M-I-S-S-I-O-N-A-L

Here are some excerpts from articles/websites I reference in my previous post about being Missional. (If you haven't read it, start there. Staring here is like reading the last page of the book first, and I hate that.)

Despite, however, the diversity of biblical language and concepts, certain features appear consistently enough throughout Scripture to provide a broad, working definition of the mission of God. God works to create a distinct community to participate in his life for the sake of the world. Notice in this definition that God’s mission is not primarily to save individual souls. While individuals who embrace the mission of God receive the blessing of salvation, God’s work is most clearly seen in a contrast community that bears the marks of God’s redemption. From this perspective, mission is more than just evangelism or service. The mission work of God also includes the formation of a visible community demonstrating the reign of God.

The move to a missional church perspective will require dramatic shifts in congregational life. Take, for instance, the practice of evangelism. In vendor churches, evangelism appeals to seekers focusing on their individual needs. Salvation is portrayed as a personal experience where God is invited to become a part of “my life.” In contrast, evangelism rooted in notions of the mission of God invites persons to abandon lives focused on their own interests to join the work of God for the sake of the world. Instead of viewing salvation as inviting God into “my life,” missional evangelism invites participants into God’s life—a life which is communal by its very nature. Salvation, therefore, may be personal, but never private. Vendor church plants might seek locations where the church can grow the fastest. They value homogenous churches—churches where people look the same and share the same interests, concerns, etc—because these churches grow the fastest. Missional church plants might prioritize locations where God is most interested in having people present for the work of mercy, faith, and justice. Because the mission of God involves breaking down barriers created by human societies, missional churches value diversity. In its rich variety, the church demonstrates God’s mission to create a new humanity.

"Feeling screwed up at a screwed up time in a screwed up place does not necessarily make you screwed up." ~Mark Hunter, Pump Up The Volume

"Jesus came to raise the dead. He did not come to teach the teachable; He did not come to improve the improvable; He did not come to reform the reformable. None of those things works."~Robert Farrer Capon