here’s an excerpt from my post:

I understand the need for defining concepts and trends. Missional is simply a word, and words are vehicles to carry forth ideas. What concerns me is when there is a lot of energy spent on theorizing about a word that far outruns the practice of it. For example, I can sit around and talk about love in coffee bars all day long. What is love? What does it look like? How do we do live out love? But really, the best way to discover the true meaning of love is to love and be loved. To integrate the act of love in our lives requires Acts of Love.

And so it is with this idea of being missional. Talking about it is good, even necessary, very necessary in many corners of western Christendom. But the capturing of what it means to be a missional follower of Jesus Christ is, in my opinion, going to be realized when by our lives we Act Missional.

According to some of the reading I’ve done on it, I offer this simplistic definition of How to Live Missional:

Go and Love Others.
To be a missional follower of Jesus does not require someone organizing you. It does not need results (gasp!). Nor does the concept of missional depend on gifting, calling, talent, skill, a faith system, doctrine, ritual, or reputation. When I think of missional, I think of love and grace. God is the most missional Being I know. He meets me in my effed up world everyday. No explanation or fanfare. He just shows up.

Do you want to be missional? Are you a leader trying to lead others into a missional way? Go and find somebody to love in a way that will be love to them. Just like God does with you. That, to me, is the whole point of the gig.

Ken Loyd is the most missional person I know. And also my friend Denie, who does what Ken does over in Boise, ID. They’ll never be well-known theoreticians because they are too occupied with being practitioners. I doubt either of them could even give a decent definition of what the word missional means!

Good post, Rick.

(I was at HOMEpdx a couple of times last month. I wrote a huge article about them for New Wineskins. I’ll post when it goes LIVE, have no idea when. I love writing about them!)

The great thing is that God will use us for His purposes and if we aren’t cutting it, He’ll find someone He can use for awhile.

In it all, He forgives us.

Pastoral care is important. A worthy challenge indeed.

Peace,
Jamie