a prequel to Partnership in Missions for my emergent friends…
Posted by admin in missional on Aug 12th, 2005 | 3 commentsGod chose to set the example of partnership in missions by working with and within humanity to accomplish His redemptive plan. Jesus called on us to carry out the Great Commission through his incarnational or ‘missional’ example.
In recent history, there are individuals and a scarce few churches that have exemplified the missional example of Jesus. In my opinion, there is no Christian denomination in existence today that embodies the missional church.
There has been a resurgence of the missional church. But missional people and missional churches operate under the shadow of the institutional Church. The institutional Church, and the denominations within it, have done a disservice to many Christians in creating and teaching a “corporate America” mindset in doing the work of mission.
The denominational stockholders are encouraged to invest in the local church. The local church, in turn, pay a franchise fee to the denominational mission institution or “sending agency”. Professional missionaries are screened and hired by the sending agency and are then supported as the sales force of their denomination. They come home regularly to give reports. The sending agency of the denomination publishes their annual report in the hope of increasing their revenue base. The institution feeds the institution. Some mission work takes place, for sure, but effective mission work suffers.
There is need for a wholesale change in denominations to adopt missional thinking. So that missional people don’t come off as elitists or whiners, it’s important that missional people are an example to the institutional church by modeling partnership in mission work. A wholesale change in thinking by a denomination will take many years of influence, so that means that people that have recaptured the missional thinking of the early Church should work with their respective denomination while partnering with others to accomplish the Great Commission.
So what if you’re like me and you just can’t do the denominational thing anymore? Keep some of your denominational contacts. Then look for like-minded people to partner with in missions. There are plenty of movements out there, just keep your ears and eyes open. Above all, keep being missional.
Biblical basis for partnerships in missions…on being missional
Posted by admin in missional on Aug 12th, 2005 | 0 commentsI am taking a break for the next week from writing the daily devotional. In its place, I will be making good on a commitment I made to write a manuscript for a presentation on missions that I presented this Spring.
Hopefully it will serve a two-fold purpose: 1) I will keep my word to some friends and co-workers. 2) It will begin to generate a mission mindset at The Journey Church and with others who might read the musings herein.
I truly think it will be as challenging for you as any devotional I would write (or not). Prepare to be challenged to look outside your world to a world that is dying without Christ.
My guess is that the manuscript will be read (when completed and if distributed) by church leaders and churches of a more traditional mindset. My prayer is that they will begin to replace the word “missions” with “missional”.
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The purpose of this article is to revisit the Scriptural call of God for partnership in mission. God’s call is for local churches to partner with each other and with individuals to increase their effectiveness in sharing the Good News at the local, regional, national, and international level.
This goal of this article is for church leadership engage in Biblical partnership and influence the people they lead to: 1) challenge people to be missional like Jesus 2) understand the common calling the local Church has to mission partnership 3) find unity in the common goal of the Church in mission partnership 4) embrace the common doctrine in mission partnership 4) adopt an attitude of equality in mission partnership 5) openly communicate within the mission partnership.
1. On being missional…like Jesus
To truly understand partnering with other Christians in the work of mission, one must begin with the ultimate example of mission partnership that is embodied in the Incarnation. The Incarnation, God on mission as human, should be a revelation to us that God fully intended the work of redemption to be a partnership (John 1:1-14). Jesus was and is the embodiment of God on mission. Jesus showed us that to truly be a God-follower, we must follow His example of missional.
God chose to set the example of partnership by working with and within humanity to accomplish His redemptive plan. Jesus called on us to carry out the Great Commission through his incarnational or ‘missional’ example.
In recent history, there are individuals and a scarce few churches that have exemplified the missional example of Jesus . In my opinion, there is no Christian denomination in existence today that embodies the missional church.
That’s why it’s important that we understand the first biblical example of partnership in mission is God in partnership with humanity in his redemptive plan. The primary example we must embrace in being missional human beings is that of Jesus Christ. Why God would partner with humanity in his work of love and grace will remain a mystery…at least until the Second Coming. Until then, it’s not for us to figure out but simply to obey. We must follow the perfect example of being a missional God-follower given to us by the Master in the New Testament. We will fall short of that example, to be sure, but the grace extended to us in our shortcomings is simply one more facet of helping pre-Christians understand the loving nature of the Heavenly Father. I believe that can be summed up in the word “authenticity”.
There are a lot of things we can learn from Jesus’ example of being missional. We should be willing to understand the cultural aspect of those God puts in our path. We should have an ability to understand the spiritual sickness that underlies the presenting problems of social aberrations. We should have a willingness to approach and socialize with those that are far from embracing the principles of God’s revelations of Scripture. We should be willing to share the Gospel and all of God’s principles in a way that is relevant to whatever culture God may send us. Jesus modeled a missional relationship with God in each of these ways. Jesus called us to do the same when he said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Understanding the primary model of partnership in missions that Jesus gave us in his incarnational/missional lifestyle is the foundation that all mission work should be built. Embracing that primary example of partnership given to us by God is a secure beginning point explore what the Bible says about local churches partnering with other individuals and churches.
