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?

What the heck does "missional" mean???? PART ONE

So if you hang around FirstChurch much, you probably have heard us use this phrase "Servant-Missional" to describe ourselves. I was pretty excited when I got here and saw that word in the official mission statement. It's the big buzz word in church leadership circles.

But one thing became pretty clear to me as I talked to people here about it: We are really pretty confused as far as what that phrase really means.

Over the next week, I'll be posting a number of entries designed to help address this question.

Alot of people in our church, it seems, use the word "missional" to describe the very good stuff that our Mission Committee does. The basic idea is that we are a church that, among all the other things we do, ALSO does some very good mission work. So we are "missional".

Now let me right off the bat say that our church really does some great stuff in the community and in the world. In fact, I had a conversation with a guy who is an active member of a local Catholic church. And he told me that, "You Presbyterians really set the bar high in terms of community involvement." The people on our various mission committees are fantastic people with hearts of gold. And they are working their tails off to help out the local and global missions we support. That's all great stuff.

But there is another way of looking at what it means to be "missional." In fact, it may even be more helpful to start with a different word that I believe conveys the same concept.

Let's use the word: MANDATE.
A mandate (in terms of Christian Theology) is a directive or an order from God that must be obeyed. Our mandate is our obligation, our duty, our responsibility, our main task, our purpose for existence.

Which kind of begs the question: What is our mandate?
I think our MANDATE is pretty clearly laid out in a couple of key scriptures.

1. Matthew 28: 19-20 (The Great Commission) - my translation: "As you go, make disciples among those who are not like you."
2. Mark 6:9-10 (The Lord's Prayer) - Your kingdom come, Your will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.
3. Mark 12:30-31 - Jesus tells us that the 2 greatest commandments (on which everything else is built) are to Love God and Love your Neighbor.

Our Mandate (our marching order) is the wrapping together of those concepts. In sum, that means that we exist in order to Transform our Community. We transform it by going into the world and befriending those who are far from God. We transform it by removing any and all barriers that keep people from becoming followers of Jesus. We transform it by fighting to change the structures, systems, and problems that keep people from experiencing a healthy and whole life.

But the bottom line is this: We're not here for ourselves. Our Mandate makes it clear that we are here for those who are not a part of our "club."

So to truly be missional - we must completely and consistently align everything we do around that driving Mandate!

If this intrigues you (or bugs you) check out the link on the right (or click here) to a website called Friend of Missional

childcare on a pastor's salary

So somebody asked me recently about one of my sermon titles. They couldn't figure out how the title connected to the message. I told this person that I didn't have any idea how the sermon title connected either.

Which is kind of like the above picture.

Anyway. Tonight we've got this banquet to kick off our Mission Drive. I'm actually pretty excited to have another opportunity to tell people about the Malawi Project we are launching. The part we're featuring tonight is this concept of Trust Groups that are at the heart of the micro-finance partnership we are developing with Oppotunity International in Malawi.

Here's a sneak peak:

The trust group model basically looks like this: A group of 10 to 20 people from a village all get together and each take out small loan to help them start up, or improve their personal businesses. But the kicker is that each member of the group guarantees every other person's loan. So if one member is falling behind, everyone else has to help them catch up. The result of this model is you've got a whole group of people who are committed to helping one another succeed and who are there to help pull one another along should someone stumble.

Which makes me wonder: What if we did spiritual formation like that?

my window to heaven

I switched offices recently.
I wanted a better view.
In my old office as i sat at my desk and looked out the window, I had a sweeping view of the wall of the education wing of church. Now, it's a nice wall. But its a wall.

In my new office, I look out the window and see trees, the park, sky, and best of all: the grassy area where the pre-school kids play in the morning.

The other day, I'm sitting here watching the kids play and I notice this one little boy, maybe 3 years old, playing chase with his teacher. The teacher is barely jogging and the little boy is plodding along after her as fast as he can. No chance of catching her. But the look of pure, wholehearted joy on his face is just priceless.

And I thought: What if we chased God like that?

I mean, what if chasing after God was the funnest thing we'd ever done? Would it be OK, knowing we might not ever really catch him because his legs are longer. Could we learn to love playing chase with God, just because the chasing part is what's really the most fun?

I've known people who have been so weighted down by this feeling that God was not close. I've felt that myself. Many times. Who doesn't? I mean, try to honestly answer this question: Do you ENJOY God?

What if God really wants more than anything to just play chase? What if God is constantly inviting us to just come and play?

This image keeps running through my head of God running ahead (running really slowly), looking back over his shoulder saying, "Can't catch me..." And I want to chase him. I want to chase him to Aroma - I'm pretty sure he likes to slow down there. I want to chase him to the school where I keep catching glimpses of him there in Kobe's teacher. I want to chase him to the Catholic Worker House where I think he stops for lunch. I want to chase him to our small group where he hangs out every Sunday night.

I want to chase him out onto the grassy area outside my window. As I watched this morning, one little class of kids walked out into the yard. The kid at the front of the line walked into the yard and slowed down and looked up. He looked at the white flowers that are literally dripping off the trees. he looked up at the sky. He looked at the old leaves blowing around the yard.

It felt like he was watching God run ahead of him and he was ready to start chasing.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

OK, I am CERTAIN that nobody on the search committee that hired me said ANYTHING about earthquakes here in lovely Illinois.

Snow...yes.
Miles of cornfields...yes
tractor parades....well, no, but it wasn't suprising.
Earthquakes....you've got to be kidding me.


Actually my first thought was this mental image of a farmer rolling out of bed and saying, "Betsy, I think the cows are stampeding."

