A Prologue to Missional Discussions
Back in June 2008, we had over 50 people participate in a synchroblog around the question, what is missional? There were any number of ways one could blog on this topic including, illustrate what the term means, describe what it is not and how it is wrongly used, define the term, explore its misuses, explore its theological foundations, etc.
The purpose of that synchroblog was to recapture the true essences of the term, since, over the years, its meaning had become fluid and often co-opted by those wishing to find new and trendy tags for what they were already doing. Unfortunately, we still face the problem today.
David Fitch once said that most missional thought leaders “emphasize incarnational forms of church over attractional; the church as Missio Dei over mission as program; organic forms of missionary living in neighborhoods over ministry set in a building.” Yet many other “purveyors of missional emptiness” continue to add the term to the current program they are attempting to promote or make cool sounding. As Ed Stetzer noted, “The word missional is used to bludgeon legalism and antinomianism alike. To some it is a sign of freedom from all established forms of the church and to others it is a degeneration into syncretism with the world.”
Then comes an ill-considered attack from Jonathan Leeman, Director of Communications for 9Marks, where he claims the missional conversation is leading to an ill-conceived emphasis on social justice which is “but a first step toward a new liberalism.” See my post “9Marks on Missional.”
So, do we abandon the term and move on? Not yet, because the concept behind missional is really big and words help us when we can agree on their definitions— or at least we can agree what we mean when we use a word.
Over the next few weeks, a group of bloggers want to thrash out the meaning of word “missional” and the activity which accompanies a missional church and lifestyle. It will be discussed here as well as at other places including the blogs listed below. As the conversation moves forward, I hope you will move from blog to blog and offer insights from the scriptures and from how you see missional happening in your local community.
There are a number of people working toward a “Missional Manifesto” that will be rolled out as a part of the missionSHIFT conference on July 12-15. The intent with the manifesto is to say, “This is what we mean when we talk about being missional.” It is not the manifesto’s intent (or within its ability) to say this is what everyone should think or say about the term, but reflects a hope that it will help us all be clearer and more mission-shaped in our own thinking and practice. Your comments and thoughts will be passed onto this group to help them frame and forge this manifesto.
In the weeks to come, we will be addressing certain points or issues in the missional conversation that need consideration and perhaps clarity.
Here is the initial group that will be leading this conversation (more will be added):
Tiffany Smith: Missional Mayhem
Bill Kinnon: kinnon.tv
Brother Maynard: Subversive Influence
David Fitch: Reclaiming the Mission
Jared Wilson: The Gospel-Driven Church
Jonathan Dodson: Creation Project
Rick Meigs: The Blind Beggar and Friend of Missional
Conversation on the grassroots level is important, so be sure to join in here and at the other blogs and let’s see where God take us.
For the sake of conversation today, leave a one sentence comment on your own definition of “missional.” Here’s mine (but not original to me): Instead of the usual live your life and share your faith, missional is about living your faith and sharing your life.
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Tags: 9Marks, Bill Kinnon, Brother Maynard, David Fitch, Jared Wilson, Jonathan Dodson, Missional Manifesto, missionSHIFT, Prologue to Missional Discussions, Rick Meigs, Tiffany Smith
March 1st, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Join the conversation on a Prologue to Missional Discussions (framing the manifesto) — http://bit.ly/bMkreo #MissionShift
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 1st, 2010 at 1:24 pm
RT @BlindBeggar: Join the conversation on a Prologue to Missional Discussions (framing the manifesto) — http://bit.ly/bMkreo #MissionShift
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
March 1st, 2010 at 1:56 pm
Nice.
My definition of missional: Going where God goes and doing what God does.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:37 pm
The primary apparent flaw with the missionSHIFT missional manifesto conference is the grossly over-representation of white, male, middle-class, American clergy of the church planting variety. So many voices are not represented. Women, non-Americans, the poor, sexual minorities, other types of ministers (hospital & prison chaplains, people who work with children, the homeless, in hospice, college ministries.) The result is destined to be much of the same unless we open up the table to the full body of Christ.
Look at the early church one of the first converts to Christianity was a surgically altered, gender-variant, rich civil servant from Africa (the Ethiopian Eunuch) who went home w/ Good News and to this day a church traces its roots to that person. Radical inclusion. New Wine in New Wine Skins.
March 1st, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Thanks Jason, good definition.