Tomorrow: The meaing of partnership and biblical examples of individual and church partnerships.
On having non-Christian friends and making a difference in the world
Posted by admin in missional on Aug 10th, 2005 | 2 commentsA Baptist deacon asked his pastor to go with him to invite a friend/co-worker to an upcoming Easter service. The pastor, of course, accepted the invitation immediately. The pastor met the deacon at the church at the appointed time. They left in the deacon’s truck and headed to their appointment.
As they engaged in conversation about their favorite mutual subject of football, the pastor noticed that the deacon was headed down a street that was known primarily for it’s night life. No, not night life as in bats or raccoons or even the opera. Night life, as in bars and strip joints. The pastor asked where they were going to meet the invitee. The deacon named the bar. The deacon then asked if the pastor wanted to turn around and go back to the church. The pastor, being the rebel he was and remembering how Jesus mingled with all kinds of people, told the deacon to drive on to the appointment.
The appointment was kept by the invitee/friend/co-worker only because the deacon knew that his friend could always be found at this bar, on this day of the week, having a beer and shooting a game of pool. The deacon pulled into the parking lot of the bar and parked. The pastor looked around to see if any members were driving by and got out knowing this is what Jesus would have done.
The deacon and pastor walked into the bar and made small talk. Being “good” Baptists, they ordered two Pepsi’s and got in line on the invitee/friend/co-worker’s table. The deacon’s friend was, admittedly, taken back by having his Christian friend come into “his world”. And when the deacon’s friend asked who the friend was he had with him, he was taken back even more. The deacon and the pastor got beat like a drum at the pool table but they made a positive impact on the non-Christians in the bar that night. The invitee/friend/co-worker didn’t attend the Easter service, but he was closer to listening to God’s message of forgiveness more than ever before.
The pastor never told his church members he went to the bar. He didn’t want the deacon to get in trouble.
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Growing up in the Christian subculture, I was taught a form of bigotry. It was a bigotry targeted at non-Christians. Kind of strange, don’t you think? In the very same house, I was taught to respect people of other ethnicities and cultures. Even though we were from the South, the “n” word was verboten in our home and rightly so. Being the son of a pastor, I was raised in a home that place a high view on international missions. The result of that was a personal desire on my part to learn and investigate other cultures. The culture of North Africa deeply intrigues me to this day.
The bigotry, of sorts, against non-Christians in my earlier years was a genuine attempt of my parents to keep me from running with the wrong crowd. After all, Socrates did say that “birds of a feather flock together.” There is a thread of wisdom to be embraced here, no doubt. But when I began to read the Bible more intensely in my latter 20′s, I came across a number of passages that completely blew apart my worldview of non-Christians . No longer could I say, “They just need God.” I had to say, “I need to be their friend so they can see Jesus in me.” (It also meant I needed live a more authentic Christian life.) Christ hung out with the disciples for sure. He also spent most of his social life in the presence of people that the religious people thought were off limits…white collar criminals, prostitutes, and those with socially unacceptable diseases to name a few.
The following passage of Scripture should challenge every Christian that reads this devotional. Especially if their view is that Christians should only have other Christians as friends.
So buckle up all you Christians, we’re going for a ride…this devotional might make you a bit queasy.
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people 10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. (1Corinthianss 5:9-10, NIV; emphasis mine).
As Christians, we can’t be isolationists. Secluding ourselves from those that are not yet Christians, to paraphrase Paul, would mean that we would have to pack up and move to Mars or something. Over my many years of being in the Christian subculture, I have heard people say in arrogance or ignorance that they had nothing other than Christian friends. The arrogant wear it as a badge of honor. The ignorant probably would have non-Christian friends but they’ve either been sucked into the legalistic Christian subculture or they simply haven’t thought that much about it. The reason for this blog entry/devotional is to jar some and nudge whoever is left.
So how do you have non-Christian friends without being influenced to the point of indulging in the things that cause them and you pain and misery? How do you make a difference in the world without compromising the spirituality that’s transformed your life? Do what Jesus did. He had a core of God-followers that he was around the most. When he spent time with those who weren’t yet God-followers, it was always after he had spent a lot of time talking to the Heavenly Father in prayer. Talking to God a lot also prepared Jesus for the criticism he would receive from the Pharisees, i.e. religious jerks. (On a very encouraging note to those that attend The Journey Church, you don’t have to worry too much about Pharisees in our faith community.)
If you’re a follower of Christ and you lack non-Christian friends, get some. It’s the only way to make a difference in the world for God. Have Christian friends, but be a friend to those who aren’t Christ followers yet. Don’t take my word for it. Take Jesus’ word for it:
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:9-13, NIV).
It’s time we all made some new friends, isn’t it?
Have a great day
Stopping the vicious cycle of religion
Posted by admin in missional on Jul 29th, 2005 | 7 commentsWe are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away (Isaiah 64:6, NLT).
I think Karl Marx may have been right when he said “religion is the opiate of the masses.” Now before you choke on your bagel or spit out your latte, let me explain.
