Mission for the Real World

Last night I met with one of our 'reimagine' stream churches to consult and help them think thru 'where to from here?'

When I get in those environments there is a part of me that wants to inspire people to dream big and attempt crazy things in the hope that we will connect with those currently out of our reach.

There is another part of me that knows that no matter what great plans we dream up and what schemes we invent, life is much more complicated and messy.

Its easy to walk away from a meeting 'charged up' and ready to roll. Its another to actually get on with the mission that pervades our life and our everyday experience.

These days I find myself leaning much more towards encouraging people to live their ordinary lives, but to do with purpose and to do inspired by the spirit. I have a feeling that if churches were full of these kinds of people then maybe that would be enough.

Of course if you want to develop a new and exciting project then go right ahead. I am all for courageous pioneering and adventurous faith, but just make sure it isn't a substitute for the rigors of living every day as a missionary and being faithful in the circles in which God has already placed you.

As John Butler sings 'the grass may be greener, but its just as hard to mow...'

It is This Thursday Night!

What Do We Measure

Canadian blogger Leighton Tebay asks a great question - how do we measure the effectiveness of the church:

"Now imagine a school that measured how much people enjoyed the classes, how great the day care was, how inspiring the teacher was, the levels of enrolment and the amount of funding they had but only passively cared about the success of their graduates in the workplace. That my friends describes most of the church in North America today."

He has more to say here. Well worth a read...

Onward Christian Soldiers?

Back in 1988 Tony Campolo wrote a book entitled 'We Have Met The Enemy and They Are Partly Right'. It was an overview of many different faiths and worldviews, acknowledging that there is truth in them and that we can learn from them... however, they were considered 'the enemy'...

These days I can't help wondering if he would use a different title.

I'm sure Campolo would agree that other people - whatever they believe - are not 'the enemy', but his title belies an understanding of faith that was in existence 20 years ago, but today would be considered dodgy at best and abhorrent at worst.

The notion of non-Christians as the enemy - while rarely verbalised - was a point of view that had some currency in the later part of the 20th C. That old favourite hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers' never took that tack, but I remember singing it as a teenager and somehow feeling that we were the good people taking on all those evil people who didn't believe the same things about Jesus and the Bible as we did.

As a result evangelism was often combative and confrontational as we sought to win people to Christ and out of the clutches of the devil. It was serious business and along the way we had to be careful not to let ourselves get corrupted in the process.

And here we are now in the much enlightened 21st C and few of us would see our non-Christian friends as the enemy. In fact even using the term 'non-Christian' can be considered offensive these days.

As we move to a different place in our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world I find myself wondering has it been a healthy shift?

There's no question non-christians are not the enemy, but in our attempts to reach the world have we lost our distinctiveness as the people of God?

Good evangelism joins faithfulness to the Bible and the gospel with a genuine engagement in the culture we are a part of.

Have we got the balance right?

Have you got the balance?

I write this on a day when my 7 year old daughter came home from playing with one of her Indian friends bearing a red dot on her forehead, courtesy of the mother. As we left she asked if I 'minded' that she had received this mark. She told me it was a symbol of good health.

Hmmm... should I mind?...

Mark Sayers is Back on line

Yes, he is back on line with his usual amazing mix of brilliant insights into pop culture as well as a depth of insight into the issues of our faith and church culture!

Here is a taste of a great article that is on his site today -

As I travel around speaking about faith and popular culture. I often find myself cornered after my sessions by small groups of frustrated young women in their twenties. The women want me to explain to them why young men seem to be dropping off the church radar. They are very often quite passionate in their belief that there are no ‘eligible’ men around. The women who have managed to snare a partner often struggle to understand or communicate with their male companions.

Firstly a couple of things need to be noted. Male participation in the church in the West is on a massive decline. The second thing to remember is that this opinion from women that men are ‘dropping of the radar’ is not just held by women inside the church. I recently watched an interview with a demographics expert who discovered that this is one of the main questions that women are asking about our culture. It seems that we are in a crisis of masculinity.

For me this is a huge issue to which little time and effort has been given. However some clues can be found in the various models of masculinity that are communicated to young men through the new media environment. Here some of the main models that I have observed of heterosexual masculinity that young men are being exposed to and imitating at the moment. You have heard of metrosexuals; now meet some of the other models of masculinity that young men are being exposed to.

RAGEASEXUALS
Rageasexuals are a group of young males who can be defined by a sense of read it all here

The challenge of reimagining

Having been involved in the leadership of new churches as well as those that have been around for many decades, I have observed there is a big difference between imagining and reimagining. Reimagine assumes that we are working in an established church and are going through the process of thinking through the issues of how the church came to where it is and finding a new direction for the future. But with that process of reimagining comes all the baggage of history, traditions, and experience both good and bad. There is a temptation to think that the easy way out is to start with a fresh slate and imagine a whole new way of being church without anything to hold up the process. Reimagining the church is a huge challenge but I am convinced it is not impossible. When Jesus said to Peter "upon this rock I will build my church", he added that "whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be opened in heaven". I have a feeling that we have been given a key to unlock some doors and allow the winds of change (I think I'm mixing my metaphors a bit) to come in and refresh the church.

