What the heck does "missional" mean? PART 2

From the website: friend of missional (which you should visit frequently!)

What is Missional - A Short Answer
"Jesus told us to go into all the world and be his ambassadors, but many churches today have inadvertently changed the "go and be" command to a "come and see" appeal. We have grown attached to buildings, programs, staff and a wide variety of goods and services designed to attract and entertain people.

"Missional is a helpful term used to describe what happens when you and I replace the "come to us" invitations with a "go to them" life. A life where "the way of Jesus" informs and radically transforms our existence to one wholly focused on sacrificially living for him and others and where we adopt a missionary stance in relation to our culture. It speaks of the very nature of the Jesus follower."

---Rick Meigs

To put it one way: Missional is the shift from "Come and See" to "Go and Be".

As the above quote demonstrates, a "Come and See" mentality to church basically refers to our (often subconscious) belief that if we build a better church, people will come. If we have the best programs and the best music and the best sermons, then people will come to us and that's how we'll make disciples.

But the last decade has taught those of us in the Church a very sobering lesson: For all the energy put into church growth in the last 30 years, the end result has been DIMINISHING RETURNS. We simply cannot be faithful to Jesus' command to "Go and make disciples" by depending on a "come and get it" approach. Even if we build it, they aren't coming. No matter what we build.

I see that as a good thing. For 2 reasons: First of all it is presenting the church with the crisis it needs to realize that a different approach is needed. But more importantly, it is helping the church rediscover it's BIBLICAL mandate for existence: Being Missional is about REDISCOVERING what we are supposed to be.

And the answer is "Go and Be."

If we can tear ourselves away from the desire to have the latest and greatest programs and the coolest worship services and the greatest facility, we will find so much freedom to faithfully follow Jesus into the world. Our commitment then, is to BE the church IN the world.

Now let's personalize that: What does it mean to be a MISSIONAL CHRISTIAN?

Primarily it means to understand that God has created you, and gifted you, and called you to be a missionary in YOUR context. It means that whether you are at work, out with friends, on the golf course, or in your backyard, your focus is on loving your "neighbor" as much as yourself.

Maybe a few stories will help:

Mike likes to go the coffee shop every Thursday morning to read the newspaper. One day an elderly lady seated beside him asks him a question. At first Mike is bugged - this lady is interupting his personal time. But then Mike feels this little tug in his spirit, puts down his paper, and enters into a conversation with a woman who is desperately lonely because her son never calls or visits. Mike is living missionally.

When Rick's new neighbors move in, he goes and knocks on the door and welcomes them to the neighborhood, he talks about football and fishing over the fence, he invites him to the Jupiters for a beer and to get acquainted. He invites them over for barbecue and listen to his lame jokes with grace. When he tells Rick about the problems he is having at work, Rick talks about his struggles also and how God has helped you through them. When the wife’s dad dies, Rick lets them know he is praying for them. When he asks about what Rick does with his spare time, he humbly tells him how he mentors a local high school student, helps at the overflow homeless shelter, and has a wonderful community of faith that you love being involved with. Rick tries to live a modest, low consumption lifestyle before his neighbors. He prays for them regularly and is always ready to talk about why he is living the way he is. Rick is living missionally.

What do you think?