Perhaps one of the greatest and simplest inventions of
the last century was the map at the mall with the dot that marked the spot
where you were standing when you read the map:
“You are here.” On one occasion I thought to myself, “Where else would I
be?” But it does make sense, doesn’t
it? We must start where we are geographically,
in time, in life, and in leadership of the church. It would
be foolish to start where you are not!
There have been a number of outstanding books written
over the last two decades about the missional church--a church that is “on
mission with God” or acknowledges that it is part of the missio Dei. The most creative and less helpful ones are
those that assume that you are either starting a church from scratch or that
you are willing to commit ministerial suicide by instituting radical change in
an established church in order for it to become missional.
The most helpful volumes are the ones that are written
for those who lead traditional churches that are plateaued, are declining, are
seeing a new understanding of what it means to be the church, or lack spiritual
vitality. These books acknowledge that
you have members who expect pastoral care, you have to subscribe an annual
budget, you have an church building that may need repairs, you have established
constituencies within the congregation built on certain interests—music, youth,
missions, etc—and that you are dealing with a leadership body that you don’t
select—church council, deacons, session, or parish council.
For the most part, I have been part of churches like
that. I participated in one new church
start that survived and worked on another that didn’t, but both were rather
traditional in their approach to “doing church.” Therefore, when I write about the church, I
am coming out of an established church tradition. At the same time, I believe that it is possible
for such churches to embark on the journey of “becoming missional.” Whether a church can ever be a truly “missional
church” is debatable, but becoming one is a worthy goal and one that any church
can work toward if it decides to begin that journey.
I love the church, but I recognize that it is led by and
composed of individuals. These are
persons that have accepted the call to be the people of God, but they are still
flawed, seeking individuals. I hope that
as I address issues related to the missional journey that my readers will
understand that I appreciate the daily challenges involved in “becoming
missional” but also the great hope it gives to each congregation. We look to the stars, but our feet are on the
ground.
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