Brave Cities

BookCommunity EngagementMissional LeadershipMissional-Incarnational ImpulseMissiology

Aug 30

Written By 100 Movements

Brave Cities

The Archaeology, Artistry, and Architecture of Kingdom Ecosystems

By Taylor McCall & Hugh Halter

Buy Individual Copy

It’s time to break free from our Sunday-centric, formulaic versions of church and instead architect fresh kingdom ecosystems as an ancient yet new frontier for sustainable mission.

The temptation for many church leaders is to take what’s worked elsewhere and use it as a paint-by-number. Yet Jesus showed us a different way. Every word he spoke and everything he did utterly broke the molds, rules, and laws that people had created to confine God and his kingdom.

Taylor McCall and Hugh Halter challenge us to trade in our formulas for the artistry of living as brave cities—kingdom ecosystems that embody the authentic good news of Jesus, where homes, reconciliation, discipleship, relationships, worship, enterprise, activism, and justice coalesce to form biblical community.

This book won’t tell you what to do. Instead, it will invite you to uncover the places where God is already at work, attune to God’s vision for transformation, and craft beautiful kingdom environments that bravely demonstrate the love of God.

ENDORSEMENTS

“I wish I’d had this book forty-five years ago. It is relevant to exactly what is going on in the world and the church now. Brave Cities is the manifestation of seeking and listening. There are nuggets of truth in this book that on just their singular level would change everything.

Brave Cities is like a muse calling out the best of us to be Christ’s living church amidst a decaying world.”

DAVID FITCH, Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology, Northern Seminary; author, Faithful Presence

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Featured

Hugh Halter

Hugh Halter is a father, grandfather, and missional pioneer who—along with his wife, Cheryl, and their family—has cultivated lives marked by adventure, kingdom discipleship, and everyday mission. With over thirty years of experience in family ministry, church planting, and leadership formation, Hugh is passionate about equipping families to weave the mission of God into their daily rhythms. He currently co-directs Lantern Network and Brave Cities, helping cultivate kingdom ecosystems and pioneer transformative communities in places like Alton, Illinois. His books include The Tangible Kingdom, Righteous Brood: Making the Mission of God a Family Story, AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church, and FLESH.

Taylor McCall

Taylor McCall has walked the path of entrepreneurial mission for decades, blending urban church planting, business incubation, and intentional ecosystems for the flourishing of city neighborhoods. Since 1999, he and his wife, Lindsey, have planted churches in urban communities, and over the past fifteen years they've started or supported more than twenty businesses—many launched through their own business incubator in Alton, Illinois (just outside St. Louis). Taylor serves with Lantern Network alongside Hugh Halter in developing "Free Market Church" ecosystems, where missional communities and marketplace enterprises coalesce to cultivate neighborhood transformation.