Missional Church Project Report 3
By Scott Hackman
I wanted to present some conversations of an emerging / missional community for my third report of my missional project. Missio Dei community has been meeting intentionally on Sunday nights at the Livingroom. This is our missional experiment to provide a safe space to ask questions and belong to God’s Kingdom.
Since the last week in September, on Sunday nights from 5:30pm to 6:30pm we have been gathering for a formation time based on topical questions and guided prayer (Livingroom). After our time we share a meal and people leave when they feel like leaving. We are an inclusive group of people longing to provide an open space in this community to ask questions and belong to God’s Kingdom. The only difference in Missio Dei and the Livingroom I can notice so far is the number of the people involved and the commitment level of their involvement. Missio Dei is apart of the Livingroom and the Livingroom is giving way to new expressions in the community.
I have had a hard time using terms to describe our group for example do I use the words: emerging, intentional, missional, experimental, community, believers or church to describe what is being created. This has been a source of frustration and confusion for me as well. So if you have read some of my reports and what I am saying now contradicts what I said in the earlier reports, just know it will most likely look different in any further reports.
An example of the paradox we are in right now can be understood by reading and participating in the conversations of our group. So for this report I would like to give you a glimpse into the conversations taking place in and out of our intentional time together at the Livingroom on Sunday nights. I would also like to suggest some of the fruit I am seeing produced through our emerging community.
There have been several forms of growth taking place in our group and signs of community. There has been help/support and guidance given to a couple in our group who are struggling financially because of circumstances outside of their control. We handled this by meeting at 5:00pm two weeks ago with the Missio Dei community, which if you remember is the six couples and two singles that started this thing we now call the Livingroom. We met for a time of prayer and different people from our group spoke into their lives and had a time of prayer with them. They now have received help and we plan on seeing them through till this issue is no longer a source of frustration.
This past week a woman gave birth to a baby boy for some pics visit www.missiodeicommunity.blogspot.com. The amazing thing to me was how someone in our group has all ready organized and planned meal support for their first week of being home. Two weeks ago when this person initiated the organization of the meal support I got excited. It is in these simple acts of kindness and love that I see the Kingdom come through community. To this point there were only a couple people initiating involvement outside of our formalized time.
The growth taking place numerically makes me the most nervous, in less than two months we have a consistent 20-25 people coming out and we now meet in three different groups after the initial conversation starter and prayer. Thankfully the house we are meeting in now has three new rooms opening this weekend and we will now have the capability of housing 50+ people. The group has never been able to define or organize fore necessity, now that we are reaching necessity in some areas we are gaing new insights from the group such as:
Staying in the same small group for several weeks.
At the end of last week there were several people who started showing signs of how they would like to contribute. There were suggestions made to help our time become more of what the group wants it to be. Here are two posts on the blog at www.livingroomconversations.blogspot.com for an example of what has transpired in two weeks. Please visit the blog to contribute to the conversation or view the groups response to the poem presented last Sunday as the conversation starter during the formation time.
The vision for our group is evolving and the community life is emerging and I have to believe the Kingdom is coming! Is this a missional community? I would say so…
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
What is culture?
In “Beyond Foundationalism” (Franke, Grenz) explain culture as one of the three sources of Theology. “They must be taken into account in the formulation and construction of theology: canonical Scripture, the cultural contexts in which theology is developed, and the tradition of the church” (Fanke, 119). Theology is a second order discipline according to Franke and it exists to assist the community of believers as they live out their faith as a sent body into their context. “The unending task of theology is to find ways of expressing and communicating the biblical story in terms that make use of the intellectual and conceptual tools of a particular culture without being controlled by them” (Franke, 119) The tools of language and symbols accepted and used by a group of people have a role to play in understanding culture meaning.
“But what are the central contributors to and carriers of cultural meaning? For the answer, anthropologists look to a variety of types of cltural items, including language, material objects, images, and rituals. What brings these seemingly disparate items together is their role as symbols, that is, their function as both builders and conveyers of meanings that lie beyond themselves” (Franke, Grenz 141).
Navigating culture is a complicated task due to the fact of the re-thinking taking place over the past twenty + years in the field of study known as cultural Anthropology. “According to Melvin Herskoitz, Culture is essentially a construct that describes the total body of belief, behaviors, knowledge, sanctions, values and goals that mark the way of life of a people…. In the final analysis it comprises the things that people have, the things they do, and what they think” (Franke, Grenz, 133). However postmodern anthropologists explain cultural meaning, “in that the object or event would evoke a different interpretation in people with different characteristic like experiences” (Franke, Grenz 137).
“At the same time, individuals do not discover or make up cultural meanings on their own. Even the mental structures by which they interpret the world are developed through explicit structures by which they interpret the world are developed through explicit teaching and implicit observation of others. Consequently, cultural meanings are both psychological states and social constructions” (Franke, Grenz 138).