Funny thing is that I lived in California for 11 years and last night's earthquake was the biggest one I've ever been in.

Bono rocks my face off

OK, disclaimer: I am NOT a big fan of celebrity endorsements. It drives me nuts when people who are famous (primarily because of their ability to act like someone they aren't) jump on political bandwagons or other causes. If you've seen any of Tom Cruise's rants about scientology the last few years, you know what I'm talking about.

But Bono (lead singer of U2) has been a remarkable exception. Bono has for years been advocating for the poor and for AIDS issues in Africa. His stance has been consistent, clear, and convicting for those willing to listen.

Here's what he had to say recently to an interviewer:

"Well, you know, I am not a very good advertisement for God. So, I generally don't wear that badge on my lapel. But it is certainly written on the inside. I am a believer. There are 2,103 verses of Scripture pertaining to the poor. Jesus Christ only speaks of judgement once. It is not all about the things that the church bangs on about. It is not about sexual immorality, and it is not about megalomania, or vanity. It is about the poor. 'I was naked you clothed me. I was a stranger and you let me in.' This is at the heart of the gospel. Why is it that we have seemed to have forgotten this? Why isn't the church leading this movement? I am here tonight because the church ought to be ready to do that."

Here's my challenge for you: Talk to someone who isn't a Christian (that shouldn't be hard, but I bet it will be really hard) and ask them what they think of how well the church has responded to poverty, hunger, and AIDS in Africa.

Come back and tell us what they say.

I pledge allegiance...

So I sit in my office and look out at the park across the street. Right there on the corner of the park, right in the middle of my window view, is a flag pole with old Glory flapping in the wind.

Now, this is a post for another day, but let me be clear about something: I think there is a very real danger of losing sight of God's Mission when we wrap that Mission in the zeal of patriotism. Patriotism and Faithfulness are not necessarily the same thing, and sometimes they can be polar opposites.

BUT, that's not my point. Today as I look at the flag, I am remembering the words God spoke to Jeremiah: "Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Pray for peace and prosperity. For your city.
Today, that just really strikes me as a cool idea. God actually wants our city to prosper. God wants our businesses to do well. God wants our streets to be free of pot-holes. Ok, so maybe I'm totally ripping this passage out of context.

Because the truth is that the prosperity is not really for the rich. It's for the exile. The Isrealites had been shoved out of their homes and marched to a foreign country where they are living with nothing...exiles. Prosperity is for them. God's promise is for them. Peace is for them.

I hope we do pray for the prosperity of our city. But I hope that pray grows out of our heart breaking for the ones who live in exile. Right here at home. Like the guy sitting out there with his suitcase, on the park bench, under the American flag.

If cussing bugs you, don't read this...

Wow. Do you ever read something that just grabs you by the throat and yanks you into it? I mentioned the writings of Gordon Atkinson yesterday and thanks to Mark A for pointing me to one I'd missed. But this short essay describes Gordon's journey of faith and it is TRUTH like very few things you'll ever read. Let me say that again, this stuff is TRUTH.

But if you prefer your truth all shiny and clean, you probably won't want to click on the link below. As for me, this man speaks my language:

the preacher's story

Subscribing and Sermons

Just in case you haven't noticed, you can subscribe to this blog and get an email whenever there is an update. Its kind of like flowers popping up in your toilet. I called my mom to tell her I now have 20 subscribers. I AM SOMEBODY!!!

Also, in case you are logging on to hear a recent sermon, Richard (who taught me how to type) is gone for 2 weeks on vacation to Europe and so new sermons won't get posted until he's back.

Church Marketing

Gordon Atkinson has some pretty witty thoughts on faith on his blog but someone showed me an article he wrote recently for CT (which is funny because CT is usually NOT witty).

Gordon wrote about Church Marketing. Which is also funny because I've been part of alot of conversations lately about coming up with a "logo". You know, a "pithy statement" that tells folks what we are really all about.

I'm sure you've seen them: "A church that cares"; "Where everyone is welcomed"; "God's here, are you?"

Gordon can be a bit of a cynic. The point of his article is to point out that these catch phrases really come down to one thing: Marketing. And he goes on to say that alot of what we actually do on Sunday mornings is really nothing more than marketing. Even our age old liturgies can end up being "ad copy to comfort and assure ourselves that we belong to the demographic column of people who identify with Christianity. Maybe when this life is over we will say to God:

"Lord, remember me now as I enter into your Kingdom, for I was a member in good standing of a church that said some very nice things about you."

I share Gordon's skepticism of marketing. It's one reason I've resisted a "hard launch" for our new campus. It's why I've never been too keen on billboards or bus signs or even mailings. I mean it's one thing to let folks know you are there as a church (which can be relevant when you meet in a school). But it's a wholly different thing to devolve into a church that is really just another consumable. As Gordon says: "Commercials and billboards can lie, we know, and so can church signs. At issue is not quality or truth, but the bottom line: how many people join our church this year and how much money they put in the offering plate."

Here's the thing: We're not selling anything. We're living something. And if folks outside our walls aren't seeing us live it, it's not because of the inadequacy of our marketing or our website or our bulletins or even our beautiful sign (which really is quite nice.)

Here's Gordon's take on it:

An over-marketed, cynical, and wary culture is deaf to hollow words. If the living Word of God takes root in our culture, it will be because He first took root in our lives and especially in our daily lives. The Church of Jesus Christ is not made up of those who cry out, "Lord, Lord," but of disciples filled with the Holy Spirit, standing ready to bring God's presence and love to a needy world.
The only liturgy that counts is your life—your life and your willingness to take up the high calling of Christ.

So if we must have a logo, how about this:

Our liturgy is our lives