| What is Missional? |
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Brad Brisco's summary of "what is missional?" is a good one, and I particularly like the five implications he closes with. I have summarized but also adapted some of this. I'll close with some thoughts on the implications for a missional posture. 1. The Missional Church is about the missionary nature of [the Triune] God and His church. 2. The Missional Church is about the church being incarnational rather than attractional. John 1:14 in the Message: "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood." 3. The Missional Church is about actively participating in the missio Dei, or mission of God. Many times we wrongly assume that the primary activity of God is in the church, rather than recognizing that God's primary activity is in the world, and the church is God's instrument sent into the world to participate in His redemptive mission. A missional church focuses all of its activities around its participation in God's agenda for the world. Fostering a Missional Posture - more from Brad 1. Start with Spiritual Formation God calls the church to be a sent community of people who no longer live for themselves but instead live to participate with Him in His redemptive purposes. However, people will have neither the passion nor the strength to live as a counter cultural society for the sake of others if they are not transformed by the way of Jesus. If the church is to "go and be" then we must make certain that we are a Spirit formed community that has the spiritual capacity to impact the lives of others. 2. Emphasize the Priesthood of All Believers Every believer must fully understand how their vocation plays a central part in God's redemptive Kingdom- "every member is a missionary." 3. Create a New Scorecard The church must move beyond the traditional indicators of attendance, buildings and cash. We must create new scorecards that point to the church's impact on the surrounding community rather than measuring what is happening inside the walls. 4. Search for Third Places In a post-Christendom culture where more and more people are less and less interested in activities of the church, it is increasingly important to connect with people in places of neutrality, or common "hang outs." In the book, "The Great Good Place" Ray Oldenburg identifies these as "third places." Our first place is the home; the second place is where we work and the place we spend the majority of our waking hours. But the third place is an informal setting where people relax and have the opportunity to know and be known by others. Third places might include the local coffee shop, hair salon, restaurant, mall, or fitness center. These places of common ground must take a position of greater importance in the overall ministry of the church as individuals begin to recognize themselves as missionaries sent into the local context to serve. We must also rediscover hospitality. Biblical hospitality is much more than entertaining others in our homes: we must learn to welcome the stranger. 5. Use Stories to Renew Imagination Instead of trying to define what it means to be missional, we can describe missional living through stories and images. We can capture the "missional imagination" by sharing what other faith communities are doing and illustrate what it looks like to connect with people in third places, cultivate rapport with local schools, and build relationships with neighbors. Moreover, we can reflect deeply on biblical images of mission, service and hospitality by spending time on passages such as Genesis 12:2, Isaiah 61:1-3, Matthew 5:43; 10:40; 22:39; 25:35 and Luke 10:25-37. The greatest challenge facing the church in the West is the "re-conversion" of its own members. We need to be converted away from an internally focused, Constantinian mode of church and converted towards an externally focused, missional-incarnational movement that is a true reflection of the missionary God we follow. * * * The first implication Brad draws for our posture is that we must start with spiritual formation. Why? He writes, "people will have neither the passion nor the strength to live as a counter cultural society for the sake of others if they are not transformed by the way of Jesus. If the church is to "go and be" then we must make certain that we are a Spirit formed community that has the spiritual capacity to impact the lives of others." I think this is not commonly perceived, but to start with spiritual formation is bang on. We cannot give away what we don't have.. and what we have to give away is who we are. But this posture begs a number of other critical questions. First, it begs the question of what it is to be human? What is our essential nature? If we don't know this, we will be like the carpenter trying to rebuild the diesel engine. We need the right competencies and skills for the task before us. We need to know what a fully human being is like. Second, we need to know how to get from here to there. To my mind one of the most brilliant writers in this area is Dallas Willard.You may own several of his books. But whether you do or not, here is a listing of 67 articles you can access. Len Hjalmarson
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