Missional Theology

Today, we talked about missional theology.  "Missional" is a word that's been thrown around a lot these days that just means, basically, "the church should do stuff."  Honestly, we're having the same conversations I was having in Cru in college on a different level, so I feel right at home.  I'm not really a "Church guy."  What I mean by that is, I wasn't raised in the Church.  I don't have any sort of life long relationship with the Church that brings me nostalgic memories.  It might be weird to say all this because I'm a pastor, but it's the truth.  I've been working within the system and have been coming to appreciate everything much more, but I think my heart will always be somewhere else. 

What brought me into the Church, and still remains my deepest inspiration, is to see how deeply we can be effected by relationship.  Most of you know my story: my mom died when I was one.  She was only 17 when I was born, I never knew my mom or dad.  I didn't have much of a family except for my grandmother.  I met my pastor when I was 17 and that relationship turned my life inside out.  He invited me into his life... he fed me dinner, he took me on car trips, he let me mow his lawn.  I also had lots of other great friends and relationships along the way, with people like my friends from High School, Ben and Melanie, who really helped make me feel like I had a family.  I graduated from High School and went to college and seminary.

What's really inspired me the whole way along is a faith that is relational.  A relational faith touches people in the deepest parts of our souls. 

Missiologist Alan Hirsch uses the term "communitas" to describe what happens in a true missional community.  If you want to think about how communitas works, think of a football game.  The fans in the stand are a community.  They have shared beliefs and gestures and experiences together.  But on a deeper level, there is no commitment.  Yet, if you look at the players on the field, they have communitas.  They are deeply commited, every hour of of every day.  Even in the "off season."  The fans, the community, get excited about what the team is doing, but for the team it's just their lives: it's what they do. 

It reminds me of the story of the chicken and the pig.  They walk past a sign that asks them to volunteer for a ham and eggs breakfast.  The chicken volunteers, but the pig... he's all in!  It's giving some vs. giving all. 

I think sometimes in the Church we become too engaged with protecting and sustaining the community and it's shared values instead of living into a faithful communitas.  We worry about how things look or will appear, and not how our faith is lived out.  What excites me is seeing felt needs being met, seeing lives changed, and seeing people totally transformed. 

If theres one thing I know about Jesus from reading scripture, it's that he messes people up.  He tells people to give away their money, to love the unloveable, and even to forgive enemies!  Jesus messes with our worldview.  He asks for the whole life commitment... to understand that what we have is not our own.

I pray that Churches would be places where lives could be changed.  Places where we welcome the sick, the lame, and the immoral.  I want to see broken people in the Church... I want to see people who have no where else to go have a place where they can call their home.

The Church does not need more programs.  It does not need bigger buildings for more money.  What it needs is commitment to the vision of Jesus Christ.  If we really want to be a missional Church, what we need to realize is that we need to give everything.

At our Church, we're getting ready to join a program called Acts 16:5.  Laurie and I are both really excited about it.  What it does, really, is call the whole Church together and asks "how do we do this?"  Pray for us.
I'm thankful for God's grace for me in this area.  I pray that he would use me to reach out to the hurting and wounded places, so that his message of grace could be heard.