Something worth revisiting

If you never read anything else that I write, this series was probably the most lucid series of posts that I have composed. Plus, if the networks can get away with repeats, so can I :)

#1 Missional Churches

#2 Missional Churches

#3 Missional Churches

#4 Missional Churches

#5 Missional Churches

Concluding thoughts

The overuse of adjectives

I learned as a kid through SchoolHouse Rock that adjectives describe persons places or things. I don't really want to get into the overuse of inappropriate adjectives that can be used as nouns, verbs, conjunctions, gerunds and nearly every other part of speech, in the same paragraph by the particularly loquacious and foul-mouthed members of our society.

Rather, I'd like to focus on the adjectives we use in church. There are ways to describe something that are just what country folk would call plain-spoken. For example one could say "Its my car." Or one could say its a "1996 Dodge Intrepid, 3.5 litre V-6." Or one could say its a "hooptie". Or any other number of colorful terms. We do the same thing in church.

There are times that descriptive labels are helpful, and times when they are not. Often it goes to intent, such as calling someone a "fundamentalist Christian." That once was a term that was not pejorative. Now, being called a fundamentalist or "fundy" is an attack on the person's beliefs and character. Couldn't we just call the person a Christian and leave off the descriptor?

While I was in Kansas City I attended three church services in one day. At 8:00 a.m. our Theology and Practice of Worship class attended Christ Church Anglican in Overland Park, KS. It's a very formal Anglican service. At 10:45 a.m. I attended Antioch Church of the Nazarene, where the people I was staying with worship. And at 5:30, our class attended Jacob's Well, an emerging church in Kansas City, MO.

What struck me in each of these churches, from very different traditions, is that God was there. His Spirit was present and he was worshiped by those in attendance. Given that as a base, I've been convicted that I too often use adjectives to label others, especially those who have different beliefs than me. The Lord is calling me to be more ecumenical and refer to fellow believers as Christians, since we are all part of one body. I'm not arrogant enough to think that I have cornered the market on religious belief, nor has my denomination. I believe that most Christians think that their denomination/theology is the best one, but I don't know that we think it is the only one.

To that end, check out the partial list of Christian adjectives below. Feel free to leave additional ones in a comment. It is by no means an exhaustive list.

Anabaptist

Anglican

Baptist

Bible-Believing

Catholic

Calvinist

Dispensational

Emerging

Evangelical

Fundamentalist

Lutheran

Pre-millenial

Post-Millenial

Missional

Nazarene

Wesleyan

These are some words we use to differentiate ourselves. I don't want to go all Rodney King and say "Can't we all just get along" but I do think that the fewer adjectives we include in our vocabulary, the more we will see each others as Christians, just plain, simple Christians, and fellow pilgrims on a journey. And maybe, just maybe, we will all get along a little better.

Missional Churches - Concluding thoughts

I hope you have enjoyed the missional series. I know that thinking about what makes a church missional has been good for me. I'd like to conclude with a few thoughts.

Don't get hung up on terms. Missional is a mindset, not a form. I know in Christianity we love to classify people and groups. Emergent, post-modern, missional, liberal, charismatic, mainline, fundamentalist. Labels help us understand, but they also limit us. Focus on what a church is doing, not what it calls itself. If the majority of their activity is internal, that may not be your place if you are a Great Commission -oriented believer.

Since this is a relatively new concept in the Christian vernacular, expect a great deal of turbulence as the concept progresses. As the Church emerges from the Constantinian era, there will be a great deal of turbulence, much like the post-99 theses era. Apply a great deal of grace to your thoughts during this time.

Finally, think about how you can be more missional personally. Search the scriptures and let the Spirit speak to you. Here are some blogs dealing with missional concepts. Read them if you want.

Missional Churches - Fifth in a series

Here is the original article from which this is derived.

(5) Finally, missional communities are not only ardent listeners for the earmarks of God's redemptive work in our world, these communities are passionate activists when they find the pathways and trajectories of God's redemptive presence. The work of justice, reconciliation, peace, and spiritual direction are becoming the dominant reflexes of missional communities.

