At the end of The Conversation yesterday, the following articles were handed out for reading at home.
To clarify, these are some authors that we are reading and listening to right now, but we don't know enough about them to say we endorse everything they say or believe. What we are most interested in is learning how to be missional from those who are doing it already. We support the missional community idea, but aren't necessarily saying PoC would abandon organized church to go that way. We are simply learning from brothers and sisters who are already being missional around the country.
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Our mission to share Jesus with the whole world will take us out of our safety-and-security-obsessed middle class lives. We have been invited to join a real quest. There is risk involved.
"If it doesn't kill you, it's gonna make you a lot stronger. But it could kill you. Let's acknowledge that." ~ Alan Hirsch
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The Missional Community Language is Changing
by Logan Gentry
All too often when I speak with missional community leaders or churches exploring missional communities, I hear about all that missional community is not. The language surrounding missional community has been reactionary to traditional attractional church methods for so long that it has become unhelpful. This was intended to be a way of distinguishing missional communities from the popular understanding of small groups in the broader church.
It has distinguished them from small groups, but for all the wrong reasons and in many ways has caused more confusion. The typical language states that missional communities are NOT a bible study, a support group, a social activist group, weekly meeting, or small group. So basically it’s a small groups unicorn.
Lately, the language is changing and that’s a good thing, but it leaves many of the questions from past definitions unanswered.
So…what is it?
When you explore it more deeply, you discover that missional community is simply inviting the people of God to live the life of Christ together.
Bible Study Plus
It’s an enhanced version of bible study where we let the scriptures be discussed, dialogued and understood so they cut to our hearts, call us to obedience, remind us of repentance, and change the way we live our everyday. It moves the target of bible study from knowledge about God, to love for, awe of, and obedience to God.
When the target moves, everyone can benefit from the scriptures from non-Christian to mature Christian because it’s a work on the soul toward seeing, savoring, and becoming like Jesus Christ.
Support Group Plus
Saying a missional community is not a support group is a complete misnomer. The reality is you need more support on the mission of God and no one can do it better than your church community when they become a family.
We’ve watched people take off work to spend time with us, watch our kids, and give of themselves to support one another in far greater degrees than we ever did in a bible study or small group that wasn’t pursuing mission as the end. But again it moves beyond support and consoling to bringing health for the sake of the mission of God. It has a greater aim than care, but sees the essential value of care for healthy and sustainable mission.
Social Activist Plus
The gospel of Jesus Christ affects the spiritual and the physical. Receiving mercy from God and seeing His justice in Christ propels activism for the good of a city and society.
A missional community is on the front lines of the immediate everyday needs and when they partner with other missional communities, they can be the best at addressing the systemic needs of a neighborhood or city. Since it is more than social activism it provides the actual and deepest solution (spiritual) to the needs of those around us by extending the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ.
A Weekly Life
When I read about and look at small group ministry, I’ve only seen a missional community approach encourage the body of Christ at large to see Christianity and “church” as an everyday reality in all spheres of life. This is the result of missional communities being more than a meeting, but really a new rhythm and way of life propelled and reconstructed by the gospel of Jesus Christ over comfort, security, approval, or success.
The missional community aims to walk the life of Christ and that encompasses all of life. The invitation is to bring every aspect of your life under His gracious, freeing reign and find the place of greatest joy when you do.
Small Group Plus
A missional community rarely stays a small group as well. The aim is for more people to experience God’s love through God’s people, so the invitations are many to those far or near to God. The missional community grows by invitation and welcoming others, it grows in depth by the love and knowledge of God, and then it multiplies to recreate the same community for others to experience.
But it’s rare that the original mission community would only send and say goodbye to their friends, it usually becomes a partnership; a missional community partnership for prayer, for social events, and for God’s mission in a specific area. The impact on a neighborhood or city seeing and experiencing God through His people only becomes greater in a multiplying missional partnership.
“That’s Not Possible, It’s Too Much to Ask!”
This is usually the response I hear and it’s accurate to an extent. In one sense it raises the bar for the church and Christianity, but it also forces us to ask why the bar was set where it is now?
On our own and with our own effort, it is not possible and only feels daunting. It’s only possible when we cultivate a missional community out of the joy and hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God describes this gospel as His power. This power transforms us, frees us to let go of old patterns and ways of life to embrace new ways of life in following Jesus. This isn’t easy, but anything of worth is never easy to attain, but it is worth it.
The joy found in walking the life of Jesus with a community is worth it.