Why is it significant in the process of doing theology?
It is vital to understand the culture in which a person social constructs their views, because it is one of the sources for theology. Culture is also something that is formed by people and forms people. Since the process of doing theology involves the current postmodern condition we are apart of, it is imperative for people engaging in the process of theology to join others inside their “towers” as Crystal L. Downing talks about in “How Postmodernism Serves My Faith”.
“Most Christians are comfortable with the move from one Protestant tower to another, many with a move from Protestantism to one of the earlier Christian traditions. But few would (or should) feel comfortable with the idea that all religious towers are alike and that it is a matter of personal preference whether one follows Christ or Krishna. This is not what postmodernism is about, nor is it what I am about” (Downing, 162). The tradition and scripture become a source of theology for the Christian faith, with out them the “what ever you feel like” relativistic view of God becomes the preference of society. This is one of the obstacles we face today. However relativism is not the enemy.
“Some Christians avoid accusations of relativism by asserting that their tower of language is the absolute truth and that all other expressions of Christianity are in error” (Downing, 160). The Crusades along with other forms of persecution, such as the Anabaptists, as well as forms of colonization in the early mission movements are examples of people who believed their tower was the only way to view God.
Something I have noticed in my work as a youth pastor is the desire of the parents to insulate the children from the “world”. The church views the world as evil and the church as good. The process I noticed taking place in many youth during the transition from early adolescents or the tween years to adolescents or the teenage years was a form of disorientation. They started to notice the world in which they lived and began to ask questions. They no longer accepted the form of rational they were given by their parents or other church leaders.
I became acutly aware of the need to engage culture along with theology in the formation of a perspective which could allow the youth to develop their own world view. This was something that was not encouraged by the majority of parents. I became disillusioned and got tired of the battle against the system of conformity, in turn I left the ministry in hopes of entering the world as a missionary. I now understand my paradigm shift and consider myself one who is a participant in God’s Mission. This process lead me to the desire to understand other cultural views of God and their understanding of scripture. I began looking at the world from other perspectives, what Downing talks about in the part on “towers” in her book.
What can we learn from theologies developed in other cultural settings?
There is a wealth of perspectives to be learned from other cultural settings. With out the awareness and understanding of other theologies from differing cultures we can become the defenders of our towers, instead of the cultivators of the Kingdom. Through the partnership with other cultures in the Missio Dei the church becomes unified under the common purpose to be a sent body of believers into the world. With the awareness of tradition and the understanding of scripture as the norming norm the “Body” becomes more of a whole picture of God.
In the Character of Theology Franke explain the task of theology as, “communicating the biblical story in a way that makes sense to the current intellectual and conceptual” (Franke, 119). We need to understand the process of doing theology not only though our tradition, but the tradition of other cultures. With the Church as the “focal point of theology” the body has a unifying measure within the Missio Dei and through the holistic process of Theology the Church becomes the Imago Dei.
With theology as our guide and scripture as our norming norm tradition can be understood on a broader level by listening to other cultures as well as our own. This is a daring task, but what else is there in this life than to participate in the cultivation of the Kingdom as we bear witness to God’s Mission on this earth.
In “Beyond Foundationalism” (Franke, Grenz) explain culture as one of the three sources of Theology. “They must be taken into account in the formulation and construction of theology: canonical Scripture, the cultural contexts in which theology is developed, and the tradition of the church” (Fanke, 119). Theology is a second order discipline according to Franke and it exists to assist the community of believers as they live out their faith as a sent body into their context. “The unending task of theology is to find ways of expressing and communicating the biblical story in terms that make use of the intellectual and conceptual tools of a particular culture without being controlled by them” (Franke, 119) The tools of language and symbols accepted and used by a group of people have a role to play in understanding culture meaning.
“But what are the central contributors to and carriers of cultural meaning? For the answer, anthropologists look to a variety of types of cltural items, including language, material objects, images, and rituals. What brings these seemingly disparate items together is their role as symbols, that is, their function as both builders and conveyers of meanings that lie beyond themselves” (Franke, Grenz 141).
Navigating culture is a complicated task due to the fact of the re-thinking taking place over the past twenty + years in the field of study known as cultural Anthropology. “According to Melvin Herskoitz, Culture is essentially a construct that describes the total body of belief, behaviors, knowledge, sanctions, values and goals that mark the way of life of a people…. In the final analysis it comprises the things that people have, the things they do, and what they think” (Franke, Grenz, 133). However postmodern anthropologists explain cultural meaning, “in that the object or event would evoke a different interpretation in people with different characteristic like experiences” (Franke, Grenz 137).
“At the same time, individuals do not discover or make up cultural meanings on their own. Even the mental structures by which they interpret the world are developed through explicit structures by which they interpret the world are developed through explicit teaching and implicit observation of others. Consequently, cultural meanings are both psychological states and social constructions” (Franke, Grenz 138).
