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Everyday Missions: How Ordinary People Can Change the World
It's not every day that you get a visit from God. Burning bushes, ladders to heaven, chariots of fire and all that--we look for those stories in the Bible, and we look for them in our lives. When it comes to something as important as what we do with our lives, we think, maybe God owes us a big event. But, as Leroy Barber has learned through his work in inner cities and with young people, that's not usually how it works. More often God calls out to us from everyday misfortunes and all-too-common injustices, and he invites our response--not just a response in the moment, but a recognition that we have a role to play in seeing God's kingdom come, God's will done, on earth as it is in heaven. Through the surprisingly normal stories of the heroes of faith in the Bible, and through Barber's experiences with Mission Year and other ministries, in this book you'll learn what it means to change the world from your own little space in it.
159 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2012
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82 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 6, 2012
There are few voices that have been so prophetic and formative in my own life as that of Leroy Barber. About eight years ago my wife and I did a program called Mission Year in Atlanta and Leroy was our director (Mission Year is a one year long urban mission program which seeks to incarnate the love of God in an inner city neighborhood). Leroy was someone full of energy, enthusiasm, wisdom and challenging insights. During my time in Atlanta I had to face parts of myself and had to wrestle with ways l had benefited from white privilege and I had turned a blind eye to systemic injustice. Leroy was a gracious mentor and friend through the process, sometimes issuing challenges, other times dispensing wisdom and always listening and eager to pray for me. Some of my favorite memories of my time in Atlanta were sitting over grits and pancakes at a local breakfast stop and talking with Leroy about what was going on in my life. A lot of my thoughts on leadership, ministry, marriage and life are heavily influenced by my friend Leroy so I am glad to commend his book to you.
I like Everyday Missions because it has the same energy, enthusiasm and wisdom I have come to expect from Leroy. The book is an extended reflection on what Romans 12:1-2 means. In the Message it translates as:
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life–and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well formed maturity in you.
This is what Leroy want to see: ordinary people offering their everyday life to God and being used by him to effect change in a culture that is not always friendly to people on the margins. In his capacity as an urban minister (he’s Executive Director of Mission Year, CEO at FCS Urban Ministries and founded several other urban ministries) he’s seen what it looks like when us ordinary people offer our lives to God and this book is interspersed with stories of people who have done just this. Leroy challenges the idea that it is extraordinary people that do great things for God. Rather it is the people who submit their (ordinary) lives to God and look around to see how God can use them where they are at.
And so Leroy casts a vision of how we can do this, encouraging us to take risks about how to reach our neighbors with the love of God. This is what he means by everyday missions. ‘Missions’ is the sort of term that people struggle with because ‘missions’ are often badly done. I caught up with Leroy a few days ago and he said, he wants to rehabilitate the term, reconnecting missions to the missio dei (the mission of God: God’s heart for the world/culture). As we find our life call and step out in faith, what we are doing is connecting our life mission, to the missio dei.
One of the things that stands out for me in this book is Leroy’s encouragement to be out of step with our culture. Particularly when you consider systemic injustice means that going with the flow means you are participating in and actually perpetuating systems that hurt people. Leroy sits at the helm of several urban ministries and as an African American leader knows the alarming statistics about how difficult it is for people of color to secure funding for urban mission (this has more to do with historic networks of trust more than blatant racism). Leroy reflects on how far we still have to go as we confront racism and poverty and injustice and he is grateful for those Christians who do not just go with the flow of culture but take a stand for the common good. Churches are still segregated, people of color are often are disproportionately imprisoned. Being out of step with the culture, means choosing to not go with the flow and to take a good, hard look at reality.
But Leroy is always gracious and hope filled, even when confronting injustice. What this book will do for you is give you permission to dream what God can do with you in your life, where you, when you offer him your life. The kind of dreaming Leroy commends are not narcissistic and self seeking but rest confidently in who God is and what he can do through you where you are at, Leroy closes one chapter with this prayer,”May the God who holds all power reveal himself to you in a way that guards you from elitism and inspires more than medicrity from you, a way that brings hope, restoration and peace to and through your ordinary life.”
So read this book and be inspired to offer your ordinary life to God in creative, risky and gracious ways. I know you’ll love Leroy as much as I do!
I like Everyday Missions because it has the same energy, enthusiasm and wisdom I have come to expect from Leroy. The book is an extended reflection on what Romans 12:1-2 means. In the Message it translates as:
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life–and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well formed maturity in you.
This is what Leroy want to see: ordinary people offering their everyday life to God and being used by him to effect change in a culture that is not always friendly to people on the margins. In his capacity as an urban minister (he’s Executive Director of Mission Year, CEO at FCS Urban Ministries and founded several other urban ministries) he’s seen what it looks like when us ordinary people offer our lives to God and this book is interspersed with stories of people who have done just this. Leroy challenges the idea that it is extraordinary people that do great things for God. Rather it is the people who submit their (ordinary) lives to God and look around to see how God can use them where they are at.
And so Leroy casts a vision of how we can do this, encouraging us to take risks about how to reach our neighbors with the love of God. This is what he means by everyday missions. ‘Missions’ is the sort of term that people struggle with because ‘missions’ are often badly done. I caught up with Leroy a few days ago and he said, he wants to rehabilitate the term, reconnecting missions to the missio dei (the mission of God: God’s heart for the world/culture). As we find our life call and step out in faith, what we are doing is connecting our life mission, to the missio dei.
