Neil Cole is such a good missional thinker and he was speaking at Up/rooted’s event last Thursday. He said a lot of good things, but what really got me were his answers to the question how do we get missional, engage the hurting, the poor, the broken with the gospel in the suburbs? He talked about how difficult this was. How finding the poor and those in need, hurting and in pain could be seen as nigh impossible. He nonetheless asserted that it’s all about finding the good soil (Matt 13:8) The good soil is the soil of the poor, the broken, those in desperate need who are ready to hear the gospel where there is a lot of fertilizer (code word for a more straightforward term no doubt). He said here is where we must plant seed. It is disguised and hard to find in the suburbs. He said nonetheless it is there. He suggested a.) taking a ride with the local police periodically. Have them show you where the hurting people are. They know where there’s “trouble,” domestic abuse, bars that break out in fights, hurting people looking for an escape, where there’s financial stress, where the desperate people are. He suggested going to the community centers and hanging out where the AA groups are. He said go to the ones in the community centers (where there’s smoke filled rooms) versus the churches, for here there is better soil with more fertilizer (again code word for another more straightforward term). He said look for foreclosure signs, “for sale” signs in the neighborhoods, people going out of business, for these people are the hurting ones
He then talked about meeting these people, connecting with them, ministering to them. He talked about speaking truth in love, the gospel in its simplicity, beauty and clarity, straightforwardly, yet in love, listening, praying, ministering encouraging, offering help of some kind. He also talked about the real possibility that many will simply reject the gospel. Because in reality the gospel asks of us all to die, to die to self, pride, ego, self projection, human pride and hubris. He said, or implied, this is the same for rich or poor. He talked about Mark 6:8-11 on a couple of different levels. He said there will be times when we must move on, from good soil to good soil (shaking the dust off your feet), the need to keep going, keep planting and keep searching for the good soil to plant seeds of the gospel through holistic love and engagement.
This stokes my imagination. Much of this has been confirmed in my few short years in the burbs. Thanks Neil Cole.
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Thanks for sharing Dave. This is some good advice and even a little convicting (as in, “Am I really interested in looking for these people?”).
I like the way he talks about looking for and moving on from good soil to good soil. There’s something incredibly liberating and positive about that for me, that God doesn’t expect us to beat our heads against a wall in a futile effort to convert people.
Peace,
Gordy
it was indeed refreshing to hear a bit more “rubber meets the road” type talking to contrast with so much of the intellectual discussion. i’m glad we have both!
As someone who lives and ministers in the inner city, I have always said that being missional in the burbs is in many ways much harder than what we do. That’s why it is great to see such a very practical response to those challenges here. Thanks for sharing!
Peace,
Jamie
I am in the suburbs, and glad to read it. Funny, I was just thinking on my drive home yesterday: These people who live around me are going to be tough…they have so few “physical/material” needs. I like Neil’s ideas how to find people. Suburb people want to build a community center, which is why mega suburb churches have so mny programs…getting them to understand missional ministry is very difficult, as it is not exclusively about feeding the hungry; people have all kinds of hunger, not just physical hunger. Wealthy suburban people don’t like to acknowledge hunger in any form. Great post.
Its possible that I’ll be moving back to the burbs soon. Good ideas. But don’t we have a biblically MORAL oblication to stay AWAY from places like the following, lest they corrupt our “minds”?: He suggested a.) taking a ride with the local police periodically. Have them show you where the hurting people are. They know where there’s “trouble,” domestic abuse, bars that break out in fights, hurting people looking for an escape, where there’s financial stress, where the desperate people are. I’m kidding, of course
And I wonder what is the more straight foward word for fertilizer? Hhmmm…
David,
I wasn’t there but I appreciate the recap. Since we both go back some years, I wonder, especially in light of the last paragraph, how this differs from the “crisis mode” of lifestyle evangelism from say, 20 years ago?
In that paradigm, we were to follow the model of developing friendships with either those who were “hurting” or developing friendships with those around us and wait until they had a crisis. If the crisis came and they rejected the gospel, it was sort of move on to the next friend.
Perhaps the phrase at the end, “holistic love” may provide more of a response. I think an important point in “holistic love” would be to love them in such a way that would transcend the practice of turning them into evangelistic projects or missional “objects.” I speak clearly to myself here. This is a great challenge.
Dan …
I don’t recall the model you’re talking about … but I think that we should avoid making these notions a technique … for a given result … this is a losing game ..turning all things into our control ..including social justice … we are being faithful … we should never turn people itno evangelistic projects .. we should instead be the presense of Christ … offering redemption restopration through Him .. peace ..
Can somebody enlighten me? For what is “fertilizer” a code word? I’m not understanding the wink-wink here.
here the formality dictionary may suffice
excrement; feces…up shit creek, Slang. in a desperate or hopeless situation; in serious trouble. Also, up shits creek, up shit creek without a paddle.
This gospel is for those who either have a large buildup of “fertilizer” (for Jesus) or are “up #%^$ creek w/o a paddle…[and are thus in need of a wind from the Spirit
]“
When could we say a area does not have good soil and it would be time to move to another area?
When could we say a area does not have good soil and it would be time to move to another area?
I greatly appreciate the practical ideas amidst the idealism (which I share) of the missional mindset. My experience with this has been fairly rough, a mix of blessings and lots of pain. It only took me a year to burnout. The three-year guys impress me.
My on-the-ground experience has taught me that community in 21st century America (most poignantly, suburban America, though much of higher-culture urban America succumbs to the same phenomenon) must be created intentionally and geographically, but centered around a common “meeting place”, be it a “third place” or a multi-use church facility of some sort. The open, new monastic movement offers the most hope for this, I believe. George Hunter and Tom Sine in particular present compelling cases for this. But how, in the burbs… that is the question. The recommendations in your most recent post are promising, but in my experience, vision-casting needs to have a better platform than simply blogs, books, and sporadic, intimate workshops. I am MAJORLY in favor of these as fundamental elements of the overall matrix, but am convinced that the weekly gathering of believers is the optimal setting for earth-moving vision-casting.
You can read some of my story, if you like, at http://www.thecoredowntown.com/story.
Blessings to you all,
mts
mts … you echo alot of my thoughts and experiences … any chance we can have a coffee sometime? could you e-mail me off-blog? via lifeonthevine.org …
Peace DF
mts … you echo alot of my thoughts and experiences … any chance we can have a coffee sometime? could you e-mail me off-blog? via lifeonthevine.org …
Peace DF