Why is it significant in the process of doing theology?
It is vital to understand the culture in which a person social constructs their views, because it is one of the sources for theology. Culture is also something that is formed by people and forms people. Since the process of doing theology involves the current postmodern condition we are apart of, it is imperative for people engaging in the process of theology to join others inside their “towers” as Crystal L. Downing talks about in “How Postmodernism Serves My Faith”.
“Most Christians are comfortable with the move from one Protestant tower to another, many with a move from Protestantism to one of the earlier Christian traditions. But few would (or should) feel comfortable with the idea that all religious towers are alike and that it is a matter of personal preference whether one follows Christ or Krishna. This is not what postmodernism is about, nor is it what I am about” (Downing, 162). The tradition and scripture become a source of theology for the Christian faith, with out them the “what ever you feel like” relativistic view of God becomes the preference of society. This is one of the obstacles we face today. However relativism is not the enemy.
“Some Christians avoid accusations of relativism by asserting that their tower of language is the absolute truth and that all other expressions of Christianity are in error” (Downing, 160). The Crusades along with other forms of persecution, such as the Anabaptists, as well as forms of colonization in the early mission movements are examples of people who believed their tower was the only way to view God.
Something I have noticed in my work as a youth pastor is the desire of the parents to insulate the children from the “world”. The church views the world as evil and the church as good. The process I noticed taking place in many youth during the transition from early adolescents or the tween years to adolescents or the teenage years was a form of disorientation. They started to notice the world in which they lived and began to ask questions. They no longer accepted the form of rational they were given by their parents or other church leaders.
I became acutly aware of the need to engage culture along with theology in the formation of a perspective which could allow the youth to develop their own world view. This was something that was not encouraged by the majority of parents. I became disillusioned and got tired of the battle against the system of conformity, in turn I left the ministry in hopes of entering the world as a missionary. I now understand my paradigm shift and consider myself one who is a participant in God’s Mission. This process lead me to the desire to understand other cultural views of God and their understanding of scripture. I began looking at the world from other perspectives, what Downing talks about in the part on “towers” in her book.
What can we learn from theologies developed in other cultural settings?
There is a wealth of perspectives to be learned from other cultural settings. With out the awareness and understanding of other theologies from differing cultures we can become the defenders of our towers, instead of the cultivators of the Kingdom. Through the partnership with other cultures in the Missio Dei the church becomes unified under the common purpose to be a sent body of believers into the world. With the awareness of tradition and the understanding of scripture as the norming norm the “Body” becomes more of a whole picture of God.
In the Character of Theology Franke explain the task of theology as, “communicating the biblical story in a way that makes sense to the current intellectual and conceptual” (Franke, 119). We need to understand the process of doing theology not only though our tradition, but the tradition of other cultures. With the Church as the “focal point of theology” the body has a unifying measure within the Missio Dei and through the holistic process of Theology the Church becomes the Imago Dei.
With theology as our guide and scripture as our norming norm tradition can be understood on a broader level by listening to other cultures as well as our own. This is a daring task, but what else is there in this life than to participate in the cultivation of the Kingdom as we bear witness to God’s Mission on this earth.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Journal
Week 1
A discussion in class between a student and John gave me the “revelation” of the context that we live in. There is a tension between what is happening in our world and what is happening to our world. God has been proving faithful in the personal orientation of my faith and the way that God is functioning in my world view and the world around me. The book “Constants in Context” by Beveans and Schroeder is showing how the six constants of Theology are understood through out history. The three types of Theology are A, B, and C. This is the way the three types of Theology are understood in the book. I can all ready see how the people in my class are going to struggle with the Idea of Theology as a discipline of human perspective in different contexts. So often we approach God as though we can think about God from an Objective perspective. I am learning how understanding self is understanding God and visa versa. It is important for me to reflect on my context in which my world view was formed. Than I can understand why I view God in the way I do.
I grew up in Souderton. My foundation is based on a missional view of living. My father and mother raised me with the understanding that I am responsible not only for my life but the lives of those on the fringe of society. This was proven to me in the way they treated my friends. Growing up most of my friends where not raised in the “Christian” context. Now I find myself once again surrounded by people that do not fit into the “Christian” context in a community which is holding onto the bubble of faith as an image. There are so many people that hold onto their “Christian” perspectives as though they are objective and not influenced through their context. The language used in the Christian culture is so full of clichés it is hard for me to listen with out judging some of the people in my class.
When John talks in the language of the emergent church, my mind is tracking and my heart is warmed. I have spent the last 5 years trying to get into the world of the emergent church and I find myself in a place that has invited me in through “biblical”. God has proven himself faithful when I sit and listen to the words of John and hear what causes great tension in others. I have lived in the tension of “what is the point?” Why are we doing this?