One of the things that stands out for me in this book is Leroy’s encouragement to be out of step with our culture. Particularly when you consider systemic injustice means that going with the flow means you are participating in and actually perpetuating systems that hurt people. Leroy sits at the helm of several urban ministries and as an African American leader knows the alarming statistics about how difficult it is for people of color to secure funding for urban mission (this has more to do with historic networks of trust more than blatant racism). Leroy reflects on how far we still have to go as we confront racism and poverty and injustice and he is grateful for those Christians who do not just go with the flow of culture but take a stand for the common good. Churches are still segregated, people of color are often are disproportionately imprisoned. Being out of step with the culture, means choosing to not go with the flow and to take a good, hard look at reality.
But Leroy is always gracious and hope filled, even when confronting injustice. What this book will do for you is give you permission to dream what God can do with you in your life, where you, when you offer him your life. The kind of dreaming Leroy commends are not narcissistic and self seeking but rest confidently in who God is and what he can do through you where you are at, Leroy closes one chapter with this prayer,”May the God who holds all power reveal himself to you in a way that guards you from elitism and inspires more than medicrity from you, a way that brings hope, restoration and peace to and through your ordinary life.”
So read this book and be inspired to offer your ordinary life to God in creative, risky and gracious ways. I know you’ll love Leroy as much as I do!
February 11, 2018
We read this book together out loud. We both agreed it was about a 3.5. It was written in a really nice casual tone, as if he was sitting next to you sharing his wisdom with you. I liked that. In this version of the book, there were a lot of typos/grammatical error and not sure if that was just the version we got, or the official version as well (got it from a friend, so not sure if it was a preview copy).
There were a lot of good points, but nothing huge in terms of takeaways, hence why I rated it as I did. It was a great reminder that ordinary people can be extraordinary if they are willing to take risks and follow God's plan!
There were a lot of good points, but nothing huge in terms of takeaways, hence why I rated it as I did. It was a great reminder that ordinary people can be extraordinary if they are willing to take risks and follow God's plan!
May 23, 2018
This is an easy-to-read introduction to the topic of how to live the gospel intentionally day to day. There are some grammatical errors/typos but it’s easy to overlook since overall the content is very good. The author really gets to the heart of the matter & gives practical examples which I always appreciate. I would definitely recommend!
September 29, 2020
I wanted to like this book. I love the concept of it. But there were no aha moments, nothing that really stood out for me. It might be a fine introduction for some, but after having read say a John Perkins, this book just seemed simple and bare. Not a bad book, just nothing special either.
June 13, 2025
Not a lot that was new to me, but still a good reminder of how we should be about the Father's business.
June 26, 2012
This is an engaging, easy read on an important theme in missions books: ordinary people living faithful lives following Christ will find God working in extraordinary ways through their lives. Barber weaves biblical, first, and third person narratives together to illustrate this point. Barber particularly has some challenging things to say about money and time.
I personally think David Platt's Radical and John Stott's The Radical Disciple explore the theme of this book in a much more substantive way. However, the cover art and the conversational approach of the book might be the right thing to engage someone just beginning to think along these lines.
Takeaway quote from the book: Whatever your reason for deciding that you are disqualified from an extraordinary life with Christ, know that God does not disqualify people. He only qualifies.
I personally think David Platt's Radical and John Stott's The Radical Disciple explore the theme of this book in a much more substantive way. However, the cover art and the conversational approach of the book might be the right thing to engage someone just beginning to think along these lines.
Takeaway quote from the book: Whatever your reason for deciding that you are disqualified from an extraordinary life with Christ, know that God does not disqualify people. He only qualifies.
July 16, 2012
Do you ever find yourself in a rut? Or find yourself wondering what God can do with your "averageness"? The solution is to stop focusing on yourself and start focusing on loving and serving those around you. This book describes ways in which that shift can be made via service, ministry, Bible studies, witnessing, tithing, teaching, and praying.
Barber, President of Mission Year, a young adult inner-city ministry, writes in a down-to-earth way, using anecdotes and other people's stories to weave throughout his topical chapters. This book would be best for college students and adults who are passionate about being extraordinary Jesus followers in an ordinary world.
Barber, President of Mission Year, a young adult inner-city ministry, writes in a down-to-earth way, using anecdotes and other people's stories to weave throughout his topical chapters. This book would be best for college students and adults who are passionate about being extraordinary Jesus followers in an ordinary world.
November 2, 2012
I enjoyed Everyday Missions. It resonated with my heart for being a missionary wherever you are planted. God calls us to be His witnesses at home and abroad. There's not an option of one or the other. As Christ followers, we're called to both. Barber does a great job of drawing that out. Good book for all.
January 31, 2013
Definitely recommend to anyone in their teens/early twenties and are thinking of doing a few years of mission work. The author is one of the founders of Mission Year, a great program, and you get to hear some experiences from urban US missionaries in the program.
May 29, 2012
I reviewed this for the Englewood Review of Books.
Check it out here: http://erb.kingdomnow.org/leroy-barbe...
Check it out here: http://erb.kingdomnow.org/leroy-barbe...
November 20, 2012
It was a good book and worth a read. Of course I don't follow all his ideas or opinions, but I think it is worth the time to read.
January 13, 2013
Not my favorite book on the topic but nonetheless encouraging to start living missionally today. I liked barber's practical advice and real stories he uses throughout.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews