Where Are We Now?

• De-centering of the Church
• Discontinuous change
• Liminality (Psalm 137)

1. “of or relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process.”
2. “occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.”

In the midst of this crazy world I look around and
wonder what has happened.
How do I talk to a kid with a ring in his nose?
Does “The Old Rugged Cross” mean anything to him?
He asks me to sing a song about “my Jesus”.
From what I can tell he is from another planet,
or am I the stranger here?
I think it’s time to sell the wurlitzer.
So how do I tell strangers about Jesus,
when the only language I speak is 1955?
How do I write a headline for them
that doesn’t mess up the Good News?
I kind of wish it were the way it was,
but it’s not. So I need to figure out
how to sing the old lyrics
with a whole new tune.

A Missional Church is Not:

• An evangelism program
• A new way of doing foreign missions
• A method for church growth
• A “silver bullet” to fix ________
• The "next" way to do church
• A post-modern way of doing church
• The anti-traditional pattern of church

What is Missional Church?

• Luke 10: to be “sent again” out into the world to be
  engaged where God is already working.
• Phrase: “The church doesn't have a mission, God’s
  mission in the world has a church.”
• Basis: “The preservation of the institutional church as
  we have known it is!not!the purpose of the gospel; the
  church is the instrument of God's mission in the
  world.”

“The church doesn't exist for itself; it exists to serve the world. It is not ultimately about the church; it's about the people God wants to bless through the church. When the church loses sight of this, it loses its heart.” -- Rob Bell

What is Missional Church?

• mission in “missional” refers to the mission of God (missio dei) in the world
  (i.e. all of God’s creation)
• the focus of the missional church is within a congregation’s own context—the culture and community in which God places it and calls it to participate.

“A missional understanding of our community reminds us that God’s intention is to send people out to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with him. Others join us when they see God’s people blessing the world. “Being missional also reframes our sense of where God is, and what constitutes “serving God.” God is not exclusively in the sanctuary, God is everywhere already and his reconciliation to the world need only be manifested in people like us. When God is everywhere, every type of service is understood as a mission-oriented action.”

-- Steve Fainer

What is Missional Church?

• Mission is not primarily an activity of the church, it is an attribute of God. God is a missionary God. Mission is thereby seen as a movement from God into the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is a church because there is a mission, not visa versa.
• As we develop eyes to see what God is doing in the world, and as we are sent out to participate with God's action there, we are in mission—a mission that transforms reality around it.

1. Institutional religion — separated from engagement with the world
2. Social religion — engaged with the world, but leaving God out
3. Private religion — connected with the world, but isolated from community
4. Missional conversation/engagement

What is Missional Church?
Some themes for exploration

1. Western Society as a Mission Field
2. Mission Is about the Missio Dei (Mission of God)
3. The Church as a Contrast Society

1. Western Society as Mission Field

“Missional church recognizes that Western societies are now, themselves, mission fields. We no longer live in a world where the culture at-large understands the basic Christian story. The basic stance of denominations and local churches must be transformed to that of missionaries in their own culture.”

2. Mission is about the Missio Dei

“In Western societies, many churches have shifted their focus from God to how God serves and meets our needs. Jesus Christ has been packaged as a choice in the spiritual food court used to meet the needs of individuals.

“The missio dei is about a God-centered rather than a meeting-personal-need centered understanding of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.”

Two questions to consider:

1. “What is God doing in this world? (in our neighborhoods, schools, businesses, etc.
2. “What does God want to do in our world?” (through wisdom and a Spirit-led imagination, what might God reveal)

3. The Church as a Contrast Society

“The church is the called-out community of God in the midst of the local culture; a sign, witness, and foretaste of where God is inviting all creation in Jesus
Christ.”

“Local congregations are embodiments of where God is calling all creation to be through the power of the Spirit. The God we meet in Jesus calls the church to be a community of people who no longer live for themselves and their own needs but as a contrast society whose life together manifests God’s future for the whole of creation.”

What can we do now?

• Pray, ponder, dialogue, and argue about the Missional Church ideas: What attracts you? What challenges you?
• Consider being part of a “Common Cause” team that explores God’s mission in our local context.
  

“Common Cause” Groups/Teams

• Gathered around an interest/passion of some member(s) who then invites others to join.
• The group should have a focus outside the church program and campus, either intentionally inviting folks from the community to take part or actively working in the community.

Possible “Common Cause” interests/passions:

1. Those with a deep passion for God’s creation gather folks who also desire to work on creating a more “green” (environmentally friendly) campus and community.
2. A person involved in a prison visitation ministry (talk about God working outside the church!) invites others to participate and explore how God might be at work.
3. Someone who has an interest in exploring their own neighborhood could invite others into an intentional group that fosters relationship and care at a deeper level than we usually experience. This could be done through a book club, a movie group, a gardening club, etc.
4. My own interest/passion is around inviting the animal lovers among us to do animal-assisted therapy visits at local hospitals and care facilities. The idea would be to visit many people and not to be limited to church members.