March 1st, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Peterson, thanks for dropping in and commenting on the missionSHIFT conference. Although that’s not the focus of my post, I do share your concern about having many voices represented in the conversation. That’s the whole purpose (speaking for myself here) for this synchroblog — creating a forum that has no roadblocks that limit the voices.
As for this conversation, I’d love you to participate on the specific questions as we post them, as in the first one, what a one sentence comment on your own definition of “missional”?
March 1st, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Rick,
My definition of missional is: To embody Christ in whatever neighborhood one finds him or herself.
March 1st, 2010 at 11:53 pm
I like the many short descriptives … they are definitely helpful for their big-picture insights. However, since I come from the Planet Detailia instead of the Planet Thematica, may I offer my one sentence paradigm definition of the holistic missional movement?
“The holistic missional movement is the radical (i.e., radix, at-the-root) and intentional integration of all seven separate ‘projects’ that have been adopted individually or in an incomplete combination by various other movements claiming some connection to being ‘missional’ – the theological perfection, cultural incarnation, experimental ecclesiology, deconstructive journey, mystical existence, prophetic imagination, and covenant place projects.”
(I know that’s a very long sentence, but I did take an awfully big breath and typed very fast after all, and if you say it all and type it all in one breath, it must be “legal,” right?!)
I’d already planned to post on this subject before Easter to expand this definition into a description of ways that denominations, ecumenical groups, and ministry collaborations integrate around one or more of these projects — and the problems that typically happen when they don’t include all seven. So, there it is, a view from my planet, for what it’s worth …
March 2nd, 2010 at 7:04 am
Missional–my personal statement
Missional, although a clunky academic term, represents for me the influences one has on one’s surroundings arising from authentic living. So much of missions happens through life, a daily witness through our faith and practice. This affects every area of one’s life, not just the church part and can encompass community relations and service, purchases, diet, social justice, and especially relationships. It is not about preaching Christ but living in a way so that Christ in me and in you–the hope of glory–becomes realized everyday in us in tasks, practices and belief–mundane and sublime.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:18 am
Rob: Thanks. I like the idea of “whatever.”
Bad: Yup, it’s legal :-). Looking forward to your expanded posts. Lots to unpack.
Peterson: Sweet! That it effects every area of one’s life is spot on and an important concept that many don’t grasp.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:47 am
A more recent idea came to me, a little different than my previous ways of articulating missional:
Becoming and living Christ together.
March 2nd, 2010 at 11:55 am
Love it Jamie. That short statement is rich, including the essential notion of community which is so often left out of the conversation.
My friend Brad Sargent once said, “There will always be a dynamic tension or paradox between missional individuals and community. We cannot sustain being missional on our own, but if we are not being missional individually we cannot sustain being mission-shaped corporately.”
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:06 am
It’s a shape the 9 marks guy didn’t check out some of the mew monastic movements (such as “The Order of Mission”) and seen that the gospel is at the core of anything truly missional.
I have loved being ‘released’ from full time “ministry” into a missional posture/vocation where i am living, speaking and acting out the gospel message amongst not-yet-believers, as well as encouraging others to step out, speak up, and live well like Jesus.
My definition of missional - living like Jesus and sharing him in all the world through loving god and loving others.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:07 am
I like this Stuart, “through loving god and loving others.” Has a certain biblical ring to it, eh.
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:56 am
My def: A “Missional Church” is a church that risks everything that it thinks it knows, to enter into situations of powerlessness, so that the Holy Spirit can minister to the world through the church and in so doing, the church can encounter Christ anew.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:16 pm
And my def of “Missional”: When someone is willing to die to him or herself and risk entering into powerlessness through which God ministers. Missional holds central that all ministry is Gods and the point at which ministry occurs is the point of human powerless.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Matt, thanks for that. All good, but your point about “situations of powerlessness” is important. Not exactly what you mean here, but it reminded me of what Michael Frost talks about in The Four “P’s” of Missional, one of which is powerlessness.
Powerlessness: Not spiritual powerlessness, but material or temporal powerlessness. Most Americans look at our churches and think that we represent a power base. They see us with enormous reserves of money, gigantic buildings, fabulous property — absolute power in a temporal sense. They think we will do anything to protect this power. Image if we could prove to Americans that the following of Jesus is worth more to us than the stuff of religious institutionalism. What would happen if we lost or gave up all “the churches” material wealth and only had the people left? Would we discover something about our spiritual power if we stopped relying on our temporal and material power?
March 5th, 2010 at 7:42 am
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