I am intensely interested in how “being the church” – in terms of a set of certain practices – enables the church to participate in God’s Mission in the world. I’m worried (probably too much) that in the process of de-institutionizing the church, we lose the wherewithal in Christ to be shaped for and into His Mission. So, for me, I believe we need conversations around the many key ideas that form the missional conversation in our day.
This is why I am glad to participate in Ed Stetzer’s new effort at creating a conversation around the core issues of “Missional Church.” Starting next Monday, and then for several Mondays thereafter, Ed Stetzer will be addressing a “big idea” in the missional conversation. The bloggers below (inlcuding myself) will be addressing it as well. A syncronized conversation will then hopefully unfold across blogland leading to significant input inthe Missional Manifesto to be rolled out at the Mission Shift conference this summer.
Today’s post kicks this new syncroblog off (See below). I’m priviledged to be quoted in the opening post (just so you know I am not quoting myself eh?). I’m priviledged to be among this fine company of bloggers as well. I’m looking forward to where this goes. I invite you to chime in every Monday. Join us and Ed in this endeavor.
NOW TO THAT KICK OFF POST – HERE WE GO ….
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David Fitch once said that most missional thought leaders “emphasize incarnational forms of church over attractional; the church as Missio Dei over mission as program; organic forms of missionary living in neighborhoods over ministry set in a building.” Yet many others seem to add the term to the current program they are attempting to promote or make cool sounding. As Ed Stetzer noted, “The word missional is used to bludgeon legalism and antinomianism alike. To some it is a sign of freedom from all established forms of the church and to others it is a degeneration into syncretism with the world.”
So, do we abandon the term and move on? Not yet, because the concept behind missional is really big and words help us when we can agree on their definitions— or at least we can agree what we mean when we use a word.
Over the next few weeks, we want to discuss how “missional” happens in our lives and in the life of the church. It will be discussed here as well as at other places including the blogs listed below. As the conversation moves forward, we hope you will move from blog to blog and offer insights from the scriptures and how you see missional happening in your local community.
By doing this, we can all be a part of a specific missional conversation. As many of you know, there are several working toward a “Missional Manifesto” that will be rolled out as a part of the missionSHIFT conference on July 12-15. The intent with the manifesto is to say, “This is what we mean when we talk about being missional.” It is not the manifesto’s intent (or within its ability) to say this is what everyone should think or say about the term, but reflects a hope that it will help us all be clearer and more mission-shaped in our own thinking and practice.
Conversation on the grassroots level is important, so be sure to join in here and at the other blogs and let’s see where God take us. Here is the team that will be leading the conversation:
Rick Meigs: The Blind Beggar
Bill Kinnon: kinnon.tv
Brent Toderash (Brother Maynard): Subversive Influence
David Fitch: Reclaiming the Mission
Tiffany Smith
Jared Wilson: The Gospel-Driven Church
Jonathan Dodson: Creation Project
So for the sake of conversation today, leave a comment about with your own 1-sentence definition of “missional.” And, in the weeks to come, we will be addressing certain points or issues in the missional conversation that need consideration and perhaps clarity.
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When people ask me what “missional” means, I usually reply with something like this… It boils down to two things: (1) acknowledging that God has a mission that precedes and defines our own mission, vision, values, strategy, etc; and (2) approaching every ministry setting as a missionary situation.
Since that’s so unclear
, the next question is typically “What does that mean?” or “What difference does that make?” or “So what do we actually do differently?” at which point I try to talk about specific norms generated by those two points (or I say, just wait July and these MissionShift folks will sort it all out for us!)…
Hey Thanks Michael … and thanks for not weaiting for the experts … who would be horrified I’m sure at being called experts …
I’ll give it a try. To me missional means:
Daring to follow God in Jesus into the world wherever God leads, always through a cross, but inevitably to resurrection which cannot be simply spoken or outsourced into existence, but must be embodied in self-giving, redeeming lives.
The primary apparent flaw with the missionSHIFT missional manifesto conference is the grossly over-representation of white, male, middle-class, American clergy of the church planting variety. So many voices are not represented. Women, non-Americans, the poor, sexual minorities, other types of ministers (hospital & prison chaplains, people who work with children, the homeless, in hospice, college ministries.) The result is destined to be much of the same unless we open up the table to the full body of Christ.
Look at the early church one of the first converts to Christianity was a surgically altered, gender-variant, rich civil servant from Africa (the Ethiopian Eunuch) who went home w/ Good News and to this day a church traces its roots to that person. Radical inclusion. New Wine in New Wine Skins.
peterson, thanks for the post, I think you’ve made your point eh? what then do we do with missional? what would be your definition so that this issue dets dealt with? (which I personally have been fleshing out on this blig and elsewhere for a couple years – have you been paying any attention).
