What NOT to expect from a Missional Church

I stumbled onto a great church and thought I would share it with you - its a church plant in Huntsville, AL called Sojourn Church. They have TONS of great stuff on who they are and what they believe. Below is a list of things you should NOT expect from a missional church - I think I may just adopt these!

10 Things You Should Not Expect From Missional Churches
David Fitch posted this list on his blog. None is my original thought. Good stuff.
BobFides Quaerens Intellectum
Extract:
1.) Should not expect to regularly come to church for just one hour, get what you need for your own personal growth and development, and your kid’s needs, and then leave til next Sunday. Expect mission to change your life. Expect however a richer life than you could have ever imagined.
2.) Should not expect that Jesus will fit in with every consumerist capitalist assumption, lifestyle, schedule or accoutrement you may have adopted before coming here. Expect to be freed from a lot of crap you will find out you never needed.
3.) Should not expect to be anonymous, unknown or be able to disappear in this church Body. Expect to be known and loved, supported in a glorious journey.
4.) Should not expect production style excellence all the time on Sunday worship gatherings. Expect organic, simple and authentic beauty.
5.) Should not expect a raucous “light out” youth program that entertains the teenagers, puts on a show that gets the kids “pumped up,” all without parental involvement. Instead as the years go by, with our children as part of our life, worship and mission (and when the light shows dim and the cool youth pastor with the spiked hair burns out) expect our youth to have an authentic relationship with God thru Christ that carries them through a lifetime of journey with God.
6.) Should not expect to always “feel good,”or ecstatic on Sunday mornings. Expect that there will ALSO be times of confession, lament, self-examination and just plain silence.
7.) Should not expect a lot of sermons that promise you God will prosper you with “the life you’ve always wanted” if you’ll just believe Him and step out on faith and give some more money for a bigger sanctuary. Expect sustenance for the journey.
8.) Should not expect rapid growth whereby we grow this church from 10 to a thousand in three years. Expect slower organic inefficient growth that engages people’s lives where they are at and sees troubled people who would have nothing to do with the gospel marvelously saved.
9.) Should not expect all the meetings to happen in a church building. Expect a lot of the gatherings will be in homes, or sites of mission.
10.) Should not expect arguments over style of music, color of carpet, or even doctrinal outlier issues like dispensationalism. Expect mission to drive the conversation

That's pretty good stuff!

Missional Communication - are we with and for?

We had a great discussion last night in chapter 5 of George Hunter's The Celtic Way of Evangelism. The main area of interest centered on how Patrick's message to the Celts was received and why. The Celts perceived that Patrick was both FOR (good will)the people and WITH (identification) them. With Patrick it was amazingly clear through his love and involvement with the people that their perception was correct, he was indeed WITH them and FOR them.
The question was asked: How do the unreached people in our area perceive us? Do they believe that we are FOR them - acting for their good? Do they believe that we are WITH them - we identify with their lives and all of its struggles and pains? Could it be that our message - the gospel - is not received (at least when it is given) because of the fact that we are not perceived to be WITH or FOR the unreached?
Overwhelmingly we agreed that the common perception - sometimes rightly so and sometimes wrongly - is that we are not looking out FOR the people around us and that we certainly do not identify WITH them. Therefore, in distrust and uncertainty our message is ineffective at best.
We also agreed that until we are willing to get out of the walls of the building we call a church and engage people where they are, in LOVE, our message will likely continue to fall on deaf ears.
Great discussion!
Much to dwell on.
Lord I know it is you who opens eyes and softens hearts - do so in me.
Open my eyes to see the people around me.
Soften my heart to feel their deepest longings and needs.
Fill my heart with love and compassion
with kindness and patience
more than words, I truly want to be FOR the people of my city
I want to be for their good
to stand for the oppressed
to strengthen the weak
I want to be WITH them
to know what they feel
to understand their needs, desires and fears
I pray that the message of Christ might be heard and received and believed from me
I pray for the transformation of myself - my church - and my city

Intersect Culture / A Good Missional Tool

Just thought I might share another good tool for helping existing church members think missionally. My current church has developed an internal focus through the years. This material is geared toward helping such believers takes steps outside of the church.
I am using the material during our Sunday School hour. While it is designed for small groups, I am leading 2 pretty large groups through it right now. There is a dvd for each of the 6 weeks that has about 11 minutes of testimony/interviews inclusing folks like Tim Keller, Lauren Winner, James Meeks, Brenda Salter McNeil, and Ken Fong. There are discussion questions and some great Bible studies to accompany each weeks testimony.
The discussion this past Sunday was great! I cannot wait to see what happens over the next 5 weeks. I linked the picture to the website where you can get more info and see a trailer for the dvd. If you are in an existing church and looking for a tool to help mooooooove people toward missional church - this might be for you.

What a woman!

I just thought I'd share a post from Amy - she makes me proud - in a not so sinful way...

Well, it has been a while since I have written, mainly because there are 3 of us who blog in this house, so it is hard to get my turn unless I work at midnight!well, the news is out and it is official... Keith and I are starting a church plant in downtown Macon in September. See his blog for all the details and the logo He is working on. I am in shock and wondering "God what are you doing?" "How are you going to do this, and would you show us all the details now???" You know we really don't want to see it all because we might not move forward in these steps of faith. But as of now we are out there, feels like "mid-air" and we are holding our breath as we step out and go with God.Honestly, I am scared to death and at the same time excited about the ride God is going to take us on. We really are not satisfied with "status quo" and even though I like to make my plans ahead of time, I like how God does it in the end. He is so much more fun and adventurous than I am on my own! So, help me... by praying for me to stay calm and not worry about tomorrow. I will not get out the tents and sleeping bags just yet, unless that is what God tells me to do (if we don't have a house this winter)."I really do trust you Lord!! "

Thanks God!!

