Three Words: MISSIONAL, Organic, Holistic
"Missional" is becoming a buzzword. Like many other terms that float around in the Christian media and sub-culture this good word is in danger of being misused, overused and missapplied to things that are decidedly not missional. I visited a large church recently that had a large display for it's children's ministry that made me think twice. The sign said: "let's get missional with kids".I have no reason to suspect that the individuals who came up with that slogan are anything other than sincere. In fact, they may be honestly trying to help the children in their congregation adopt a missional outlook on life. However, I couldn't help but think that this term just might be used to enhance the children's ministry, promote their programs and grab the attention of these children's parents along with the other adults of the congregation. Until recently this word was not used outside the rarified air spaces of seminaries and evangelism/mission events.
It is a good word. It is a great word and very descriptive. However, I am not certain that I always effectively communicate what it means to live missionally. Rather than give you another definition (I'll do that later) I think it is good to see some images of missional life. Let me know what you think about these.
(Click on the link above and read the brief but very descriptive post on living a missional life. You can also click on the "Friend of Missional" button at the bottom right to read some other thoughts on missional living from the blogosphere.)
***NOTE: Just found out that you need to click on the title of this post to go to the blog post that I want you to read. Or, you can cut and paste the following; http://blindbeggar.org/?p=315
posted by The Wheatland Mission @ 8:51 AM
6 Comments:
like all words - they are best explained with pictures!
If anyone's read the Mitford series by Jan Karon, you'd have to agree that the main character, Rev. Timothy, lived a missional life. A real neat, fictional example. Also, as I think on missional, I keep coming back to the sense that the word "community" is a huge part of it.
Marci, great point about community. Being disciples of Jesus, in the Bible, meant living in community or sharing life in some way. I don't think there is a way for us to get around that now.
John, thanks for the transparency. Very good words. We all adopt our own view of the faith based upon our early church experiences, family life, and even the media. However, Scripture and the Spirit drive us to think beyond these presuppositions and assumptions to see where God is really taking us.
If only we will let him.
Missional to me has a meaning of servanthood, it's being NOT served but to serve others. I also think of missionaires they serve with a purpose to glorify God but its not always convienient yet their loyality to serve continues. Missional for us should be the same , we should give ourselves completely to God, even our bodies to be used as an instrument for God's purposes; with our families, at the coffee shop, our church building, our ministries whether childrens ministries or home groups. The missional part is to always be sincere to invite others to your group not only to increase the number but to truly befriend them, love them and care for them.
QP
QP, Did you know that I used to think you were someone else? Then I realized we didn't have anybody at Wheatland whose first name was Quentin or Quincy. :)
Your post is right on the money in a bunch of different ways. First, the goal of the church isn't to grow in numbers. Do we want to grow numerically? Yes. But that growth is for the benefit of those who are comin contact with Christ. Our friendships should never be utilitarian. We build relationships not to serve our organization but to serve the one whom we have befriended in the name of Christ. We aren't befriending someone if our relationship with them dies out when they don't come to our service.
Second, being missional is all about servanthood. Being a missional church means that we identify ourselves as a servant to the world. We do not, however, serve the world in the way it wishes but in the way that God would have us by loving them, proclaiming truth, and meeting real human needs. The church doesn't exist for itself.
Thanks QP!
As I've learned more about missional living I've come up with ever more questions. It is a broad term that can mean many things.
I got information that said Missional Living is not about people "coming in" (to church) but rather about people "going out".
I like that idea; maybe it's because I'm finally with people who want to "go out", but I'm really enjoying the "coming in" part. I know Missional living is not self-centered, but I also know what having WM has made the going out part so possible.
Can't the two co-exist without singling out one or the other...or am I missing the boat?
Anyhow, I began to wonder how we are doing at the co-existing part as a church. Then we had tonight's sermon. Are there others out there who are doing something "out there" that I could join alongside some time? (This has always been a reason for my participation in the arts community in Wichita, but maybe there's something else out there I should be doing.)
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