Missional Incarnation

One of the buzz words of the missional movement is Incarnational. As is typical of popular terminology, it often has a fuzzy meaning.

Alan Hirsch helps give some substance to this adjective. Using the model of The Incarnation of the Word made flesh, he describes four characteristics of incarnational ministry:

• Presence: In Jesus the Creator of the universe is fully present to us. Jesus is not an ambassador from God. He is God.
  
• Proximity: Jesus lived in close proximity to those on the margins of society. He scandalized the religious establishment with his hospitability.
  
• Powerlessness: Jesus "emptied himself of all but love." He took the form of a servant. The cross is the ultimate symbol of victory through weakness.
  
• Proclamation: Jesus proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom. He called people to submit to his reign.
  

The church typically has the most difficulty with powerlessness. We all seem to think that we are exceptions to the corrupting influence of power. We act as if the future of the church must be secured by force. Our instincts tell us that we must collect clout and might.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Missional “in quotes”

Willingness to partake in corporate vision is the greatest compliment that a person can pay to leadership. It is holy ground and should be treated with reverence.
Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come, p. 188

Leadership within the Body of Christ is widely misunderstood. It is too often confused with the ability to get things done. But project management and leadership have little in common.

In our society, everyone wants to be a leader.

• Employees are encouraged to be "leaders" so they can move up the corporate ladder.
  
• All prospective college students are "outstanding leaders."
  
• Athletes try to be leaders on the field.
  

But leadership is not the glamorous privilege that many think.

People who want to get their own way should never seek to be leaders. True leadership is not selfish. A follower has a better chance of "getting his own way" than a leader does. And leaders who abuse their position for selfish ends are dangerous, to themselves and others.

True leadership is costly. And not in the way that most think. True leadership will often require the sacrifice of

• Personal preferences
  
• Security
  
• Popularity
  
• Self-esteem
  
• Confidence
  
• Success
  

We hear a lot of talk about servant leadership. But that doesn't go far enough. We must have sacrificial leaders in the church. People who are willing to seriously follow the example of Jesus Christ, not just pay lip service to caring for others.

Effective leadership cannot be done (well) without massive quantities of empathy. And empathy costs far more than most are willing to give. It's easier to bend others to your will. Most self-styled leaders can't even let other people voice their opinions in a conversation. Control is not leadership.

Leadership is a sacred charge and should never be abused.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Missional “in quotes”

True friendship is God's calling, in and of itself. If people find friendship with Jesus through our friendship with them, that is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come, p. 99

If we cultivate relationships with non-believers solely for the purpose of converting them, then we are not doing the work of God. We are doing the work of God a disservice. We must care about people because they are important to God, whether they acknowledge him or not. True friends are not manipulative and scheming.

If God is at work in our lives, we don't need to orchestrate "opportunities" to "share Christ."

If we are living lives that require explanation, there will be plenty of opportunities.

If we are serious disciples of Jesus Christ, our lives will proclaim the gospel more powerfully than any prepackaged presentation.

Of course,

• if we don't really know God
  
• if we are not producing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives
  
• if we aren't willing to deny ourselves, to take up our crosses every day, and to follow Jesus as serious disciples
  

then maybe we'd better work on our sales techniques.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Missional “in quotes”

Today it's two for the price of one:

So if we take the incarnation seriously, we must take seriously the call to live incarnationally—right up close, near to those whom God desires to redeem. We cannot demonstrate Christlikeness at a distance from those whom we feel God has called us to serve. We need to get close enough to people that our lives rub up against their lives, and that they see the incarnated Christ in our values, beliefs, and practices as expressed in cultural forms that make sense and convey impact.
Michael Frost, Exiles, p. 55

It is our point that socializing must be intentional, missional, grace-filled, and generous. It must be seen as part of a broader pattern of infiltrating a community.
Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come, p. 57

So what do you think? How do we do this? Why has the North American church been so terrible at this?

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Definitive Missional Definition

I have heard complaints about the word "missional."

• Some say that it has become just another buzz word.
  
• Others say that it is only a "code word" for post-modernism, the emerging church or the social gospel.
  
• Many express their frustration at the lack of a clear definition for the word.
  

Wikipedia has a definition that is neither helpful, nor objective, nor accurate. Alan Hirsch has a "working definition" of missional church. As helpful as I've found his books, his definition was inadequate.

So I decided to formulate a more robust definition. Of course, this is my definition. Other people may mean different things when they use the word.

Missional Christianity is the view that being a follower of Jesus Christ involves both an inner transformation toward Christlikeness and an active participation in the mission of God's kingdom as it overcomes evil in every part of creation.

While this captures for me the essence of missional Christianity, it leaves room for misunderstanding about the nature of the inner transformation and the mission of God's kingdom. To help refine this even more, I offer the following statements:

• Missional Christianity is not tied to any age group or any particular style of doing church.
  
• Missional Christianity is incarnational rather than attractional.
  
• Missional Christianity sees evangelism as a part of the mission, not the entirety of the mission.
  
