Today, while I'm off traveling in Germany, I want to point you toward a new article written by my friend and co-author Philip Nation. He's a great friend and a pastor/preacher I trust. Our book Compelled by Love was listed by Leadership Journal as one of the three most significant books for making missional disciples.

Here's the diagram of their "missional tree."

Much of what I write here at the blog and do in my ministry is geared toward pastors, planters, and denominational leaders. It's a great life of comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. But my hope is that at the end of the day, I will have given my life for Christ and the people of His church. And, Philip talks about that at length.  So, let me encourage you to read Philip's new article "A Summer that Counts" at LifeWay.com under the Adult Ministry section.

Having served in multiple places in ministry from being pastor of a rural congregation to education minister at a suburban megachurch, he's got a pretty good grasp of what it takes to help normal Christians make ministry count. This time around, he's giving a few tips for you to pass along to your church members about how to make it a missional summer. Let me encourage you to read it and pass the link along to a few friends. I think Philip's insights can be a a benefit to all of us.

Bill Craig, Director of Lifeway Leadership and Adults, talks about Philip's article in his adult ministry newsletter:

Ahhh, Spring! When the weather starts getting nice outside I start thinking about those long, hot, sunny, Summer days just around the corner. How can I avoid the lawnmower and get to the lake, the golf course, or the seashore as often as possible? If you’re like a lot of other people, you may already be wondering about how to get the most out of your summer. Take a vacation. Spend time with family. Read some good books.

How about making this summer your Summer of Love? Well, not a Summer of Love like the hippies back in 1967, but a Season of opportunity to share God’s love with those who desperately need it. This week’s Adult Ministry article includes 8 tips from Philip Nation that will help you make your summer count by focusing on practical ways you can live with missional purpose, sharing God’s love by expressing real love to your family, friends, and neighbors who need it so much.

I was introduced to this idea of missional living through Compelled by Love. Philip Nation and Ed Stetzer wrote this book to help believers start living and thinking like missionaries—recognizing that even if they never leave their neighborhoods, they can reach people every day for Jesus Christ. At LifeWay we thought that message was important enough to create a seven-week, video-based Bible study that would help you explore what it means to live missionally, and discover how you can start living that way today.

Read Philip’s article and consider making this your Summer of Love. Days filled with the warmth of God’s love, spread to the people you meet wherever you are—at the lake, at the golf course, even at the quick stop, buying gas for your lawnmower. Then imagine the impact your church might have if it were full of missionary-minded believers Compelled by Love!

Recently, Philip Nation (my former co-pastor) and I completed the manuscript for a new book. It will be published in English and Spanish next April.