Missional Journal. A New Imagination for the Church

Transcription

1 Missinal Jurnal David G. Dunbar, President February 2008, Vl 2. N. 2 Frward this Issue Use this link t frward the Missinal Jurnal t a friend. Click belw t access past Missinal Jurnals Archived Missinal Jurnals Blg With Dave Share Yur Thughts Quick Links Biblical's Website A New Imaginatin fr the Church In the last issue f the Jurnal I suggested that the challenge fr Christians in the West is re-imagining the shape f the church and its ministry in a pst-christendm envirnment where it must functin n the margins f (wrldly) pwer. What will such churches lk like? Are there any bvius patterns that will characterize their structure and functin? At this pint we see nly the leading edge f the missinal transfrmatin. A variety f experiments are currently under way and mre will fllw if churches successfully navigate the transitin perid. While I am hesitant t prphesy abut the future, I think it is prbably safe t anticipate a number f distinctives. 1. Missinal is nt McChurch Since the 1990s the term "McChurch" has referred t a cnsumer-riented Christianity which pursues church grwth by ffering mre and better spiritual gds and services. Smetimes the ntin f franchising is even included, i.e. the practice f marketing t the larger Christian cmmunity the prgrams, practices, r strategies f churches regarded as particularly successful. The ppularity f the franchise apprach is understandable. Church leaders passinate abut reaching their culture are lking fr help but dn't knw what t d in a time f cutural upheaval. Buying a prgram ff the shelf, r lking fr an external prescriptin that prduces results when applied

2 C4ML at Biblical If yu are interested in supprting ur visin fr seminary educatin click belw Institutinal Advancement Planned Giving faithfully, is a strng temptatin. The prblem with this apprach is that it is nt missilgically sund. It desn't take int cnsideratin the fact that the medium and the way the message is presented will vary, at least in emphasis, frm ne lcal cntext t the next. Mst Christians recgnize the need fr missinaries t translate r cntextualize the gspel in apprpriate ways t specific cultures--ur churches need t d the same. Missinal practitiners recgnize that the principle f cntextualizatin applies equally t churches in the West. Frm regin t regin, city t city, neighbrhd t neighbrhd, we see a kaleidscpe f cultures. One size will nt fit all. Franchising is usually unsuccessful. Missinal therefre means a lcal, culturally-specific applicatin f the message. cpyright 2007 David G. Dunbar 2. Evangelistic/attractinal missinal/incarnatinal At this pint I am brrwing the language f Alan Hirsch t distinguish tw basic appraches t cmmunicating the gspel. By evangelistic/attractinal Hirsch means the traditinal apprach f the Western church in the culture f Christendm. In this cntext a church may grw largely n the basis f attractin--a nice building in a gd neighbrhd, with a charismatic leader and/r gd prgramming, can bring in nn-christians t be evangelized (presented with the message f salvatin). By cntrast Hirsch advcates a missinal/incarnatinal pattern. It is missinal because it is "an utwardly bund mvement frm ne cmmunity r individual t anther. It is the utward thrust rted in Gd's missin that cmpels the church t reach a lst wrld. Therefre, a genuine missinal impulse is a sending rather than an attractinal ne. The NT pattern f missin is centrifugal rather than centripetal" (The Frgtten Ways [Brazs, 2006], pp ). It is incarnatinal because it understands Gd's actin in Christ as the mdel fr the life f the church. "If Gd's central way f reaching his wrld was t incarnate himself in Jesus, then ur way f reaching the wrld shuld likewise be incarnatinal. T act incarnatinally therefre will mean in

