Mission Lab

After an eighteen month absence, Shawn gives an update on their lives and solicits prayers for their future endeavors (both personally and missionally).

Shawn has a conversation with one of his new church members, Lori Day, who, along with her husband, Weston, showed up to his church a year ago, after making an unlikely move from Texas to Maine to join up with God's mission. Listen in as Lori shares her journey from atheism to grace, and from Texas to Maine.

Shawn interviews a long-time friend he's known since childhood - a friend from the boonies of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, where Shawn's family has a vacation home. Jimmy tells his remarkable story of coming to Christ - going from a context where there are very few Christians, and mostly just Catholics if anyone is, to one that is learning what it means to follow Jesus. 

Shawn shares about an experience he had recently doing a sort of "public" evangelistic meeting, asking if it was, perhaps, the most successful one ever conducted. Of course, there is a twist to the whole experience, and he asks the question a little tongue-in-cheek.

Don't be too scandalized by the title: Shawn unpacks some recent realizations he's had about how to look at the idea of disciple-making. When understood in this way, he proposes it has a chance to elevate its significance. To subscribe to his new weekly newsletter, Reimagining Faith, go to shawnbrace.substack.com.

After a long, long hiatus, Shawn drops by with an update and a promise of future episodes.

Shawn has a really stimulating conversation with Pastor Kessia Reyne Bennett, pastor for discipleship at the College View Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, as they talk about her journey into faith, the community that drew her in, and whether or not we have to convert people to modernism in order to convert them to Christianity. 

Shawn has a conversation with his new pal Kevin, who became an overnight TikTok star, reflecting on what that's been like personally and missionally - and how it relates to incarnational ministry. 

Shawn has a conversation with his old friend Chad Stuart, pastors of the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is a large "institutional church" in Maryland. Chad talks about transitioning his church to focus on small groups, and what it's been like to do it with his whole family, prioritizing his children.

The title is pretty self-explanatory: as a part of a major recruitment effort, where Shawn's church is trying to bring in 5-10 families to help with their missional work, Shawn provides seven reasons why you should consider moving to Bangor!

We do something different: we cross-post an interview that Shawn was on the receiving end of a while back on a podcast called Disruptive Adventism. Though much of the content will probably sound like much of what we've shared on this podcast in the past, having someone else interview Shawn elicited a slightly different take than what we've heard before. Listen in as Jose Briones grills Shawn on what it means to be missional.

Shawn has a conversation with his friend and one-time parishioner Mike Brown to discuss his journey out of drug-dealing and into faith, and the insidious nature of shame-based discipleship. They talk about the power of going through the 12 steps, and how remembering our identity in Christ is crucial for the life of faith.

Shawn looks back at ten years of ministering in Bangor, five years of being on mission, and 100 episodes of the podcast, and shares his favorite and most meaningful missional memories.

A few months ago when Shawn was wrestling with how to take his church to the next level and develop leaders, he suddenly realized he had a great resource within his own congregation: a young, energetic, successful entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses. So he chats with friend and church member Courtney Wetzel, who launched into business ownership at age 23, to talk about how to lead with a compelling mission and how to develop leaders.

Shawn sits down with his good friend, Pastor Nathan Stearman, to talk about Nathan's journey from guilt-driven discipleship to gospel-centered discipleship. Nathan shares his story - about his upbringing, about stepping into the glorious light of the gospel, and about how the gospel has changed the way he treats his dog.

Have you ever thought about the possibility that one of your primary callings in life is to serve as the chaplain of your neighborhood? What would that look like and mean? Shawn shares some stories and reflections on this critical part of mission and life.

Combining a Greek and Latin word, Shawn reflects on what we are really inviting people into when we share with them the story of Jesus. In short, we're not inviting them into an idea or a theology or into propositional truth; we're inviting them into the community of God, in all its embodied and messy beauty. 

Shawn talks about what he does for his personal prayer and Scripture time. He makes sure to point out that he is not prescribing anything, but simply talking about what his journey has looked like, while noting that having an active and vibrant connection to Christ is critical for discipleship.

How should the church relate to the LGBT community? For some, the answer may be obvious. But Shawn has a conversation with his friend Elijah, who identifies as a gay Christian, and they talk about how he has faced this question, and what it's like to grow up always feeling different. They talk about how the church has done when it comes to the LGBT community, and what it can do better. This is a conversation that has been long overdue, but obviously requires great sensitivity and care.Note: the views expressed in this episode are solely the views of the Shawn and Elijah and do not necessarily speak for the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a whole.

Shawn has a conversation with his friend David Hamstra, who is a pastor in Edmonton, Alberta, and a ThD student at Andrews University. They talk about living in and ministering to a secular age, how to reach people in such a context, what it means to focus on immanent versus transcendent goods, and what this means for various aspects of life, including sexuality.

You've heard his name mentioned at the end of every episode, sweetly voiced by little Acadia. Now Shawn sits down with his lifelong friend Chris Irrgang to discuss a wide range of topics - from growing up in the church, to the gospel, to surviving life in a small rural church, to the Christian's relation to politics. 

Reflecting on a recent experience he had, Shawn describes a sort of epiphany he had about the gospel, life, and mission.

Not to make anyone feel bad, but this is quite possibly Shawn's favorite interview he's ever recorded. He sits down with his childhood friend, Liz, whom he'd lost touch with for two decades, to talk about her crazy journey since they last connected. It has taken many crazy twists in turns - from major trauma, to heroin addiction, to Utah, to Portland, Maine, where she is now experiencing recovery and a new sense of God's love. You won't want to miss this exciting story!

What happens when everyone claims that their beliefs are based solely on the Bible and the Bible alone, and yet everyone comes up with different interpretations? Do we assume the Bible can never be understood? That the world is blessed that we've finally come along to straighten everyone out? Shawn shares some reflections on how we walk the very narrow path in pursuit of Scriptural fidelity. 

Shawn shares some very melancholic thoughts on recent challenges with their missional efforts. But he ends with hope. 

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 decisions about what drives us without us having to even ask. 

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 in an age of pluralism. 

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, contextualizing the gospel so it looks and sounds like good news to those you're trying to bless and serve.

We take a step back and linger a little longer over the values that our restarted church has embraced and is seeking to implement. We also spend a little time breaking down a reading by Jeff Chu, from "Everyone At the Table," that we read at the beginning of all our missional community gatherings.