Missional: Taking Ownership
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The Winter 2007 issue of Leadership is focused on “Going Missional.”
The first article in the “Going Missional” section was written by Eric Reed, managing editor of Leadership, and titled “New Ownership.” The theme of the article can be best summarized with this sentence, “Individual Christians in local congregations are taking new ownership of the mission. We are becoming missional.”
Reed states that missional is more than buzz, it is a philosophy of ministry and “refers to the specific activity of churches: to build the kingdom of God in all settings where church members are at work, rather than building up the local congregation, its programs, numbers, and facilities.
“Many users of the term refer to a change of heart — that missions is not a distant program to which we send a check or boxes of used clothing — but instead something we’re personally involved in. The whole life of the believer is to be dedicated to faithful sharing, giving, and going — more than studying, hearing, and sending others.”
I firmly believe that Reed is correct when he refers to a change of heart. I’ve often contended that missional is a shift in thinking. Missional must become the essences of who we are as Jesus followers. As some others have said, it must become our very DNA. Without this radical infusion into our very being, it will just become another chapter in the long history church movements.
Reed spends most of the article on what the missional concept means to local congregations by expanding on the following three points:
- Local churches (and the networks they form) will replace the denominational boards and parachurch organizations as missions senders.
- The shared parish concept in local communities.
- Personal ownership of missions responsibility.
It is a good read and full of actual stories to illustrate the points he making, which I like, because it takes it out of the realm of theory and shows that real people are really doing this thing we call missional.
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Tags: Eric Reed, Leadership, Missional Church
February 14th, 2007 at 5:12 am
Thanks for the information on the article. While I have not read it yet, it looks like something that I would agree with wholeheartedly. A truly missional church would be amazing.
February 14th, 2007 at 6:39 am
great post rick
February 14th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Doug (aka A Human Bean): Thanks for commenting. Yup, it would be truly amazing to be part of a real missional church, but be encouraged. There are lots of faith communities moving in the right direction.
February 14th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Thanks Jerry. Looking forward to reading your Alan Hirsch interview later today.
February 14th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Very interesting. I especially liked “to build the kingdom of God in all settings where church members are at work, rather than building up the local congregation, its programs, numbers, and facilities,” but my goal-oriented side wonders how that would result in disciple-making. We aren’t just lone gunmen (or gunwomen…gunpersons?) and we can’t expect to make disciples and never help them get involved in a community of believers.
February 14th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Adam: I may be reading into it what I want to hear, but what I understood the author to be saying is that the primary focus should be on expanding the kingdom, not programs, numbers and facilities. By definition, this is a community effort which will result in disciple making and integration of those new disciples into the faith community. Maybe another imperfect way of saying it would be that a focus on expanding the kingdom will result in programs, numbers and facilities, but a focus on programs, numbers and facilities will not necessary result in the expanding of the kingdom.
February 14th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Quote:[Many users of the term refer to a change of heart – that missions is not a distant program to which we send a check or boxes of used clothing – but instead something we’re personally involved in. The whole life of the believer is to be dedicated to faithful sharing, giving, and going – more than studying, hearing, and sending others.â€]
That nails it for me. The personal involvement is the key. In my experience there is no better place for discipleship than right there in the midst of the work. That’s where newcomers get to experience what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus hands-on. When a disciple goes to Bible studies and listens to sermons etc, with mature Christians, they get the idea that they only need to acquire a deeper knowledge which only comes from more study. That is a big part of the problem. I’m not saying that we should throw out the sermons and Bible studies, but they should be more of an addendum to their participation in the mission than their primary focus.
That’s some good stuff. I wish the journal was available around here. I’d love to read it.
February 14th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
I guess I don’t know how lucky I am to live where we do. Even thought it is the most “unchurched” area in the USA, the amount of resources we have available is pretty amazing. Easy to assume other areas are the same or even better.