Week 1
A discussion in class between a student and John gave me the “revelation” of the context that we live in. There is a tension between what is happening in our world and what is happening to our world. God has been proving faithful in the personal orientation of my faith and the way that God is functioning in my world view and the world around me. The book “Constants in Context” by Beveans and Schroeder is showing how the six constants of Theology are understood through out history. The three types of Theology are A, B, and C. This is the way the three types of Theology are understood in the book. I can all ready see how the people in my class are going to struggle with the Idea of Theology as a discipline of human perspective in different contexts. So often we approach God as though we can think about God from an Objective perspective. I am learning how understanding self is understanding God and visa versa. It is important for me to reflect on my context in which my world view was formed. Than I can understand why I view God in the way I do.
I grew up in Souderton. My foundation is based on a missional view of living. My father and mother raised me with the understanding that I am responsible not only for my life but the lives of those on the fringe of society. This was proven to me in the way they treated my friends. Growing up most of my friends where not raised in the “Christian” context. Now I find myself once again surrounded by people that do not fit into the “Christian” context in a community which is holding onto the bubble of faith as an image. There are so many people that hold onto their “Christian” perspectives as though they are objective and not influenced through their context. The language used in the Christian culture is so full of clichés it is hard for me to listen with out judging some of the people in my class.
When John talks in the language of the emergent church, my mind is tracking and my heart is warmed. I have spent the last 5 years trying to get into the world of the emergent church and I find myself in a place that has invited me in through “biblical”. God has proven himself faithful when I sit and listen to the words of John and hear what causes great tension in others. I have lived in the tension of “what is the point?” Why are we doing this?
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Journal 3
Third Week
The past two nights I talked to a youth group about the “the story we find ourselves in” How this Story is the greatest gift we could ever given. It is our talent. My reading in the “Character of Theology” has messed up my mind. I can not give the answers like I used to give youth. In fact I have not spoken formally to youth in over a year. Thank God. I realize now that I have had so many questions with out a way to organize them in my brain. Reading “the Character of Theology” is giving me some organizational structures.
Reading and talking about “Constants in Context” has given me words for my thoughts. I have not been able to communicate how my Christology, Theology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, because I have not had any such thing. Sure I might have had thoughts about God, Christ, Church and the point now in relation to the End, but I was lost. I have more questions than I have ever had, but thank God for a map, at least a working map.
Here is the thing I know. I know that we are going to move beyond our thinking about the six constants like Theology, but we have to move. When we sense to move we die. I died. I mean that, my soul was dead, and it is beginning a re-birth. I do not know how God determines who goes to heaven and hell, but I know that it isn’t simply a prayer that converts humanity. It has to be an act of God. Indirect Revelation gave me great insight to the way we know God.
We can not know God the way we know each other. There is too much baggage we bring to the table. We could be the most brilliant person in the world and we are still bankrupt in the economy of knowing God. That is why my good friend who feels like an Agnostic, who has a degree in Religious studies from Villanova still does not claim to know God. He does not even know if he is a Christian.
It is obvious that we all have our own perspectives and contexts that form our hermeneutic, so it is impossible to have a foundation that will last for ever. The foundation will shift with the experiences of life and the cultural shift takes place faster and faster as we progress in this culture.
When I talked at the youth group the first night I was scared. I did not want to share this message I believe. I did not want to share how my story has shaped my belief in God and I did not want to share my perspective on why so many people have a tragic story. My story used to be tragic. I did not see myself as in the Story of God, where the Triune God is the main Character.
I might have even stopped believing in the Triune God, but thanks to our discussions in Theo class and my readings, I see the Triune God as an imperative in the Faith of Christians. I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus as stated in the Bible through my own culturally coded lenses. When I live out beliefs based on this knowledge that penetrates my soul, I am changed. I am different.
For example, during the talk the second night, I stepped out and believed in the Triune God. I believed that it was not on me. I can not make anyone understand or believe it is God. But half way through I could see it, I could feel it. The Spirit was revealing God to the group. This was confirmed later that night, when my friend Aaron and I were sharing a drink and he looked at me with piercing eyes of Hope and said, “That’s the Kingdom”. His eyes filled with passion as he explains two experiences that night. He shared how for 2-5 seconds it all became clear and it was though he saw for the first time.
I will spend the rest of my life in the passionate pursuit of the “Kingdom”. The good news is the “Kingdom” has come. So I say, “May your will be done.”
Third Week
The past two nights I talked to a youth group about the “the story we find ourselves in” How this Story is the greatest gift we could ever given. It is our talent. My reading in the “Character of Theology” has messed up my mind. I can not give the answers like I used to give youth. In fact I have not spoken formally to youth in over a year. Thank God. I realize now that I have had so many questions with out a way to organize them in my brain. Reading “the Character of Theology” is giving me some organizational structures.
