I’ve been traveling this week and haven’t had much time to write. But it’s Friday, and I want to share some more information about Church Inside Out, the book and workbook I’ve written that 21st Century Christian will be publishing in the next few weeks. I wrote the book as part of my work with Hope For Life (Herald of Truth) and will be doing seminars based on this material in local churches around the U.S.

Let me tell you about the second section of the book. It’s titled “The World Outside” and has three chapters:

• Diplomatic Mission
• Who Is My Neighbor?
• Eating With Sinners

The previous section was very introspective; this section turns the focus outward. There’s an emphasis on looking at the world around us and considering our interaction with that world. The “Diplomatic Mission” chapter stresses the need for us to be intentional in our dealings with the world, to recognize our role as ambassadors for the Kingdom of Heaven. The chapter on “Who Is My Neighbor?” is intended to be very practical, looking at how to do community analysis and how to use that analysis to tailor our ministries to the needs of our city. It also includes a brief section on multicultural ministry.

The final chapter in this section discusses the need for Christians to develop relationships with outsiders. If people mainly come to the church through the influence of friends and neighbors, then a growing church must have members that have significant relationships with non-Christians.

Like I’ve said, my desire is that this book be used practically and not as another intellectual exercise. It includes a workbook for that very reason. Between the book and the workbook, churches and individual Christians should find tools that will help them more effectively impact the people around them.