The meaning of "missional"

[Gailyn Van Rheenen]

I appreciate James Nored beginning this internet forum to create discussion and connecton about missional outreach. One of our initial questions is "What do we mean by the word "missional"? Words set the parameters of meaning. When we discuss "missional" renewal of local churches or "missional" church planting, what do we mean?

[James Nored]

Hi Gailyn. Thank you for asking this question. I have my own definition and understanding of this, but I'll let some others respond first.

[Tara]

To me, "missional" means that we're trying to accomplish our "mission" in life. So what's our mission? Our goal...our purpose for being....

My 9 year old recently asked me (because he likes to think of really philosophical things to ask me at bedtime....), "Mommy...what's the purpose in life?"
I replied, "Hmmm...you want to know What's the purpose of life?" I was trying to re-phrase it from his improvised question, to the way most people would express the question....."of" instead of "in"....
I know following the crowd is not always the BEST way to go...but I just wanted to make sure he was asking what I thought he was asking....

Now I had a decision to make...do I simply tell him what I THINK is "the" purpose of life?
Or do I give him a general guideline, so as to let HIM decide what HE thinks is the purpose of life, not just telling him what I believe...
(btw - if you've never had a teenager, then you may not know yet that one of the SURE-EST ways to make sure they don't believe what YOU believe, is to tell them outright, what they SHOULD believe....)
Well...he's not a teenager...yet...so I figured I could just sorta speak the truth, and hope he's still young enough to maybe believe me....
so I gave him a basic answer, which I think was very truthful, for him to build upon....
I said, "Well....There is ALL SORTS of PURPOSE to life....but I think it boils down to two basic things: We were created to [1] love God, and [2] to help other people."
Thinking I had just wrapped up the complexities of the universe in as simple a sentence as I could manage, I stopped there. He's only 9, remember....

And he listened...and he took it in, and didn't offer any rebuttal, which he usually does, if I answer a question without having thought it through well enough first.

But it made me think, perhaps even more than it made him think.

I am REALLY, REALLY starting to think we often miss what God wants us to do.
We think He wants us to help people, SO THAT they will see Him through us, and maybe come to know Him and be saved. But I think when we help people, hoping that because of it, they'll "get the point" and realize that we're helping them because God loves them...and so they'll realize that they should love Him back.....I really think we're going about it the wrong way.
There are lots of scriptures you can look at for BOTH sides of the coin...."Do good works so that others will see and glorify your Father..."
AND
"Help widows and orphans..."
Does the "widows and orphans" passage say ANYTHING about doing it so that they'll be saved? Not as far as I remember.
I'm sure we can get out a concordance and find all the scriptures about helping people....that' fine and dandy...I've spent plenty of time in the concordance myself...
But I think, without looking, that I can remember quite a few times when Jesus just helped someone....Sure, sometimes he told them, "Go and tell what has been done for you..." And the person ran off and told the town how they were healed, and many believed in Jesus because of it.
But if I remember correctly, there were LOTS of times He just helped somebody.

I think if we would look at people more as just helping their current needs, NOT with any other motive in the back of our minds, we might have more success in reaching them.

I dunno....I'm really tired. I may not be thinking straight...but that's what "missional" means to me, and I think those two ideas ARE the purpose of life.

[James Nored]

Tara, you hit on two keys aspects of being missional--serving others and sharing about Jesus. There is more, but these definitely go with the missional concept. And yes, we should serve out of love and compassion--not just to get an opening.

[Tara]

Wow...Who's that "Tara" person who writes such long replies? She must just sit around and ponder things all day. Doesn't she ever work?

[Lantz Howard]

The meaning of missional will vary depending on our current context and perspective. At a gut level I want missional to mean a renewal of current churches. Then on the other hand missional is church planting in several contexts. Missional is reflecting Christ when he said go into all the world. Missional is reflecting Paul that I consider all things as trash compared to knowing Christ. Missional is reflecting Paul to become all things to all men to save a few. Missional is allowing the shadow of the cross to cover every aspect of our life. Thinking about this I went over to Wiki and they have an interesting diagram that maybe puts this into perspective.

Lantz
www.lantzhoward.com

Gailyn you always have a had a way of trying to make people think. Thanks for the work you do in the DFW area and around the world.

[Gailyn Van Rheenen]

Thanks for our reply, Lantz. I wonder what missional has to do with such phases as that of Jesus when he said, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" (John 20:21).

[Justin Worley]

As I wrestle with the term "missional" I come back to John 17:15-19. There is a tension in Jesus' prayer here. He is asking that his followers be both sanctified (set apart for God's purpose) and sent. This is a difficult tension to live within, but it seems necessary as we wreslte what it means to be missional.

[Gailyn Van Rheenen]

Thanks, Justin. I like the relationship between "santified" and "sent." Those being transformed into the image of Christ as the reflect the glory of God (2 Cor. 3:18) are then sent sent by Him into His mission.

It is good to see you on the Missional Outreach Network. We think of you and Heather often.

[Tanner King]

One of our members at North Davis sent me this resource: http://jrwoodward.net/2008/11/a-primer-on-todays-missional-church/

[James Nored]

Tanner, I met JR Woodward in Pasadena, CA. He came in and guest spoke in our class on Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix.

Tanner King said:

One of our members at North Davis sent me this resource: http://jrwoodward.net/2008/11/a-primer-on-todays-missional-church/

[Gailyn Van Rheenen]

Thanks, Tanner. You have given us a good resource.

[Gailyn Van Rheenen]

I like the word "missional" because it describes that God who goes ahead of us. God is on mission and we are those sent by Him. We are like Abraham or Moses who question and doubt along the journey while God is sending us into His mission. The term means that it is God's mission for His glory, not our mission for our glory.

I pray that the churches we so feebly plant become missional, i.e., theologically-formed, Christ-centered, Spirit-led fellowships who seek to faithfully incarnate the purposes of Christ. Missional churches define themselves as bodies formed by the calling and sending of God and reflecting the redemptive reign of God in Christ . They are unique communities in the world “created by God through the Spirit as both holy and human” . Missional leaders, likewise, reflect the calling and sending of God. They minister with humility recognizing themselves as “jars of clay” who finitely seek to enter into what God is already doing in his world. I am drawing from an article contrasting missional and church growth philosophies (http://www.missiology.org/mmr/mmr34.htm).