Reading and talking about “Constants in Context” has given me words for my thoughts. I have not been able to communicate how my Christology, Theology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, because I have not had any such thing. Sure I might have had thoughts about God, Christ, Church and the point now in relation to the End, but I was lost. I have more questions than I have ever had, but thank God for a map, at least a working map.
Here is the thing I know. I know that we are going to move beyond our thinking about the six constants like Theology, but we have to move. When we sense to move we die. I died. I mean that, my soul was dead, and it is beginning a re-birth. I do not know how God determines who goes to heaven and hell, but I know that it isn’t simply a prayer that converts humanity. It has to be an act of God. Indirect Revelation gave me great insight to the way we know God.
We can not know God the way we know each other. There is too much baggage we bring to the table. We could be the most brilliant person in the world and we are still bankrupt in the economy of knowing God. That is why my good friend who feels like an Agnostic, who has a degree in Religious studies from Villanova still does not claim to know God. He does not even know if he is a Christian.
It is obvious that we all have our own perspectives and contexts that form our hermeneutic, so it is impossible to have a foundation that will last for ever. The foundation will shift with the experiences of life and the cultural shift takes place faster and faster as we progress in this culture.
When I talked at the youth group the first night I was scared. I did not want to share this message I believe. I did not want to share how my story has shaped my belief in God and I did not want to share my perspective on why so many people have a tragic story. My story used to be tragic. I did not see myself as in the Story of God, where the Triune God is the main Character.
I might have even stopped believing in the Triune God, but thanks to our discussions in Theo class and my readings, I see the Triune God as an imperative in the Faith of Christians. I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus as stated in the Bible through my own culturally coded lenses. When I live out beliefs based on this knowledge that penetrates my soul, I am changed. I am different.
For example, during the talk the second night, I stepped out and believed in the Triune God. I believed that it was not on me. I can not make anyone understand or believe it is God. But half way through I could see it, I could feel it. The Spirit was revealing God to the group. This was confirmed later that night, when my friend Aaron and I were sharing a drink and he looked at me with piercing eyes of Hope and said, “That’s the Kingdom”. His eyes filled with passion as he explains two experiences that night. He shared how for 2-5 seconds it all became clear and it was though he saw for the first time.
I will spend the rest of my life in the passionate pursuit of the “Kingdom”. The good news is the “Kingdom” has come. So I say, “May your will be done.”
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Faith and Community
A poem by Scott Hackman
At times in life it is impossible to have faith.
All one has to do is look at the world to chaos and calamity.
Governments full of greed and deceit.
Communities treating leaders like gods they fall morally.
Faith in an individual is futile and there is need for change from this perspective.
There is need for individuals believing in more than their abilities to see beyond their own paradigm.
There is need for churches that proclaim fanatical blessings and personal fulfillment to cease.
There is need for institutions who want your time but not your whole person to be brought low.
Society dangles the carrot as though a person can attain fulfillment with enough consumption.
A culture based on personal fulfillment and giving into any desires one might have as a way of life.
No need for faith is something greater than self, when self fulfillment is the greatest goal of mankind.
A contributor to the collective mass, who has ceased to think, ceased to dream other than for personal fulfillment.
Individualism is god and technology is the glue holding people together.
Faith is needed in a transformational community.
When a group of people believe in a greater Kingdom there is hope.
When a group of people believe for the overlooked and under resourced.
There is need for a group of people to see themselves on a mission.
There is need for people to place themselves in the care of a community.
We do not get to pick the people involved in this community.
Those who want to be involved are involved, those who want to believe, believe.
When a community of believers joins a community of unbelievers miracles can happen.
When one person dares to love another not for any personal gain, just because they are human, the Kingdom has come.
Where is such a community of faith?
We are intentionally involving ourselves in one another’s lives. Daring to believe we can create culture in a depraved world. Daring to believe the Kingdom will come on Earth as it is in Heaven.
If all we have is today, how will you live?
If life is the gift, how will you live?
If death is the future, how will you live?
This group is intentional because we get together on purpose.
This group is missional because we are doing this to provide a safe space to ask questions and belong to the Kingdom.
What consumes your thoughts?
What helps you sleep at night and get up in the morning?
What is the driving force in your life?
Who/what do you have faith in?
A poem by Scott Hackman
At times in life it is impossible to have faith.
All one has to do is look at the world to chaos and calamity.
Governments full of greed and deceit.
Communities treating leaders like gods they fall morally.
Faith in an individual is futile and there is need for change from this perspective.
There is need for individuals believing in more than their abilities to see beyond their own paradigm.
There is need for churches that proclaim fanatical blessings and personal fulfillment to cease.
There is need for institutions who want your time but not your whole person to be brought low.
Society dangles the carrot as though a person can attain fulfillment with enough consumption.
A culture based on personal fulfillment and giving into any desires one might have as a way of life.
No need for faith is something greater than self, when self fulfillment is the greatest goal of mankind.