• Missional Christianity sees making disciples as much more than getting people signed up for heaven.
  
• Missional Christianity does not rely on strategic planning.
  
• Missional Christianity does not rely on marketing.
  
• Missional Christianity opposes a consumer mentality.
  
• Missional Christianity believes in the sacredness of all of life (no sacred and secular parts).
  
• Missional Christianity is culturally aware.
  
• Missional Christianity seeks to serve rather than to be served.
  
• Missional Christianity focuses on building the kingdom rather than on building a congregation or a denomination.
  
• Missional Christianity does not seek power, wealth or popularity.
  
• Missional Christianity takes discipleship seriously as essential for all followers of Christ rather than something optional for more advanced followers.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that a congregation's job is to participate in God's mission in the world rather than to formulate their own mission and ask God to bless it.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that God tends to work at the margins of society.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that ministry should be concentrated at the margins of society.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that God works most often through weakness, rather than through human power.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that the gospel is good news to be proclaimed, rather than an "offer" to be marketed.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that true holiness is the most powerful form of evangelism.
  
• Missional Christianity realizes that there is no culture-free expression of the gospel.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that the gospel is for all peoples, in every culture, at all times.
  
• Missional Christianity believes that "epistemological humility" does not weaken the truth claims of Christianity.
  

I don't know how complete this list is or how helpful others will find it.

Let me know what you think.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

What He Said

Alan Hirsch has an excellent post about Existence Communication. He quotes T. S. Eliot:

"The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief."

Missional living is the most powerful apologetic for Christianity. It is the only truly effective method of evangelism. It is the only authentic expression of Christianity itself.

Pastor Rod

"Helping You Become the Person God Created You to Be"

Missional Gamble

Texas Hold-’em has grown in popularity over the past few years. Most people today know what the phrase, “All in,” means. I have to admit that I’m intrigued by the game. The mathematical aspect reinvigorates a part of my brain that got a lot of use in high school but little since. I am also drawn in by the psychological aspect.

Fortunately, I never play this game for money, or I’d probably be addicted. When I play with pretend money online, I can usually guess what cards the other players have. I can usually build my virtual chip stack without much difficulty. But sometimes aggressive players force me to make calculated gambles.

I am forced all-in with cards that most of the time will result in a winning hand. When I’m all-in and the cards don’t fall right, my play money is wiped out. But when the cards do fall or when I guess correctly that my opponent is bluffing, I feel a rush as the virtual chips pile up.

I can see how people get addicted to this stuff.

I think most of us would like to find something that we could go all-in over. That’s essentially what Jesus said was required to be his disciple. He said, “If you want to be my apprentice, you must go all-in. You must give up all your potential plan-Bs and follow me wherever I take you” (Luke 9:23, Pickett Loose Paraphrase Version).

But we’ve reduced following Christ to entering into a contract for an eternal retirement plan and showing up at club meetings once a week.

It’s time we went all-in for Jesus and for his kingdom.

Faith, in biblical perspective, is not the acceptance of conventional standards of behavior, and it is not primarily an effort to safe our own puny souls: it is the exciting venture of faith in which we bet that God really is, that this is his world, and that he is like Jesus Christ.
Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come.

Following Christ should be scary, risky and exciting. We should be pouring all we have into his kingdom. We should be looking for new opportunities and ways to participate in the work that God is doing in this world.

Every church should have a Research and Development department; that is, a forum for dreaming, where nothing is impossible and no thought too outrageous. And every authentic missional church will experiment like mad in order to find new and accessible ways of being the people of God.
Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come.

Now that’s something to get excited about.

What if we turned our churches into “skunk works”? What if our church buildings resembled the offices of an advertising agency more than a museum? What if we acted as if we really believed that God is all-powerful and everywhere-present? What if we took Jesus’ words seriously? What if we took Jesus seriously?

Let’s pray the prayer of the early Christians: “Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. . . . Now, Lord, … enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:24, 29–30).

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”

Missional Ministry Modes

I’m currently reading The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. This appears to be an excellent blend between theory and practical ideas.

One helpful section lists four ways that missional congregations are seeking to partner with God as he works in their communities:

• Proximity Spaces,
• Shared Projects,
• Commercial Enterprises &
• Indigenous Faith Communities.

Proximity spaces are places (or events) where Christians and not-yet-Christians can have meaningful interaction. Examples include cafés, coffee houses and even pubs.

Shared projects are cooperation between Christians and an existing community activity where Christians and not-yet-Christians can develop relationships. Instead of starting their own ministries, these congregations are participating with community organizations to provide services to the community.

Commercial enterprises are effective ways to do ministry. Many communities are not interested in a new church, but they might be interested in a new business that invests in their community. This business then becomes the vehicle for ministry.

Indigenous faith communities are small congregations that grow out of the other ministries. Many would call these communities house churches. They are made up of the converts and inquirers produced by these ministries.

The years ahead will be exciting for those who pay attention to what God is doing in their community and who are willing to step outside the traditional ways of “doing church.”

Pastor Rod

“Helping you become the person God created you to be”