Tomorrow will be the formal beginning to my "Meanings of Missional" series. Every Monday, and on some other days as well, I will post on the meaning of the word "missional" until my formal paper is done.

I am hoping to receive some feedback, discussion, and even disagreement. The end results, I hope, will be a clearer understanding of what different groups and people mean when they use the term "missional."

I was originally planning to post "part 1" today, but I spent too much time on the phone with Francis Dubose. He was gracious enough to take the time to talk with me at length about all things missional.

Dubose is the first person I can find to use the word in the sense we use it today. Dubose, who is 85, wrote God Who Sends back in 1983.

He was a professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary where the Francis M. DuBose Award for Excellence in Kingdom Missions is given in his honor.