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4 Lessons Learned on the Missional Journey
by Laura Hairston
About 4 years ago, my husband, Ryan and I heard the term ‘missional’ for the first time. For us, it was a completely new concept learning to live as missionaries in the places God had already placed us. Also, hearing of the 60% who would never walk through the doors of the church on our best Sunday where we were on staff. And, hey, I grew up a southern Baptist girl in Texas – all of this rocked my world, as I am sure you can imagine.
So, we made a huge paradigm shift and life change.
We are forever grateful God opened our eyes to the amazing neighbors, now great friends, around us and the value they have brought to our lives. Many great stories have birthed and God is helping transform our neighborhood into more of what the kingdom is about. Truly living out our faith has brought so much life to us. We are not just taking in material and sitting on our butts, but, we are actively engaged in making disciples of Jesus and that is an exciting journey.
But, I would say we have definitely learned some things along the way, and are continuing to do so.
1. Build relationships not projects.
At times in our efforts to start living missionally in our neighborhoods, the first step is often meeting our neighbors, but, I have heard people talk as if ‘checked that off the list’ instead of wanting to build genuine relationships. Be willing to learn something from someone that may not be a Christ follower. Just because they are not church attendees or followers of Jesus does not mean they don’t have value to offer you. Be a learner and a friend. Build relationships not projects.
2. Be authentic.
As Christ followers, we are in the process daily of hopefully becoming more like Jesus, but there is a reality – we are human and imperfect people. Just because we choose to follow Jesus does not mean we immediately stop sinning! On the contrary, it almost becomes harder because of the desire to live one-way but our flesh does the other (something Paul knew a lot about!).
A TED talk I heard by Dr. Brené Brown on the power of vulnerability completely turned me upside down. We need to learn the art of vulnerability. After six years of stories, interviews and focus groups, here is what she found:
These folks (whole-hearted people) had, very simply, the courage to be imperfect. They had the compassion to be kind to themselves first and then to others, because, as it turns out, we can’t practice compassion with other people if we can’t treat ourselves kindly. And the last was they had connection, and — this was the hard part — as a result of authenticity, they were willing to let go of who they thought they should be in order to be who they were, which you have to absolutely do that for connection.
Is that not how we want people to feel when they come in contact with us? If we want friends to walk in authenticity with us, then we must be willing to do the same. Jesus came and died so that we did not have to live under the bondage of perfection. Walk in his grace and allow others to do the same. Be authentic.
3. Know when to stop.
Do you ever feel the need to be all things to all people for the sake of the gospel? Do you feel that their wholeness is dependent upon you? If so, stop it! I have heard that referred to as a savior complex. Remember, Jesus is the saving one and through him is ultimate hope, healing and restoration. Now, I believe we are to serve, love and walk alongside the least of these, but with a healthy reality that God is in control; we are his hands and feet. We have to know when to release what is not ours to own.
Also, learn to set rhythms of rest for your family and yourself to be renewed, re-energized and to reflect on what God has done and allow him to prepare you for the future. Know when to stop.
4. Don’t judge too quickly.
The past few years, I have noticed judgment on the established churches from different organizations and/or individuals. Now, I’m not saying prophets and others are not to speak into the system, but let us remember we were all their at one point, going through the motions and becoming wrapped up only in what happens on Sunday morning, all the while forgetting our city and neighborhood. In the book, Sentness, Kim Hammond & Darren Cronshaw say,
It is easy, in a consumerist age, to judge quickly and critique loudly. But we have been learning to celebrate mission and sentness where we see it, and to learn what we can from one another across all different styles of church.
At Forge, we want to hold the hand of the local church as well as the mom, mechanic, artist, accountant and those on the fringes because we believe all are important in the kingdom of God, and we want to celebrate where change is taking place. If you have friends attending a local church and their minds cannot even fathom what missional or incarnational looks like, then disciple them too. Bring them alongside you in the journey. I heard Alan Hirsch once say, “Let the critique of the old, be the practice or fruit of the better.” If you want to speak into the church consumerism and lack of disciple making, then live it out and have stories to inspire and encourage others to do the same.
http://www.releasetheape.com/4-lessons-learned-on-the-missional-journey/
Take some time this week to mull over some of these questions.
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Take some time this week to mull over some of these questions.
- Am I building genuine friendships with those who are not yet Christ followers? Do I humbly want to learn from them or are they a means to an end (be honest)?
- Am I being authentic with others and myself about my weaknesses? Am I allowing others to do the same?
- Am I taking adequate times of rest? Is my family taking time to rest?
- Am I helping those who have not yet identified themselves as sent ones live out their true calling or am I judging them because they are not?
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