Alan Roxburgh is a leader in the missional church
movement. He is not only a practitioner,
coach, and conference leader but he is also an engaging writer on the subject. In Introducing the Missional Church: What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Become One, he has joined colleague Scott Boren to provide a simple primer on the
missional church for readers new to the subject.
Roxburgh and Boren address three primary concepts in the
book. First, what does it mean to have a
missional imagination, asking a different set of questions as one seeks to
grapple with the current state of the church?
Second, what are the key theological considerations of the missional
conversation? Third, how can a
congregation embark on the journey of becoming missional?
The first section provides a good introduction to the shift
in paradigms necessary to understand the need for a missional church. Using many biblical and historical examples,
the authors help us to understand the opportunity to adopt a different mindset
in order to become the People of God in our contemporary setting.
I found the second section on the three missional conversations
most helpful. Roxburgh and Boren present
three theological concepts underlying the missional church idea—consider your context
as a mission field, recognize that the
mission is God’s and not the church’s, and become a contrast community that is
a sign of the Kingdom of God.
I have heard Roxburgh say many times, “It’s about God and not
the church.” The church is intended to
be the People of God placed in a particular context as a witness to God’s dream
for the world.” The missional conversation is about God and not the
church. The four chapters devoted to the
missional conversation are the meat of the book.
The final section presents an introduction to Roxburgh and
Boren’s process for becoming a missional church. They are careful to emphasize that this is “a”
process and not “the” process for this journey.
They are committed to the idea that “the Spirit of God is among the
people of God” and is the most important source of guidance and insight toward
becoming missional.
Although the final section is helpful, it primarily points
toward resources that the authors provide in their training and consulting
work.
I recommend the book as a good introduction to the lay
person or minister who knows little about the missional church movement. Not only a new perspective but a new
understanding—in reality, a conversion experience--is needed for a church to be
God’s people today.
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