Beginning a Missional Conversation

March 18, 2009 in Missional by Les | 2 comments

First, about the term, “Missional”. It is the term being used as a short hand way to refer to a discussion about the nature of the church and what God is doing in this world. That conversation focuses around learning to think about the church as an agent of the kingdom…participating in the mission of God. A term like ‘missional’ can’t help but feel faddish and one day it will probably not be used except as a historical reference (how often do we hear about ‘seeker-friendly’ services anymore?). There are reasons why this term is being used, and the fact that it is so close to ‘mission’ is not accidental. Our denomination is increasingly using missional language. For example, Carey Theological College just released a news bulletin announcing a new Master of Divinity degree program. They advertise the degree this way: The breakdown of course work will reflect the importance Carey places on being practical, accessible and missional. Using missional language will have the benefit of keeping us in touch with the growing use of and emphasis on missional concepts in our denomination and beyond.

There are some things, which we do hold in common, and which are vitally important and explain why I think the missional/kingdom conversation is so important.

  1. The central focus of Jesus’ teachings and actions while he was earth was the kingdom of God. The mission of Jesus was to announce the kingdom of God. As Jesus begins his public ministry, Matthew writes, “From that time on Jesus began to preah, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17
  2. Our mission is to participate in God’s mission. The church has not been given a mission or calling different than that of Jesus. As the book of Acts reveals, Jesus continues to act through the Holy Spirit to accomplish his mission on earth and that mission is the announcing of the kingdom. This is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We are invited/commanded to participate in this mission. Jesus says to us, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” John 20:21.
  3. If we are going to be faithful to our calling as Christians, i.e. participating in what God is doing, we too will find central to our ministry the announcing of the kingdom.

This is why this conversation is so very important. It is about the ministry of ELB being more fully aligned with the ministry of Jesus which was and is announcing the kingdom of God. Even if, at this point, we have little idea what “announcing the kingdom of God” might actually look like, the one thing Scripture leads us to embrace is that our ministry is to participate in the ministry of Jesus which is all about the kingdom of God. To the extent that the missional conversation is about this, this is a conversation that we MUST participate in.

Your thoughts are welcome as we share this conversation together…please offer some comments.

Question: What is your reaction to the statements, “Our mission is to participate in God’s mission. The church has not been given a mission or calling different than that of Jesus.”

Blessings,
Les

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  1. Jeff’s avatar

    Jeff on March 18, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    My initial reaction is to the Idea: Our mission is to participate in God’s mission, is intellectually, yes, as followers of Jesus that is most certainly our mission, otherwise what ARE we participating in, or whose mission are we participating in.

    Secondly, I find a level of heart ache when I see that much of my life is not about God’s mission. Even the word mission I feel would be hard pressed to describe many of the activities in my life. Mission, is a strong word that bespeaks determination, long standing effort in the same direction, planning, action, a daring undertaking. Think Mission to space, that’s a LOT of effort time and money balled up into that Mission. I can’t even fathom the efforts and resources that go into planning and executing a redemption plan. And so it seems like a wake up call. How are my day to day activities allowing me to participate in God’s mission? Answering that question every day would probably be pretty helpful, in keeping me focused on participating in the mission of God.

  2. Ryan’s avatar

    Ryan on March 18, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    I agree that the word “missional” is just a fad but the concepts behind the word date back to Jesus. It suggests that we embrace the full mission of Jesus. It reminds us that Jesus came to do more than just make new disciples. (Sometimes the evangelical church is guilty of reducing christianity to evangelism). In truth Jesus ministry included making disciples, giving sight to the blind, feeding the hungry, freeing the oppressed and so much more. These things are the mission of Jesus and hence they are also our mission.