that argumentation to Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim with The Permanent Revolution. 

Again, because he does this, he is able to get to the point for the audience he is aiming for.  He is aiming for those of us who are on the missional edge knowing that we have been missing something.  Knowing something within our leadership structures and methods of engagement is off. 

In the end, the reader comes away with a book that pushes them in these ways:

-       Be led by the Spirit

-       Leaders are true equippers, not saviors for their church

-       Leaders become servants, not lords

-       Our methods should be derived from the Scriptures, yet not ignoring the cultures we are sent to

-       We will be evaluated by one thing: our disciples…are we making them?

By returning us to a polycentric, 5 fold ministry of equippers for the church for the sake of God, JR allows Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18 to be believable for us today:

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

I recommend this to anyone looking to be the church to the culture they are sent to.  But don’t just read the book and do nothing about it.  Read the book with the expectation of making changes, by the power and wisdom of the Spirit, so that disciples are made to the ends of the earth. 

You can win a signed copy of this book.  Details found here: GCM Book Give Away

To buy the book, click here: Creating a Missional Culture