3 part that in ur missin t thse utside the faith we will need t exercise a genuine identificatin and affinity with thse we are attempting t reach" (Frgtten Ways, p. 133). Incarnatin requires a church's presence in the cmmunity. Missinal leaders cmmnly speak f "mving back int the neighbrhd," f learning t listen and build relatinships and create a cntext in which the gspel may flurish in wrd and deed. In the wrds f Bryan Stne: "The reign f Gd prclaimed by Jesus and embdied in his persn becmes a cncrete pssibility in the wrld when a space is created fr it thrugh the Spirit's frmatin f persns int the life, death, and resurrectin f Christ (and thus int his 'bdy')" (Evangelism after Christendm [Brazs, 2007], p. 108). As the church cnfrnts wide-spread cynicism abut the Christian message, the gspel displayed will give credence t the gspel declared. I dn't want t argue fr missinal t the exclusin f all attractinal aspects f current church practice. Many peple are drawn t the church by gd preaching, gd prgrams, and fine facilities. The prblem is that 1) many f thse attracted (nt all) will be disgruntled members f ther churches and 2) the percentage f the ppulatin wh can be reached in this way is rapidly shrinking. 3. Cultivating spiritual discernment In the culture f late mdernity many churches adpted a crprate mdel fr leadership, decisin-making, and planning. Pastrs became CEOs, elders (r deacns) transfrmed themselves int crpratin directrs, and tpdwn, visin-driven planning became the rder f the day. It is a sign f biblical-thelgical health that this paradigm is being questined in the missinal church mvement. Here is a gd place t begin "re-imagining" the nature and functin f the church fr a pst-christian and pstmdern era. What is there abut the decisin-making and planning prcess f the church that makes (r shuld make) it distinctively Christian? Or, t ask the questin differently, what is missing frm the lder mdel? The shrt answer is sensitivity t the leading f the Spirit. Or,

4 in the wrds f Craig Van Gelder, "An essential dimensin that Christian leaders must attend t in the midst f a discernment and decisin-making prcess is hw t keep Gd in the cnversatin" (The Ministry f the Missinal Church [Baker, 2007], p. 99). One can hardly read the narrative f Acts and fail t nte the level t which Gd is "in the cnversatin." Frm Pentecst nward the Hly Spirit is repeatedly identified as the directing and empwering frce in the expanding missin f the church. Individuals like Philip, Peter, and Paul experience the direct leading f the Spirit at missinally strategic pints (Acts 8:29; 11:11-12; 16:6-7). Hwever, there are als critical pints at which the gathered bdy discerns the leading f the Lrd. Luke tells us (Acts. 13:1-3) that the cmmissining f Barnabas and Paul fr the expanded missin t the Gentiles was the result f the Antich believers hearing frm the Hly Spirit during a perid f wrship and fasting (likely fcused n discerning "next steps" in Gd's purpses fr the cngregatin). The Jerusalem Cuncil is anther example f cmmunal listening fr the vice f the Spirit which allws the apstles and elders t speak with (fr us!) surprising assurance: "it seemed gd t the Hly Spirit and t us..." (Acts 15:28). Luke als recrds the warning given t Paul by the Spirit thrugh the cmmunity f disciples at Tyre, which Paul ignred t his wn detriment--and perhaps that f the missin (Acts. 21:4). The pint is that missinal churches need t cultivate what fr many f us is a frgtten art--the ability t discern what Gd is up t in ur wrld (r neighbrhd). This is best accmplished in a cmmunity f believers wh are able t listen prayerfully fr what the Spirit is saying in Scripture, in and thrugh the vice f the cngregatin, and in the specific cntext where the church is lcated. Frm a practical standpint, it is imprtant t realize that gd listening/discerning is ften dependant n asking gd questins. S perhaps I shuld clse by listing a few questins that can help churches and leaders wh desire the Spirit's guidance tward a new day f missinal engagement.

5 Fr instance, cnsider a retreat fr yur church in which small grups wrestled with these questins: What means r activities in the histry f ur church have prven mst effective in intrducing nn-christians t the gspel? (This is nt the same questin as what activities have been mst effective in adding members/attendees t the cngregatin.) What can we learn frm this that might guide ur present effrts? Jesus taught us t pray "yur kingdm cme, yur will be dne n earth as in heaven." If the kingdm were t cme tday, what things wuld be different in ur neighbrhd? Hw might the answers t this questin guide the participatin f ur church in the missin f Gd? The Abrahamic cvenant prmises that Abraham's descendants will be blessed in rder that they may be a blessing (Gen. 12:2-3). Hw is ur church a blessing t ur cmmunity? Hw wuld ur neighbrs answer this questin? Nw imagine a cngregatin psing such questins, listening carefully t the answers, and with prayer (and fasting?!) asking fr the Spirit t guide them tward ne small missinal experiment. And, perhaps six mnths later, anther missinal experiment. And then... well, just imagine!