A Foundation for Missional Theology
- Judson Brooks
- Oct 28, 2010
What it is to be missional, and what it is not....
Everyone wants to be missional. Right? You find this word in almost every new book written on what it means to be a Christian, and you hear it in the language of most church leaders. It almost seems as if nothing is NOT missional anymore. But what is it? The word is attached to everything from passing out free hot chocolate on a cold day to helping someone move out of their house. But are these actions necessarily missional, or are they just random acts of kindness, good outreach tools or simply what we have been taught it means to be a "good Christian"?
I don't generally like to begin my writings with negative comparisons, but for clarity's sake, I believe it's a must on this one. So, let's begin with discussing what being missional is NOT.
Being missional is not synonymous with the evangelistic movement of the late 19th and 20th centuries. This movement, led by the voices of men like Billy Sunday and Billy Graham, promoted revival with the masses and charged the American liberal gates with the message of Jesus through open-air evangelism, radio and TV evangelism and tract evangelism. This movement had massive influence; it rapidly spread the name of Christ to a global context and expedited spiritual conversations. Seemingly effective for a season, this once popular movement is no more.
Being missional is not some "neo-evangelistic" movement for the "post-modern" context. There have always been, and will always be, new methods of evangelism introduced. Many are continuing to hit the evangelical landscape, some effective, others not so much, but again, this is not to be confused with missional theology, missional intentionality, missional living or simply being missionally minded.
Being missional is not a new hipster word to be used casually while talking about what defines your church. Well, okay, I guess it is, but it shouldn't be. In fact, if you feel like you have to use this word while describing your church, chances are your church isn't really missional, or at least you aren't (although I must say your intentions may be wonderful). If you were, you would be too busy building deeply rooted relationships, serving your neighbor and talking about Jesus to use words like, "missional" and "attractional" and "relational" in the flow of your conversations.
Then being missional means to be relational? No, not really. Being relational is good; God has always been relational. The Trinity has perfect relationship, and God chose to be relational with his people tracking all the way back to Adam and Eve in the garden. Relational is good.... but it doesn't fully encapsulate being missional. These words are often inaccurately interchanged. Although they have a close friendship, occasionally getting together for a beer or coffee, they are only cousins, not twins.
Being missional doesn't mean being outreach driven in a programmatic sense. This philosophy of ministry is generally pragmatically induced and has little to do with becoming a missional people. The traditional American evangelical church is often captivated by this model for several reasons: 1.It produces clear, often tangible results 2.It is corporately promoted, providing for much hype and 3.Quite simply it is easier to depend on the institution to organize your "outreach calendar" than to become a missional agent in how you live on a daily basis.
Being missional does not mean you're "emergent" or "emerging" or whatever other new hip word is being used to describe the church today. These camps both have definitions of what it means to be missional, but you are not somehow infused with "missional DNA" by attending one of these churches on a weekly basis, reading their books, or attending their conferences.
Being missional does not replace being a Christian. When asked what you are, respond by saying you're a Christian, not a "missionalian." You are not defined by your "missionalness;" you are defined by Jesus and his work.
Ok, I could go on and on with what being missional is NOT, but let's move on to what it IS to be missional.
Let's begin with the origin of the word itself. The word missional was coined in the late 90s with a book written by six authors and edited by Princeton professor; Darrel Guder, titled "Missional Church". Over the years, the principles and research found in this book have deeply rooted themselves in the formation of thousands of churches across the evangelical landscape. Ed Stetzer, a missiologist for LifeWay Research, defines what it means to be missional and to be a missional church:
1"Meaning to live, sent.... It means to identify with and to join God in his mission.... We do this by looking at Jesus. He came to seek and save those who are lost. We then join Jesus on his mission, the mission of the Gospel. Missional churches are incarnational and are deeply connected to the community. Missional churches are indigenous meaning they have taken root in the soil and reflect, to some degree, the culture of their community. An indigenous church looks different from Seattle to Senegal to Singapore. Lastly, missional churches are intentional about their methodologies. There are scripturally commanded requirements about church, preaching, discipline, baptism and many other biblical practices. Church and worship can't take just any form. In missional churches, those biblical forms are central, but things like worship style, evangelism methods, attire, service times, locations, and many other man-made customs are not chosen simply based on the preference of the members. Instead, the forms are best determined by their effectiveness in a specific cultural context."
That being said, the missional movement has morphed and changed in good and bad ways. The bad ways include being taken out of context, socially driven, service focused, overstated, undervalued and robbed of its Gospel centricity. So what is the value of it then? This is where we look to Scripture.
Being missional is focused on Jesus and his work on the Cross (Jn. 14:6, Acts 4:12, Rom. 5:8). This must be the centerpiece of a missional church. He must be seen in how we spend our time, how we spend our words (James 1:26), how we spend our money (Phil. 4:19), how we spend our marriages (Col. 3:18-19) and how we spend our relationships with others. In other words, being missional is to be continuously pursuing a Gospel-centered life, being driven by the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Being missional, as God was missional in sending Jesus to us (John 8:21-30), is to literally "be sent" into the world as Jesus commanded His disciples before his departure (Mt. 28:16-20). The consumer driven church culture asks how we can draw people in by using attractional methods, events and activities then declares it a missional activity. While attractional ministry is not inherently sinful or wrong, and can be used for good, it is not missional ministry and it can create a church culture that is contrary to becoming missional. Some of the dangers of attractional church philosophies are, 1. They tend to cater to an already deeply consumeristic culture. 2. It takes the responsibility off of the people and onto the institution and 3. It can lead to an unbelievably diluted Gospel. Jesus didn't hold "big events." The big events in the gospels were the result of Jesus being on mission for the Father; it was his person that attracted the crowds. He was the attraction. We must likewise be what attracts people to Jesus. Attractional ministry asks for "them" to come to "us," missional ministry requires "us" to go to "them."
Being missional is an intentional lifestyle. It must be a daily refocusing on Christ and his coming to us, and then sending us into the world on mission. Our natural tendency, due to sin, will be to focus on anything that opposes this. Why? The enemy hates Jesus and desires to woo us towards anything but him.
Being missional is "going out" rather than just "reaching out" (Alan Hirsch) -daily entering into your context as a missionary for Jesus, building deep, trusting, rich relationships with those in your life. This may or may not take much time. This is not the same as "relational evangelism" or "friendship evangelism" in that the goal is not to "convert the target" (conversion is God's work, not ours), but rather to be a faithful witness of Jesus for others to see. It involves praying and pleading that God, in his grace and sovereignty, in his timing, would call those in your life to himself using you as the tool to do so.
Lastly, being missional is allowing Jesus to change your way of living and thinking so that he might be glorified through your life. It must always, at all times, under all circumstances and in every relationship be all about Jesus.
Footnotes:
Ed Stetzer, What is a Missional Church?, http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/02/what-is-a-missional-church.html (February 2010)
Recommend books on being missional and the missional movement:
The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer
Total Church by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester
Compelled by Love by Ed Stetzer and Phillip Nation
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