A contributor to the collective mass, who has ceased to think, ceased to dream other than for personal fulfillment.
Individualism is god and technology is the glue holding people together.
Faith is needed in a transformational community.
When a group of people believe in a greater Kingdom there is hope.
When a group of people believe for the overlooked and under resourced.
There is need for a group of people to see themselves on a mission.
There is need for people to place themselves in the care of a community.
We do not get to pick the people involved in this community.
Those who want to be involved are involved, those who want to believe, believe.
When a community of believers joins a community of unbelievers miracles can happen.
When one person dares to love another not for any personal gain, just because they are human, the Kingdom has come.
Where is such a community of faith?
We are intentionally involving ourselves in one another’s lives. Daring to believe we can create culture in a depraved world. Daring to believe the Kingdom will come on Earth as it is in Heaven.
If all we have is today, how will you live?
If life is the gift, how will you live?
If death is the future, how will you live?
This group is intentional because we get together on purpose.
This group is missional because we are doing this to provide a safe space to ask questions and belong to the Kingdom.
What consumes your thoughts?
What helps you sleep at night and get up in the morning?
What is the driving force in your life?
Who/what do you have faith in?
Thursday, November 16, 2006
A missional approach
Makes sense
A missional approach makes a difference in a persons life when they accept this perspective as more than an ad on to their life/church/program etc. This has taken place in my life through a series of paradigm shifts. In this response I will share how three significant paradigm shifts moved me into a missional perspective of how to live, approach ministry, read the bible, understand the church, envision the Kingdom, and understand the Gospel.
The Paradigm shift from life on a mission to life a participant in God’s mission has had a profound impact on the way I understand all of the foundations of Christianity and its practices. For example my view of pastor as moral citizen, holder of Godly truth has shifted to pastor as human being, participant in the community as a learner and cultivator, similar to a Gardner.
In my opinion the pastor can no longer stand on his high moral pulpit and preach down to the congregation. No one is listening and no one will listen outside of the Christian cultural worldview. Even if the pastor gets hip and trendy and makes his church look like a Starbucks meeting the entire consumer needs of his congregation. The church is dieing at an alarming rate in North America and there is a need for the rebirth of the mission shown through Christ’s life/death/resurrection.
The missional approach has had an impact on how I understand the church. I no longer see the church as a place people go to on a Sunday morning. The church is no longer a building people meet in. The definable qualities of a church are found both in the history of the church and in the Biblical example of followers and believers in Christ and Christ’s teachings. The missional view of the church can be understood as a “sent group of people into their local context to witness to the Kingdom of God, joining in the Missio Dei,” according to Guder. The necessity to join fellow believers for a time of worship is birthed out of a shared life and a shared mission. Worship gatherings become missional in their purpose.
How I understand church has changed how I read the Bible.
The missional approach to reading the Bible has greatly changed my perspective. I now read the Bible understanding my own biases and perspectives which influence my interpretation and application. The way I used to read the bible was more like a descriptive manual on how to live life. Although it still holds truth and is teachable for a life lived according to biblical teaching it is not the soul source of how I understand truth. I no longer believe I can hold the key to absolute Truth by reading, studing and understanding the “right” perspective on the bible. I still believe the bible is inspired by God, but I no longer hold the foundations of my upbringing as absolute truth.
The missional approach to reading the bible simple states, “What is God’s mission according to… fill in any book of the bible”. When I read the bible from this perspective, I am able to question some of the foundational beliefs which I once held up as gods. The missional view of the Bible has been formed by my missional approach to ministry. I have not always functioned in a missional way in ministry. I used to see missions as something I did, like evangelize. Now I see life as missional and ministry as an extension of a missional life. Here is story about the paradigm shift from mission as apart of ministry to mission as life and ministry as an extension of that life.
The paradigm shift from bible as absolute Truth, to God as holder of absolute Truth and bible as inspired word of God used through out history to transform lives has help me live more missionally. God is the word, and the word is God. The words written down and explain over thousands of years have changed. God’s word remains the same, because the word is God. We are humans, so we approach the bible with such a finite perspective. This has changed my view of God.
My new paradigm is shifting from God as a Dad or friend I have to persuade to do things my way, to unknowable yet personal through the Triune relationship. God has become a paradox I will follow till I die. This shift has caused me to approach the Gospel as something to live out, and share through community. I approach God in contemplative prayer, spiritual disciplines and a community of believers and unbelievers who share the purposing of bearing witness to God’s Kingdom through God’s Mission.
The Kingdom has become something shared between believers and unbelievers when they participate in the action of witnessing God’s mission. This does not mean I stop proclaiming the transforming reality of Christ through belief in His death resurrection and triune relationship with the Father and the Spirit, nor does my statement mean I believe in universal salvation for all people. I am still in a major shift in my paradigm and I know it will keep happening as God reveals His Kingdom through everything and anything He wants.
