lifeasmission

At the risk of confusing those who associate “The Move” with my friend Babs’ dancing talents…

I actually feel like offering a thought or two on a different kind of move - the one from an attractional way of being the church to a missional way.

More and more churches are attempting (or at least saying they are attempting) to make this transition.  For those of you interested in this phenomenon, I wanted to try and spark some discussion.

1) Attractional churches exist because they are predicated on a certain understanding of the gospel.  Therefore, there is no true movement from attractional to missional where there is not a renewed understanding, articulation, and demonstration of the gospel.  The distorted version of the gospel which undergirds an attractional model of church was largely inherited on account of a Christendom context within modernity.  As Western culture increasingly moves out of modernity, we are having an opportunity to rethink our understanding of the gospel and this is the starting place for those churches who are seeking to be missional.

2) Not unlike Paul, who thought the gospel was one thing and discovered it was another, churches looking to make this transition ought to do so in sackcloth and ashes. They need to be prepared to ask forgiveness from those they have injured, ostracized, and neglected.  Churches who fail to experience grief over the damage they have done and embark on the journey toward healing and restoration probably have no idea what they are talking about.  Such has been the lot of the people of God down through the ages.  May it not be true of us.

3) This transition needs to be a cautious and patient one. Much undoing and unlearning needs to take place if this transition is to be genuine and lasting. More than this, until we acknowledge that we have been heading in the wrong direction and make the decision to do some back tracking, then all perceived forward movement is actually just more deviation, just with new fancy language.

4) This “new” way is not really new at all. It is not a transition predicated on changing times, postmodernity, or the emerging culture. This “new” way forward is actually the way of Jesus. It is simply being rediscovered in the wake of the crumbling of modernity and Christendom.  If there is something intrinsically right and good about the missional church movement, then it will not be a passing fad only to be replaced with the next cultural shift.  Being missional is not about being relevant, it’s about being faithful.

5) What it means to be missional is not to be equated with serving others.  It is not a simple matter of shifting ones attention and focus from drawing people in to becoming more service-minded.  Instead, as I was alluding to above, it is a major shift in our understanding of what it means to be saved, what the good news really is, and what it means to be the people of God.   In short, the move from attractional to missional is not primarily a church matter (How do we do church?)  It is a theological matter (Who is God?)

Getting Personal

Yes, I have been personally burned and hurt by the modern, seeker-sensitive, attractional model of church.  Like many others, who I am quick to defend, but whose incessant whining I also tire of quickly, I sometimes have a tendency to lash out and I am quick to criticize.

However, what I am offering here runs quite a bit deeper than that. What I offer here is an authentic desire for those churches wishing to make this sort of transition to succeed.  To be honest, I am not sure how well I would do as a leader in a church trying to make this sort of transition - perhaps that will be what God has for me down the line.  Whatever the case, I pray for my brothers and sisters seeking to make this sort of transition.  I stand on their side as they seek to honor and remain faithful to the call God has on their lives, and I hope that if I am ever in the situation to help maneuver a change like this, I will hold tight and fast to these reminders.