The Dawn Treader

"A missional church knows that they must be a cross-cultural missionary (contextual) people in their own community."

Being missional means recognizing that you are truly a missionary in this culture.  Even though you may be a Christian living in America, you may as well be a missionary in the jungles of South America.  In a post Christian culture, our presuppositions are different, our language is different, and our culture is different.  We need to think like missionaries think when entering a different culture.  How can the gospel of the kingdom be best communicated in this context?  It is not a call to change the message, jazz it up, or make it easier to swallow.  It is a call to think cross-culturally about those who are hearing the message, and to be wise and effective ambassadors of king Jesus as we communicate and embody the gospel in the culture.

"A missional church is not missional just because it is contemporary, young, hip, post-modern-sensitive, seeker-sensitive or even traditional."

Being missional is a paradigm shift.  Changing the window dressing on a worship style will not transform a church into a missional church.  That is because in a missional church, the mission is out there.  It is no longer the vision to ask others to come and sit in our service, but to live out our faith in our communities as people sent.  Our connection point with culture is not the Sunday morning church service.  In a post Christian culture, those we are taking the gospel to are not even remotely interested in a church service.

As Ryan Bolger says, "They [missional churches] no longer see the church service as the primary connecting point with those outside the community. Connecting with those outside happens within the culture, by insiders to that culture who express the gospel through how they live. "

It is about embodying the gospel through serving, both in deeds and words.

I just listened to a Centurions web conference that resonated with me.  It was given by a fellow (who I will leave nameless) who ministers to 16 to 29 year olds and is well connected with leaders in the emerging church as well as leaders in modern church.  He lives in the space where that tension exists ... and thinks the tension is a good thing.

His presentation resonated with me.  Why?  Because my mission field is twenty somethings and thirty somethings who are asking big questions ... both followers of Christ, and those who are not yet following Christ.   I am called to speak truth to a culture that believes in absolute truth but absolutely rejects certainty ... and is quite certain about that :-)