The best way for you to understand how I could go through such a shift would be to sit down and have a cup of coffee or brew. Since we can not do that I thought I would give you a piece of my story and you can take it for what it is. A story shared from one person’s perspective, trying with all his might to follow after God, revealed through Christ and given power through the Spirit. This is the story of a life slowly slipping into what looks like a missionary in the North American context instead of a boy trying to fulfill his dream of being a famous youth speaker/pastor.
Makes sense
A missional approach makes a difference in a persons life when they accept this perspective as more than an ad on to their life/church/program etc. This has taken place in my life through a series of paradigm shifts. In this response I will share how three significant paradigm shifts moved me into a missional perspective of how to live, approach ministry, read the bible, understand the church, envision the Kingdom, and understand the Gospel.
The Paradigm shift from life on a mission to life a participant in God’s mission has had a profound impact on the way I understand all of the foundations of Christianity and its practices. For example my view of pastor as moral citizen, holder of Godly truth has shifted to pastor as human being, participant in the community as a learner and cultivator, similar to a Gardner.
In my opinion the pastor can no longer stand on his high moral pulpit and preach down to the congregation. No one is listening and no one will listen outside of the Christian cultural worldview. Even if the pastor gets hip and trendy and makes his church look like a Starbucks meeting the entire consumer needs of his congregation. The church is dieing at an alarming rate in North America and there is a need for the rebirth of the mission shown through Christ’s life/death/resurrection.
The missional approach has had an impact on how I understand the church. I no longer see the church as a place people go to on a Sunday morning. The church is no longer a building people meet in. The definable qualities of a church are found both in the history of the church and in the Biblical example of followers and believers in Christ and Christ’s teachings. The missional view of the church can be understood as a “sent group of people into their local context to witness to the Kingdom of God, joining in the Missio Dei,” according to Guder. The necessity to join fellow believers for a time of worship is birthed out of a shared life and a shared mission. Worship gatherings become missional in their purpose.
How I understand church has changed how I read the Bible.
The missional approach to reading the Bible has greatly changed my perspective. I now read the Bible understanding my own biases and perspectives which influence my interpretation and application. The way I used to read the bible was more like a descriptive manual on how to live life. Although it still holds truth and is teachable for a life lived according to biblical teaching it is not the soul source of how I understand truth. I no longer believe I can hold the key to absolute Truth by reading, studing and understanding the “right” perspective on the bible. I still believe the bible is inspired by God, but I no longer hold the foundations of my upbringing as absolute truth.
The missional approach to reading the bible simple states, “What is God’s mission according to… fill in any book of the bible”. When I read the bible from this perspective, I am able to question some of the foundational beliefs which I once held up as gods. The missional view of the Bible has been formed by my missional approach to ministry. I have not always functioned in a missional way in ministry. I used to see missions as something I did, like evangelize. Now I see life as missional and ministry as an extension of a missional life. Here is story about the paradigm shift from mission as apart of ministry to mission as life and ministry as an extension of that life.
The paradigm shift from bible as absolute Truth, to God as holder of absolute Truth and bible as inspired word of God used through out history to transform lives has help me live more missionally. God is the word, and the word is God. The words written down and explain over thousands of years have changed. God’s word remains the same, because the word is God. We are humans, so we approach the bible with such a finite perspective. This has changed my view of God.
My new paradigm is shifting from God as a Dad or friend I have to persuade to do things my way, to unknowable yet personal through the Triune relationship. God has become a paradox I will follow till I die. This shift has caused me to approach the Gospel as something to live out, and share through community. I approach God in contemplative prayer, spiritual disciplines and a community of believers and unbelievers who share the purposing of bearing witness to God’s Kingdom through God’s Mission.
The Kingdom has become something shared between believers and unbelievers when they participate in the action of witnessing God’s mission. This does not mean I stop proclaiming the transforming reality of Christ through belief in His death resurrection and triune relationship with the Father and the Spirit, nor does my statement mean I believe in universal salvation for all people. I am still in a major shift in my paradigm and I know it will keep happening as God reveals His Kingdom through everything and anything He wants.
The best way for you to understand how I could go through such a shift would be to sit down and have a cup of coffee or brew. Since we can not do that I thought I would give you a piece of my story and you can take it for what it is. A story shared from one person’s perspective, trying with all his might to follow after God, revealed through Christ and given power through the Spirit. This is the story of a life slowly slipping into what looks like a missionary in the North American context instead of a boy trying to fulfill his dream of being a famous youth speaker/pastor.
Paradigm Shift
Five years of youth ministry
My world view was rocked in my five years as a full time youth pastor. I learned how youth in this next generation are not interested in me having all the answers to their questions. They do not need me or my answers to believe in God. This came as a surprise, because I had been taught by most of my mentors and all of my Christian education how I was going to be the bearer of good news. I was taught how defend the truth and develop honest, moral citizen. This is not a bad motive; however it is not the Gospel, at least how I understand the Gospel.