Relevant Topic I Thought!

I thought David's thoughts had some relevance to the below post, if you struggle to see the connection, just enjoy the read :)
Scott

“The Reformation principle of ‘the priesthood of all believers’ … teaches us that ‘the plow boy and the milk maid’ can do priestly work.
But even more profoundly it teaches us that the plow boy in his plowing and the milk maid in her milking are in fact doing priestly work.”
~ Richard Foster, Streams of Living Water, p.266.

Our Priestly Calling

The debate over women in ministry, the practice of only clergy baptizing converts, and the inordinate reverence attributed to the ordained, generally ignores the priesthood of all believers. Gender struggles, class distinctions, and specialist ministries create strange complications for this simple kingdom truth.

More than that, misunderstanding our vocation—our calling—robs us of the rich life Christ intended. Whoever submits to the Lordship of Christ and commits themself by faith to Him has a priestly calling.

The folk who officiate at our worship services and read Scripture at weddings and funerals play a valuable role among us. But if we insist that they alone are “ministers” or “priests” we deny our privilege and neglect our responsibility.

The implications reach far beyond this short reflection, but I suggest at least the following few points to consider.

First, the priesthood of all believers—biblically speaking—has no hierarchy among the believers and no distinctions between young and old, male and female, race, class, or heritage.

Second, the world is our sanctuary for ministry—not a building on Third and Main Streets that we open on Sunday mornings.

Third, it’s not that we sometimes do priestly things (pray, preach, or pastor) but everything we do becomes sacred. Whether we’re balancing budgets for large corporations or babysitting the neighbor’s kids, cooking meals or manufacturing ball-bearings—whatever we do in word or deed is now done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 3:17)

Fourth, every one of us, at all times, in all places, with all people, function as priests. This is the dream of God. “And I shall make them a kingdom of priests.” (Exodus 19:6; Revelation 1:6; 5:10) That means we constantly highlight the Presence of Christ among us, our hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) Just as the ancient Jewish priests gathered around the Holy of Holies and helped the people connect with God, so do we, whether we’re driving trucks, tutoring school children, or selling insurance.

We are priests in our work and as we work. If we can grasp the glorious significance of this truth, it will dramatically change our view of ourselves and those around us. The Lord has not called us to occasional sacred tasks. Instead, He desires to sanctify every task in our lives, from writing to wood-working, from plumbing to praying.

The artificial barriers between paid and unpaid kingdom-servants hinders our appropriation of this truth. Every follower of Christ brings the holy place to the world. May we do so more this week and grow in this grace.

In HOPE –
David

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You can find back issues of "In HOPE" (2005-2008) at http://www.hiu.edu/inhope/.

David Timms serves in the Graduate Ministry Department at Hope International University in Fullerton, California. "In HOPE", however, is not an official publication of the University and the views expressed are not necessarily those of the Administrators or Board. "In HOPE" has been a regular e-publication since January, 2001.

Incarnation is not ...

Incarnational - it's a bit of a buzz word in the missional church. It's also a really powerful biblical concept (see John 1:14 for an example). And It's something that can create a bit of tension among Christians - it seems some read "incarnational" as being about compromise and conformity. Others (myself included) see it as something different, something intrinsic to God's mission.

I'm interested in hearing your views of "incarnational", especially as they apply to your different settings. Here's a definition of incarnational I found on Matt Stone's blog - Journey's In Between;

"...incarnation is not about reinventing and compromising faith to fit into contemporary culture [or] selling out, but is getting down and dirty: making the move to be amongst and one of whilst yet retaining purity and modelling holiness in the midst." Ian Emery

To Iive or/and proclaim it

"[...they] do not believe in evangelistic strategies, other than the pursuit to be like Jesus in his interactions with others. They do not target people or have an agenda but rather seek to love all those whom God brings to them. They do not hope for a belief change for their conversation partners as much as a life change. Because of their high level of engagement with other cultures, the sacred/secular split is overcome as they practice the kingdom in their midst, in community."

Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger cited in Scot McKnights, A community called atonement (Abingdon Press, 2007).

I wonder who "they" are? I wonder if "they" look like your/my church?
I wonder if "just living it out" is just an excuse for not proclaiming their faith, or if in fact their faith is so 'present' in their lives that it is open and lived as a natural part of their lives"
Challenging hey? How different is your lifestyle? Enough to make people think, wonder, ask questions, consider their own lives? Do you spend more time trying to 'make people evangelize their friends', or more time encouraging and discipling people in their passionate, subversive kingdom living?