What strikes me about this is how much of a difference this is from the main thrust of evangelical churches at the end of the 20th Century and beginning of the 21st. Rather than run around condemning, protesting and exercising political power, these communities look for examples of lives that have been redeemed and seek to continue that process for all who are willing.

And by embracing "liberal" issues such as reconciliation, justice and peace, they have moved the church out of the right-wing ghetto that threatened to enslave it. God is not right or left-wing. God is holy. The church needs to keep a healthy distance from political movements that threaten to distance it even further from the people who so desperately need to hear its message of redemption and hope through Christ. The end of the Constantinian era will hopefully make some headway in this area, but the church needs to be apolitical and always be on God's side, regardless of the political landscape.

We so desperately want to be accepted and liked, that we sometimes sell our birthright for political power and access. The church needs to keep the ability to critique, rebuke and cajole the government to do what it right. We cannot do that if we become factional.

Missional Churches - Fourth in a series

For review, here is the original article on which all of this is based.

(4) Embracing the ethnic and social diversities of local communities is becoming a moral expectation. (This is one aspect of God's voice that I believe we have heard strongly from outside the confines of the church.)

This is an area where I think we are starting to see the church respond in a positive manner. I, like many of you, live in a primarily Caucasian area. Minorities in Monroe County make up less than 10% of the population. So ethnic diversity is going to be a difficult row to hoe. But social diversity, especially economic diversity is not a difficult task.

One of the most striking things about most (not all) American churches is their homogeneity in many aspects. Race, income, and education are all stratifying agents used to create homogeneous groups. We all want a church of people like us. That is an understandable reaction. But Jesus didn't call us to people like us, other than calling us to other sinners.

The Bible makes more than 170 references to the poor. It is an issue that matters greatly to God. In the Old Testament Israel was frequently punished for not taking care of the most vulnerable in their society - poor, widows, immigrants and orphans.

Who are those people for us today. That list is a good start, add the recently downsized or let go, former prisoners, and children of single parents. If we made solid connections with those groups and welcomed them openly into our fellowship, not just allowed them into our building or service, we would reflect the Kingdom Jesus was talking about.

It's a goal, and one that God would be pleased with.

Missional Churches - Third in a series

For review, here is the original article on which this post is based.

(3) Missional communities are discontent with spiritual formation as primarily cognitive assent ("I believe this to be true"). Instead, formation is presented as a way of life, a rhythm of being, and a rule of values. It emphasizes faithful living during the week rather than gathering for worship at a weekend event. The sharp boundary between the sacred and secular is evaporating as missional fellowships seek to hear God's voice in culture and creation.

Do you hear that? It is the sound of the author hitting the nail on the head! I've been ruminating on what kind of church I would like God to place me in when I begin pastoral ministry. The best I have come up with so far is a church where its actions are fed by discipleship and motivated by love. What I believe the Lord wants is for the spiritual formation that we go through be shared with others as He brings opportunity. Not just witnessing, but acts of service motivated by love.

I love the phrase the author uses "a rhythm of being" for its sheer imagery. It describes a life where our discipleship/spiritual formation or whatever you want to call it is so ingrained into our being that what we do directly reflects what we believe. I think of the people of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, who saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis during World War II. I saw a documentary film about that amazing community and what struck me was the statement of one lady who said,I'm paraphrasing here, "we didn't have to organize and think about it. We just did it because it was the right thing to do." That is spiritual formation driving action motivated by love.

For many of us, spiritual formation has become an intellectual exercise. And I speak of myself here. We need to renew our sense of awe and wonder of creation. Consider this from Paul's letter to the church in Rome:

1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. We can experience God in creation, as well as in the Bible and revelation of the Holy Spirit. Let's hone all of these aspects and then use our love to go minister to all of creation. We have no excuse, and we are incomplete if we exclude any of these areas. Enjoy the fullness of God with me. And then let us share it with others.