Most youth I encountered did not doubt the existence of God. They were not interested in apologetics or systems they could build truth on to hold up against the evil society they lived in. They asked me a lot of questions but very few were about anything I was taught in my education and leadership formation.
I was taught how to do ministry from a rational, practical, implicational, definable, and quantifiable way. This was challenged greatly at the turn of the millennium. It was during this period of history when youth began to have access to more information than ever before. The end of the world was coming according to some religious fanatics and there was more access to the information showing the corruption and depravity of man.
The youth had a perspective beyond what my teaching had given me the ability to handle. With in three months of my first job I became what I now call a “missionary in the North American context”. I started asking the kids in a conversational way, what they thought about topics like the: church, God, Christ, religions, sex, drinking, friends, death, etc. It was in this experiment my paradigm shifted from pastor/teacher to pastor/learner. I became a person longing to understand their perspective and their world view. I no longer assumed I new what was going on in their life. I no longer assumed I had the answer for them.
Here are the questions I received to the best of my recollection.
Is it a sin to masturbate?
Is it sex when I…?
Do (fill in the blank) go to hell if they do not “believe” in Jesus?
Why do we keep building on to our church?
(I kid you not this was probably the FAQ at both of my churches because they were both in multi million dollar building campaigns. Hence my confusion with what the Modern Mega Church Seeker Sensitive Model communicates to people. It worked for a time and it still works in some parts of the world, but is it building up the Church or just getting bigger?
This is why I believe there is a need for “Christians” to find their way into the minds and hearts of people outside the western “Christian” worldview. There is a need for missional believers to communicate the Gospel through the incarnation of truth in a way the Holy Spirit can be proud to show up in. There is a need for a new kind of Christian, believer, follower of Jesus, Missionary, Evengelist, Apostle, Leader, Pastor, Teacher, Preacher and Prophet.
By the end of my five years in youth ministry I barely had any faith left in the church as we now know it. Thanks to the grace of God through the people who have helped me put words to the paradigm shifts I have gone through in the past couple years, along with the missional approach I have been given freedom, life and hope again. I believe this kind of life only comes from the redeeming reality of Christ in a life lived as a participant in the Missio Dei.
Five years of youth ministry
My world view was rocked in my five years as a full time youth pastor. I learned how youth in this next generation are not interested in me having all the answers to their questions. They do not need me or my answers to believe in God. This came as a surprise, because I had been taught by most of my mentors and all of my Christian education how I was going to be the bearer of good news. I was taught how defend the truth and develop honest, moral citizen. This is not a bad motive; however it is not the Gospel, at least how I understand the Gospel.
Most youth I encountered did not doubt the existence of God. They were not interested in apologetics or systems they could build truth on to hold up against the evil society they lived in. They asked me a lot of questions but very few were about anything I was taught in my education and leadership formation.
I was taught how to do ministry from a rational, practical, implicational, definable, and quantifiable way. This was challenged greatly at the turn of the millennium. It was during this period of history when youth began to have access to more information than ever before. The end of the world was coming according to some religious fanatics and there was more access to the information showing the corruption and depravity of man.
The youth had a perspective beyond what my teaching had given me the ability to handle. With in three months of my first job I became what I now call a “missionary in the North American context”. I started asking the kids in a conversational way, what they thought about topics like the: church, God, Christ, religions, sex, drinking, friends, death, etc. It was in this experiment my paradigm shifted from pastor/teacher to pastor/learner. I became a person longing to understand their perspective and their world view. I no longer assumed I new what was going on in their life. I no longer assumed I had the answer for them.
Here are the questions I received to the best of my recollection.
Is it a sin to masturbate?
Is it sex when I…?
Do (fill in the blank) go to hell if they do not “believe” in Jesus?
Why do we keep building on to our church?
(I kid you not this was probably the FAQ at both of my churches because they were both in multi million dollar building campaigns. Hence my confusion with what the Modern Mega Church Seeker Sensitive Model communicates to people. It worked for a time and it still works in some parts of the world, but is it building up the Church or just getting bigger?
This is why I believe there is a need for “Christians” to find their way into the minds and hearts of people outside the western “Christian” worldview. There is a need for missional believers to communicate the Gospel through the incarnation of truth in a way the Holy Spirit can be proud to show up in. There is a need for a new kind of Christian, believer, follower of Jesus, Missionary, Evengelist, Apostle, Leader, Pastor, Teacher, Preacher and Prophet.
By the end of my five years in youth ministry I barely had any faith left in the church as we now know it. Thanks to the grace of God through the people who have helped me put words to the paradigm shifts I have gone through in the past couple years, along with the missional approach I have been given freedom, life and hope again. I believe this kind of life only comes from the redeeming reality of Christ in a life lived as a participant in the Missio Dei.
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