lifeasmission

Bi-Vocational Ministry & the Missional Church

October 11, 2009

I’ve appreciated the conversation that has taken place on my previous post on bi-vocational ministry.

I’ve got a few ideas for follow up posts on the subject – thinking about how and where this practice intersects with theological education, community/spiritual formation, support raising, stewardship & sustainability, etc.  However, I think it might be most helpful to clarify how I understand the relationship between bi-vocational ministry and missional ecclesiology.

As I have said numerous times before, being missional is no mere add-on to current church practice.  Nor is it a shift any particular church community might make without rethinking those things which are most fundamental.  A truly missional ecclesiology arises out of a particular way of doing theology and the understandings of things like the gospel and salvation that emerge as a result.

While I can see why people from various ecclesial backgrounds might resonate with bi-vocational ministry as a model for church leadership, I think it makes most sense within a truly missional framework.  Here’s a few reasons why.

Missional churches gain their identity from the Missio Dei.  Their understandings of the gospel and salvation are defined by the very notion of participation in the life and mission of God in the world.  Appropriately, they would happily embrace a model of church leadership which creates a participatory context.

Since missional churches see Christendom as a cultural condition which distorts rather than enhances Christian discipleship and witness, it is no wonder that they would shy away from models of church leadership predicated on its very existence. As Christendom continues to crumble, the viability of multiple full-time church staff will continue to crumble with it.

Because missional churches seek to shape a people who are passionate about God’s redemption of the whole world, it would be second nature for them to embrace a kind of ministry in which the leaders of the community model the practice of vibrant Christian witness in the marketplace.

For me anyway, it’s the theological connection and not the pragmatic rationale of bi-vocational church leadership that is most motivating.

Posted in: bi-vocational, church, community, leadership, missional, spiritual formation, stewardship, sustainability, theology