Missional Churches - Second in a series

We continue our discussion of a Leadership magazine article on Missional Churches by looking at Tim Conder's second point:

(2) Programming and finances are directed outward. It's easy for much of the church's program and fiscal reflexes to become directed internally. Emphases on church growth or "building the body" are often presented as the mission ("A larger church means more space and opportunity for our community to encounter Christ," is the overt message, when the real message to staff is, in fact, "Keep the saints happy and coming back.").

To counter this temptation, missional communities may cut back on programming to leave space for breathing and living. Some ministries are relocated from the safe confines of the church into the community. Financial assets are viewed as both opportunity and burden. Some missional churches have made a pattern of giving away resources without control or strings attached to reduce congregants' sense of entitlement.

The inward financial focus is a trend I suspect is strongly rooted in many churches. I encourage anyone with access to their church's financial information to go through the expenditures and put expenses in 2 categories - missional, including outreach, missions, education and anything that is directed at bringing people into the kingdom of God, and another category that you can name yourself. If your church is anywhere close to a 50-50 split, I applaud you.

The natural inclination is to keep the saints happy, and that results from the dynamic tension that comes from deciding how to spend money. Is our focus on the current congregation, or on those outside the kingdom? Not that they are mutually exclusive, but resources have to be allocated, and that tension and the resultant budgeting decision will reflect the attitude of the congregation. I've heard many preachers say that "you can judge a person's priorities by looking at their checkbook." The same adage applies to churches. If all our money is spent on us, that tells you something. If it is spent on others, it tells you something else.

I say this not to judge. But I strongly encourage anyone in ministry leadership to prayerfully consider how their church's money is spent. It does tell a story about us.

Missional Churches - First in a series

A recent article in Leadership magazine talked about some characteristics of "Missional Churches." I know this is another title like emerging/postmodern/seeker-sensitive etc that often has a vague definition. If you want to be part of the naming discussion, go to Out of Ur, the Christianity Today blog. The article is title "Missional Buzz" by Tim Conder.

I want to discuss some of the specific points he makes individually over the next several posts. He begins with:

Identifying missional churches can be difficult. Such churches are separated by identity and perspective as much as their visible forms. Nonetheless, there are some common commitments.

(1) Missional communities try to align themselves holistically with God's theme of redemption. They resist the use of Christianity as an anesthetic to the pain of human needs and as an affirmation of the superiority of one culture's way of life.

Wow. That is a power-packed statement. That really smacks the state of American Protestantism over the past 30 years. We have gone into mission fields and interjected our culture along with our religion as if they were inseparable. That is getting better in some tribes of Christianity, but I suspect that it is still prevalent. I find it disheartening to hear people in the far-flung corners of the globe singing American or Western hymns in their language and at a tempo that doesn't suit their culture. The form is not as important as the function for this.

The whole "Christianity is the cure for all that ails you" argument has been spiritually destructive to many people. Yes, ultimately faith in Christ does cure your underlying illness of original sin. But it may not cure your illnesses in this life, it may not help you lose weight, get a spouse back or find a better job. God blesses his people, but He is also sovereign. And sometimes he chooses to allow suffering for reasons we cannot understand. Go read Job for an example.

So a missional church is one that does not misrepresent the Gospel as a path to prosperity and happiness, and one that does not ally itself with a particular culture. If we can grasp that we have made significant progress. There is no "right way" to do church other than to follow the instructions of the Lord. The rest is preference, and each group should be allowed to choose its preferences so long as they do not violate the laws and instructions of God.

We are all sinners, some have been redeemed, some are still waiting. If we keep redemption as our central focus, it will make the mission much easier to grasp. We don't have to be cleaned up first to be redeemed. We don't have to look good, smell good, stop smoking, drinking etc to be redeemed. Jesus meets us where we are. After that, the Holy Spirit will do the cleaning from the inside. We just need to keep focused on the redeeming process. God has cleaned many of us, and we can help those who have joined our tribe. But let redemption be the first order of business. The cleaning comes later.