Mission Lab

Shawn reflects on a few experiences he recently had, noting how "altar calls" and gospel invitations happen implicitly as we enter into life with people and they organically encounter our values and priorities. He notes that we probably have to do a lot less planning and plotting, figuring out how to awkwardly verbalize an invitation to make a decision, because people are inevitably already making...

Shawn welcomes his friend Michael Nixon, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at Andrews University, to talk about the work of anti-racism both inside and outside the church, Black Lives Matter, and whether disciples of Jesus can participate in such a movement.

After a long coronavirus hiatus, Shawn is back and sharing some reflections on what church does and will and should look like after coronavirus. Instead of viewing the restrictions as a government conspiracy against Christianity, or a lamentable situation that prevents mission, he proposes that it is actually a huge gift to the church to get back to what it means to truly be the church.

Shawn shares some reflections based on an article recently published in The Atlantic about the nuclear family. He offers commentary on the topic and how it relates to our ecclesiology and missiology. To read the article, click here . 

Shawn welcomes back his good friend, Jim Mello, as they tackle an interesting question: is it possible to become addicted to religion? And what would that even mean? Along the way we also discuss black-and-white thinking, the stages of faith, and what all this has to do with mission and discipleship. 

Reflecting on his experience of dialoguing with people of various religious perspectives, Shawn discusses the importance of taking a posture of humility and "functional pluralism." He wonders if it is even possible to argue people into truth.

Shawn breaks down a whole slew of quotes from Ellen White that demonstrate how she had no place for tradition, explaining how it is that his own views have broadened as a result. Email him at shawnbrace at gmail dot com to get a copy of both the abridged and unabridged compilation of the quotes he shares. 

This week, Shawn decides to share a recent teaching from a new series he started called "Viral: Unleashing the Revolution." It is Part 3. You can follow along with the whole series by going to bangorsda.org or by clicking here . 

Shawn shares some reflections on common terminology that leaves him feeling a little uneasy. Are people more than just "Bible studies" or "interests"? 

What is the real metric we should be measuring when it comes to our efficacy as God's people? We unpack this critically important question.

Have you ever listened to Radio Lab? In a recent episode, Shawn found some great analogies that can provide insight into the way we do mission.

Sharing some struggles he's been having recently, Shawn reflects on an important realization when it comes to discipleship and mission.

Shawn goes solo and gives an update on life and their church restart. 

We recruited a cast of thousands to break down this timely question brought up by a reason Barna study: why do Millennials apparently think it's wrong to share their faith with the hopes that others will one day join their faith? Actually, eight of us sit around a living room for a fireside chat for a lively and riveting discussion about what it means to share one's faith and how one might do it i...

Though we have never planted a church from scratch, we offer some very practical advice on what we would do if we did. Or at least how we would start the process. 

Shawn sat down with one of his new elders at his church to talk about his journey into missional leadership. Hear James Moors's inspiring story from living on the streets of Bangor to running a soup kitchen to being an elder of evangelism for a restarted church. 

Hard conversations are, well, hard, but they are so critically important. We talk about the importance of dialogue - both when it comes to life in community as well as discipling others who don't know Christ, offering a few pointers.

We're back again - this time with Camille, to discuss children's programming and what it's been like to provide it during the adult worship gathering.

Shawn shares a few stories he experienced recently about people who were trying to proselytize and witness and reflects on whether these are the best ways to be missional. 

After taking a hiatus for a couple months, Shawn returns and explains where they've been, what they've been up to, and how their church restart and missional efforts are going.

What can happen if we regularly show up at the same place at the same time? Good things. Though we've touched on this before, we discuss the importance of getting into missional rhythms, sharing some inspiring stories about the people we've blessed and drawn into our lives simply by showing up repeatedly to the same place at the same time. 

Meet Jose. He's a friend of Shawn's. The two met while Jose was serving Shawn and his book club at a Mexican restaurant in Bangor. From there, the friendship blossomed - and now Jose sits down with Shawn and shares his reflections on his disbelief in God, growing up in Mexico, living as an undocumented immigrant in the United States, and his experience at Shawn's restarted church.

After "re-launching" our Sabbath gathering service on September 15, we share some reflections on what went down and how it went. 

Shawn shows his "conservative" stripes by sharing some reflections on the message we bear. He notes how when we proclaim Jesus, we're not just proclaiming a shallow and vague picture of Him; we have a beautiful and powerful message to share, flowing from the idea that "God is love," and enunciated through Adventist theology and doctrine. He also offers a prize at the end. So listen up!

Is doing evangelism or being missional simply about plugging in a canned technique and waiting for people to be converted? For far too long, this is how people have approached evangelism in the West. But Shawn expounds upon how it's not about finding the right method or perfect technique; it's about interpreting the surrounding culture to which you've been sent and, in the Spirit's power, contextu...