Episode 21 - ​A New Missional Age

Our guest today is the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, bishop diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. More bio below. 

If you're going to talk about "the new" missional age (or even "a new missional age") you've got to consider: What preceded it? What is the "old"? And that's where we started, talking about the end of Christendom. But don't worry: "Christendom" isn't synonymous with "Christianity," which he doesn't think is going away at all. Christendom, instead, is about the central place of power and privilege that Christianity has claimed in this culture. That has changed. 

The bishop talks about the essential spiritual practices of a parish in the new missional age (we've got a print bookmark for that, btw); and how it's NOT a program; and the in-between time. We talk a bit at the end about how to jump in. 

About our guest: 

The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas is the bishop diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. He oversees the 50,000 Episcopalians, 400+ priests and deacons, and 168+ churches, worshiping communities, and other institutions. He has a BA from Middlebury College in Vermont and both a Masters of Education and a Masters in Divinity from Harvard University. He has a Ph.D. from Boston University in missiology. Ian served a life-changing year as a volunteer for mission in Haiti. He taught for two decades at an Episcopal seminary in Cambridge, Mass. and has taken on various leadership and consulting roles over the years in both The Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. He has authored four books and numerous articles, and is a sought-after speaker and media spokesperson. In 2009 Ian was elected to be the bishop of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, one of the oldest dioceses in The Episcopal Church. Still a teacher at heart, Ian is known for his efforts to help church leaders especially in Connecticut move into a new understanding of the church in the 21st century, with priorities and practices that are often at odds with generations of institutionalized, and usually unexamined, traditions. Some of the concepts he teaches include the end of Christendom, the new missional age, the mission of God, and following Jesus into the neighborhood. 

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In Christ and Coffee,
Karin & Alli