Religion is addictive. Religion as an institution that realizes humans need to feel better about what they’ve done wrong. Protestants pay penance by attending church every Sunday, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Catholics go to confession. Presbyterians give lots of money. Episcopalians have the best Christmas parties. No matter what their denomination or faith system, they get their conscience fixed one way or another (or not) and continue to be no different than the rest of the culture. It’s addictive. Live like you want, then numb your conscience with religious ritual. You feel good about yourself for a couple of days and then you feel the need for a fix. Do some more religion. Feel bad. Come back for more religion.
Most people have at least been exposed to the vicious cycle of religion. They’ve either experienced it first hand or they’ve seen how shallow it is from the outside. People move from religion to religion or church to church looking for the spiritual high that will last them all week. That’s why Isaiah 64:6 was written then, and that’s why it’s so applicable now.
The beginning point to stopping the vicious cycle of religion is to start a relationship with Jesus Christ. He alone can fix the core issue: sin. When we trust in Christ alone to solve our problem of repetitive damaging behavior (sin), the need for a spiritual fix goes away. It’s almost overstated in some circles, but knowing God is about a relationship and not religion. Jesus Christ makes us brand new…mind, body, and soul. “We are all infected and impure with sin.” Jesus cures our infection of sin. Religion simply numbs the pain of sin for a while.
“When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags.” Outside-in religion gets us nowhere spiritually. Doing the right thing, saying the right thing, being in the right place…all the pious things that we think will bury our real problem of sin, end up being worthless. We leave the religious gathering with an emotional high that fades quickly. Or worse, we leave with no sense of encountering God at all.
So we begin again. But this time we realize that the issue isn’t the church or religion, it’s our sin. We realize that there is no quick fix for our souls. The cure for our sin sick souls is a relationship with Jesus Christ. We realize it will take consistent work on our part. It will be an everyday, every hour, every moment commitment. And God is there, all the time…waiting to show us His love for us. He accepts us unconditionally and challenges us to change without making us feel like dirt.
We can all stop the cycle of repetitive, damaging behavior in our life. The fix is inside-out, adjusting our character as we grow in a relationship with God.
Have a great day.
structure should submit to Spirit…another core value
Posted by admin in missional on Jun 6th, 2005 | 4 commentsStructure should always submit to Spirit. It’s a core value of The Journey and it happens to be one of my personal core values.
I’ve never been one that liked much of what the traditional church had to offer, except God. It was full of structures that had lost their relevancy, efficiency, and spirituality. Boards, committees, buildings, business meetings, and church members that felt like the church had been built on their family name…all of these structures an invention of fallen men. The structures got more attention than God. In fact, the structures made the decisions and God was asked to bless the structures. How twisted is that? Unfortunately, there’s a lot of churches out there that still live in that world. These are the people that use the Scripture that says, “I the LORD do not change” as a mantra for inflexibility.
If most churches came to The Journey Church and sat through the business meetings we don’t have and see how much the leaders trust the people and vice-versa, we would have to call 911 because they would go into cardiac arrest. The upside is, we would still make our decisions the same way. The downside is, the cardiac arrest might not scare enough hell out of the typical church attender.
What blows me away is how the Church got so screwed up in its decision making process. I’ve known churches that have taken years to decide how one fund was going to be spent. The Biblical model is to pray, hear from God, then take the action that He gives. Oh yeah, did I mention that in the Scripture that the leaders got together, prayed, heard from God and then told the people what was going to happen? No votes. No committees (literally the name of a gathering of vultures). No business meetings.
The Church in the book of Acts turned like a modern day JetSki. Nimble, quick, and able to react at a moment’s notice from the Holy Spirit. A more literal analogy is that the early Church reacted to the Spirit’s leading like a body instead of a business. It moved together, in concert. Swiftly. Sometimes slowly. Always in unity.
When I talk about our land as the “next location” it makes some people jumpy. You see, after we move from the school to the “next location” of a rented property, our next move will be to our land which is another “next location.” Human beings are creatures of habit. We don’t really like change that much. When I talk about a “next location”, they want to hear something with a more permanent ring to it. They want their Promised Land. So do I, but God doesn’t do tabernacles, temples, or synagogues anymore. He does the Church through His people, the Body of Christ. That means buildings can and are used by God but frankly I think we’ve come full circle from the first century to a synagogue model of church. Jesus went to the synagogue to teach, but the bulk of His ministry was in the marketplace…but that subject is for another day.
Back to the subject at hand. Some want to know what the vision is for the next five years. I want to worry about today, because “tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.” Yes, we have a vision and we’ve made plans. We’ve planned out the details of what has been referred to by one person as “Starbucks meets church”. It’s going to be a fun place to invite people to hear about the claims of Jesus Christ. We’re also fully aware that the Spirit of the living God could tell us that we need to change it tomorrow. That means being flexible. Being willing to submit structure to the Spirit. To succeed at being flexible, you have to be close to the heart of God. Maybe that’s why change and flexibility is so hard for most of us.
