Intersected

Interesting article from Skye Jethani about the benefit to the church if we participated out of our core time and not just when we have free time.

1. It would mean helping people see the missional dignity of ordinary work; communicating that their jobs matter to Christ and his kingdom, not just what happens within the walls of the church.
2. It would mean elevating the role of family and household relationships as vehicles for spiritual growth and missional engagement. Yes, raising children and caring for aging parents honors God and advances his kingdom just as, if not more, than institutional church programs.
3. It would mean not extracting people from their lives and communities to engage in church programming or committees unless absolutely necessary, but equipping them to live in communion with Christ within the context he has placed them.
4. It would shift the focus of Sunday worship away from mission and outreach to a time of celebration and encouragement for Christians who are engaged in mission the other six days of the week.
5. It would mean deploying church leaders outside the institution to engage members in their native contexts; mentoring and coaching on their turf rather than ours.
6. It would mean a radical adjustment in what the church celebrates-not institutional expansion or programmatic growth, but stories of ordinary people incarnating Christ at home, at work, at school…everywhere life happens.

A church built upon people’s core time rather than leisure time will not only maximize its missional impact, but it will also be far less susceptible to the unstable foundations of our debt-based economy. It would mean fewer churches fearing economic recession because they’ve build their missional strategy on the foundation of ordinary life rather than institutional programs, buildings, and staffs.

Powerful words from Penn (of Penn and Teller), an admitted atheist. This is just the type of challenge that I need. Too often I worry what people will say about my faith instead of sharing out of love and concern for their eternality.

HT: Darryl Dash

A missional church takes the global worship of the triune God as its purpose, the Spirit-empowered gospel as its power, and Christ-imitating contextualization as its plan. A missional church is a church that anchors its purpose, power, and plan for mission in the missio Dei. In short, to be missional is to participate in the activity of the triune God to redeem all peoples, cultures, and creation for his glory and their good.

Excellent definition of a missional church from Jonathan Dodson’s How Missional is Your Church? Keeping the Global in Missional