Logo help...

I met with a friend - Scott Park. Scott and I graduated high school together (a few years ago). Scott has his own business (Spark Digital Media) and I thought he might be able to help us out in some tech areas. Scott also offered to work on a web site for us and a logo. We are still batting some things around, but I thought I might get your opinion on 1 - post a comment and let me know your thoughts...

well now you've gone and done it

There is a certain fear that comes with certain commitments - I would compare it somewhat to the feeling I get as I approach a jump on my motorcycle for the 1st time. There is that moment when you have lined up the jump, nailed the gas, and there's no turning back... and what is before you is uncertain. How will the bike react, what if I don't have enough speed, what if I have too much speed???? You feel it in the pit of your stomach, it causes your heart to race, and usually I hold my breath... But there is no turning back.

That's the way I feel right now.

I met with the elders to let them know what was going on. The questions were good, but none that I had not anticipated - when, where, why, how much, how... The difference, I think, with the elders asking questions is that THEY ARE ELDERS! They are men in a great position of authority... some very wise men. So their questions bore a heavier weight.

I answered their questions as best I could. Sometimes my only answer is that I am convinced that this is what or when or where that God is leading me. I am convinced that downtown is the place, the Capitol Theater is the venue, and September 16 is the date.

We ended with prayer. One of the elders summarized it this way - Keith is going to plant a church - it sounds like he is convinced that he will do it downtown and he will do it starting this September. as elders, what we need to decide is whether or not Mabel White will support it, how, and what will that mean to the church. The elders will meet again, in a couple of weeks I believe, and we'll see what is next.

So now I've gone and done it.

I've lined up for the big jump,

I just nailed the throttle,

and there's no turning back!

Do you think that warriors have a little fear as they run into battle?

The Cause Driven Church

Read this article from Ewin McManus this morning. I have found it true in most of the churches that I have known very well - we have lost sight of the mission. We have become a relatively closed community.

The Cause Driven Church
by Erwin Raphael McManus
The early church existed with a dynamic tension: it was both expanding and consolidating - growing and unifying. The Bible tells us that first century believers “shared everything in common” and that “the church was being added to day by day.” We want our church to live in this same tension.
This tension is illustrated by two biblical images - the body of Christ and the army of God. The body of Christ is centered on community; the army of God is centered on cause.
Healthy community flows out of a unified cause - not the other way around. Jesus called his disciples and said, “Follow me. I’ll make you fishers of men.” This was not an offer of community. “Follow me and I will give you something worthy of giving your life to” is a statement of cause. But the neat thing is, when they came to the cause, they found community like they never knew could exist. That’s the power of the church.
One danger of the American church is that we often try to offer people community without cause. Without cause, you’re just another civic organization. You don’t have life transformation.
Jesus said, “I have come to the world to seek and to save that which is lost.” The cause of Christ is accomplished by expanding the kingdom of God.

Here's the full article.

a good read

Wednesday nights are discipleship nights at the church. I love the opportunity to teach and to help shape the way people think. One of my frustrations in my current position has been the inward focus of our church. I have been working some to help change that focus (obviously depending on God to open eyes, ears, and hearts). I thought I might share a great book with you - its a history book of sorts - a look at how Patrick went against the Roman Catholic way of "doing" church and contextualized the gospel to reach "unreachable" people. It is very convicting. I have found that as I read it, most of our churches look more Roman Catholic than I would like to admit. Right now I am leading a small group discussion on the book - its been great! Read it and lead your people to read it. I'd be glad to share my discussion questions with you if you are interested.

could it be...

... that I am about to see another great work of God? That was my thought this morning on the way in to the office. The story of Cornelius in Acts 10 and 11 came to mind as well as testimonies from missionaries and Piper's book Let the Nations Be Glad - the story and testimonies go something like this...
God came to Peter in a dream and began to prepare Peter for a task. The task was great, new, and meant some changes for Peter. Peter had always considered the Gentiles as 2nd rate citizens and unclean. God said, no Peter, "what I have cleansed, no longer consider unholy." The Spirit then said to Peter, 3 men are looking for you, go with them with no misgivings.
Sure enough, Peter went downstairs and there they were - 3 men, looking for him.
The 3 men explain to Peter that Cornelius had been led by the Spirit to send for Peter so that he could hear Peter's message. Peter went with the men to Cornelius' home - there he told Cornelius all about Jesus. While Peter was speaking the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening and Cornelius and his whole household believed and were baptized.

It seems that God was at work in the life of Cornelius - a "God fearer" who had no idea of who Jesus was. Cornelius needed to hear the Gospel.
At the same time, God was preparing Peter's heart for something new, something a little crazy, something that involved some risk (the Jew / Gentile thing).
I have heard and read similar stories from all around the world - of men and women - "God fearers" searching and groping for truth, and of the missionaries God raised up to share the Gospel.

Could it be that my heart is stirred for this plant because God is also stirring in the hearts of those who do not know the Gospel?
Could there be "God fearers" in our midst who do not know the truth of Jesus Christ and now is His time - their time?

so how does this work?

I admit I am not the most up-to-date on tech stuff - that's why hangin out with student pastors is so good! I called Scott Whitaker today (Stone Point planter) - he was having lunch with someone and asked if I could call him later - as we ended our conversation Scott said, hey, Nelson (Nelson Searcy - Church Leader Insights and The Journey Church in NY) told me you included us on your blog, I really appreciate that.
I of course said, Oh great, no problem!

Then I wondered - How Does This Work!?!?!

How did Nelson Searcy come across my Blog? Why did he read it?

O the mysteries of life...