the missional learning commons

This weekend I attended the Missional Learning Commons unconference. It is called an “unconference” in part because it featured many speakers as opposed to a single “superstar” speaker. It was held in Lombard at Northern Seminary and dealt with issues of…

-Missional Discipleship
-Missional Family
-Missional Leadership

Each speaker had just 12 minutes to share their thoughts on the topic and then the rest of the time was spent digging in deeper through a small group format. After small group discussion, participants had the chance to interact with the larger group through either questions or comments.

I found the format stimulating and refreshing. I appreciated the chance to get to know other participants in the conference and it was nice that the speakers had to pare down their thoughts to only what was necessary.

I also appreciated the fact that discipleship and family were given so much time in the lineup. When we speak of being “missional” we must also speak of discipleship, since one can not follow God’s mission without making disciples. Too often, however, the topic of discipleship gets overlooked in “missional” conference settings.

I also find that discussions about children get left by the wayside in “missional” conference settings; because of that, it was refreshing to wrestle with issues related to kids and kids ministry during the Commons. I particularly appreciated Helen Lee’s presentation which encouraged adults to consider how we might learn from children.

The Missional Learning Commons is held once a year in a different location each time. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for next year’s Commons because it is well worth the time if you are a ministry practitioner.