Micahel ..J. … excellent contributions .. i look forward to sharing in this missional theological construction exercise over the next several weeks …
It’s not mine, borrowed from Roxburgh and Boren. Best one sentence construct I’ve seen. “Mission is not something the church does as an activity; it is what the church IS through the mystery of its formation and memory of its calling. The church is God’s missionary people.” (45) Mystery, Memory, Mission!!
I just spent a week with Alan Roxburgh at Fuller, so I have recently drunk deeply from the well of which Len speaks. Nevertheless I am going to offer:
Missional is a recognition of the Missio Dei as constitutive of the life and being of the Church, which calls us to a thoughtful study of our own current cultural context, and resulting in a searching critique and renewal of the practices of the Church in regard to their faithfulness to the Gospel and empowerment for mission on behalf of the Kingdom.
Missional means:
1. God is a God of mission… and God’s mission includes healing/restoring/reconciling the world.
2. Thus our calling, as Christian communities & individuals, is to join God in that mission… by listening to where God is moving in us, our congregations, and our neighborhoods/cites, and beginning to incarnate the reality of God’s restoration/Kingdom in concrete ways, in our unique context.
A bit of a long winded ‘sentence’ I know!
MattR, Len, Ricahrd .. these are all wonderful and thick descriptions of “missional” … great summaries … now, after reading evrybody … I think the task is to flesh out what this means for daily, weekly practice… I think Richard, studying with Al R. has got a leg up here …
Richard, great stuff. Maybe can be abbreviated a bit, feels somewhat repetitive..
Missional is a recognition of the Missio Dei as constitutive of the life and being of the Church, which calls us to exegete our own context, and results in a searching critique and renewal of the practices of the Church relative to the Gospel of the Kingdom.
I think empowerment for mission is implied here
Ok, up too early today and running this thru NT Wright.
“Missional is joining in the ongoing story of God’s reign, his putting all things to rights, first in our neighbourhood, then to the ends of the earth.”
And one more, this an abbreviated version of Ringma:
“Missional is a renewed theological vision of the church in mission, which redefines the nature, the mission and the organization of the local church as… a sign, a servant and a foretaste of the Kingdom.”
Len, Richard… good stuff!
David,
I would then maybe say something like…
Missional- calls the church out into the neighborhood, discovering & joining God’s action there, which then reforms and reshapes our life together, thus sending us deeper into our context with more awareness of and ability to respond to God.
I think you guys have written the entire Missional Manifesto already
… wow …
My, very brief, answer would be to paraphrase the old Salvation Army saying (Heart to God, Hand to Man):
Missional is: Heart to God, body in the community.
Hey David, okay, missional:
Missional, although a clunky academic sounding term, for me represents the influences one has on one’s surroundings arising from authentic living. So much of missions happens through life, a daily witness through our faith and practice, cultivating the fruit of the Spirit and sharing it.
This affects every area of one’s life–not just the church part–and can encompass community relations and service, purchases, diet, social justice, and especially relationships. It is not simply preaching Christ but living in a way so that Christ in me and in you–the hope of glory–becomes realized everyday in us in tasks, practices and belief–mundane and sublime.
What is missional?
My concern with the term has to do with the idea that by de-institutionalizing the church will we be institutionalizing missional? Turning somewhat old school, Nouwen made a comment that helps lead to what I understand as missional. The goal of education and formation for ministry is continually to recognize the Lord’s voice, His face, and His touch in every person we meet.
Nouwen seems to be directing his comments to pastors and seminary teachers, so keying off of the idea, ‘missional would be drawing in people and developing them into people who recognize the face of God, not just across the globe but within the neighborhood in which they live, with formation in responding to that face.’
We must avoid missional from being simply another program, always a danger within the context of NA church I’m sure, but church remains vital, I cannot come up with a way to separate out church from MIssio Dei, as well as avoid missional becoming simply a sandbox enjoyed by academics. If I walked around my congregation on Sunday and asked “are we missional?” I suspect a number of blank stares would be my response or retorts about the significant roster of missions/missionaries the church supports. Missional is forming people to be acting missionaries, and not merely spectators, on their home turf so to speak.
goodness, this is awesome. If we were “voting,” I’d go put my hat in with Len’s redoing of Richard’s!
But even beyond just my favorite one, this stuff is great. If you’re out there and *almost* throwing out your answer, go for it!!
Len, good job editing mine. I think I’ll use it.
Glad it’s helpful
[...] David Fitch: Reclaiming the Mission [...]
[...] Smith: Missional Mayhem Bill Kinnon: kinnon.tv Brother Maynard: Subversive Influence David Fitch: Reclaiming the Mission Jared Wilson: The Gospel-Driven Church Jonathan Dodson: Creation Project Rick Meigs: The Blind [...]