Reggie McNeal's new book, Missional Renaissance, calls for a new alignment of evangelical Protestantism with Christ's mission to restore creation. McNeal writes about how local churches should reorient toward having an impact on society. He praises the recent phenomenon of "missional communities"—small groups with a dedicated purpose—springing up to address particular social ills. He claims that what's happening today in the church may change the institution as much as the Reformation.

I recently had a chance to speak with him about his book and the "missional movement" of which he is a prominent leader.

Why does the church need to concentrate more on mission or becoming "missional"? Hasn't the church always been missional by nature?

The term "missional church" would indeed be redundant if the church knew its mission. We have thought we were about building the church and inviting people to participate in it as the doorway into the kingdom of God. That is, we've thought that ...