Owner: Missional Challenge URL:http://missionalchallenge.blogspot.com Join Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 17:52:37 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Here is the Missional Challenge - Aligning every believer with the mission of Jesus! Most Christians in America don’t understand the mission of the church. It's all about proclaiming the Good News of Jesus!!! Site statistics:Click here
MISSIONAL CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA 2007-09-13 01:00:00 Martin Robinson believes that the Church in the Western world finds itself in deep crisis. Not only is there a fundamental decline in church membership and attendance, but something more fundamental has been taking place in the second half of the twentieth century. He notes, however, that “the difficulties encountered by the church in the West do not reflect the global position of the church. Far from it. The worldwide church has demonstrated astonishing life and vigour in precisely the same period that the Western church has suffered reversal and decline.” (Robinson and Smith, Invading Secular Space, 2003, 17) There is a scary future ahead if Christians in America fail to understand the times in which they are living and fail to embody the mission and message of Jesus. Imagine this potential scene if we do not: European nations have truly become post-Christian nations. Their great cathedrals and church buildings once were filled with people, but now they sit almost empty on Sun
Missional Abandonment 2007-09-12 00:51:00 Too many churches in America are failing to make disciples of non-disciples. The mission of many churches is internally focused on more people, more money, and more buildings, rather than externally focused on the mission of Jesus. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, has discovered that it is not what you add to your life, it is what you abandon that will make the difference.1 Churches need to abandon those beliefs and practices that hinder the expansion of the kingdom. Churches in America must no longer measure success by size, must no longer be preoccupied with buildings and property, must no longer focus on Christian education without emphasizing life transformation, must no longer focus on the church instead of the harvest, and must no longer depend on professional clergy to do the work of ministry, discipleship, and evangelism. Instead, they must train every member to engage those in the culture with the gospel. This shift toward missional alignment requires the evaluation o Read more:Missional
Missional Activity is NOT Optional for Christians 2007-09-11 01:00:00 As I read the interesting discussion/debate among bloggers concerning missional activities and the meaning of the term "missional"--there is a curious observation to be made. Many Christians
talk about participating in missional activity as if it were a choice you had. Practicing missional behaviors is not optional for a follower of Jesus. Missional
activity isn't a choice. It's a reality.There is a huge global mission field, and the only way to reach those who are far from Christ is for each believer to adopt missionary behaviors--to incarnationally display the gospel--to be Jesus to everyone everywhere!When Jesus told His followers, "Go and make disciples"--it was an imperative. When He told His disciples, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men"--there's an obvious connection between following and fishing for men. If a believer is following Jesus, He expects them to be fishing.Missional Activity
is NOT Optional for Christians.________________________________________
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Missional Musings 2007-09-10 01:00:00 Here are some random musings on missional Christianity:Missional
ity is the means of explaining the purpose of God for His Church in terms of the ultimate goal: the accomplishment of His redemptive mission to the glory of God!It is more efficient to empower every believer to function as a missionary in their zip code, than to rely on credentialed ministers and career missionaries to carry the responsibility for evangelism and disciplemaking.The missional challenge is to adopt missionary thinking to strategically engage the culture with the gospel where you work and where you live.We need an army of believers who view their mission in life through the lens of of Christ's redemptive mission.Local churches can become so internally focused on meeting the needs of members that those living in close proximity to the church campus never see the light.A missionary perspective is critical for every follower of Jesus. We must not be concerned only with reaching people for Christ who are just lik Read more:Musings
Why I am a Missionalist 2007-09-09 01:00:00 As I've been posting on being a missionalist, I've asked myself, "Why am I a missionalist?" Here is my answer...1. Because Jesus is a Missionalist!2. Because the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few!3. Because I've been sent by Jesus with the gospel together in community to the culture surrounding me!4. Because I'm aligned with the redemptive mission of Jesus!5. Because the nations are among us!________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere!
The Confession of a Missionalist 2007-09-08 01:00:00 I am a missionalist. To me, every believer is a missionary. The Church is missionary. Christians are God's missionary people. I agree with Craig Van Gelder when he said: "The church is missionary by nature because God has sent it on a mission in the world under the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is to bear witness to God's redemptive reign. Just as God is a missionary God, so the church is to be a missionary church." (The Essence of the Church, 98)Here's my confession: Although I long to be aligned with God's redemptive heart and to be committed fully to His mission, my own selfishness gets in the way of these desires. I don't love people like Jesus does. I don't faithfully pray for lost people around me. I don't start spiritual conversations as often as the Spirit prompts me to. I'm not building relationships with non-believers in my neighborhood. I haven't invited my neighbors over for dinner or out to lunch. I'm not a good example of being a missionary in my zip code.I con
Wanted: Missionalists 2007-09-07 01:00:00 Christianity needs missionalists - and lots of them!!!We need an army of believers who view their mission in life through the lens of Christ's redemptive mission.To have a missionalist school of thinking within Christianity, we need more students, professors, bloggers, strategists, professionals, workers, leaders, and moms, dads, cousins, sisters and brothers to be trained as missionalists.We need a new generation of Christians who will think and act as missionalists rather than Christian consumers! The Church of Jesus Christ needs Christians who will adopt missionary thinking and behaviors to strategically engage those in their zip code with the gospel!I'm calling Christians around the globe to becomemissionalists--to seize the redemptive mission of Jesus as their ownand to adopt missional thinking and behaviors!Are you in?________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone eve
What does a Missionalist Do? 2007-09-06 01:00:00 To fully embody the mission of Jesus, Christians today need to experience Missional Transformation! This kind of transformation is all about discovering how to "be Jesus" to everyone around you. It requires abandoning those practices which inhibit the accomplishment of the Great Commission and adopting culturally relevant thinking and behaviors which will accomplish Jesus' mission. Here are several behaviors that a missionalist must demonstrate: Seizing the Mission Adopting Missional Thinking and BehaviorsRemoving Obstacles to Missional ActivityExegeting the CultureIncarnating the Gospel: “Be Jesus”Multiplying DisciplesEquipping Disciplemaking MissionariesEstablishing Missional Communities/ChurchesMobilizing LeadersFueling Missionary Movements Seize the Mission The Church’s mission is to bear witness to God’s redemptive reign. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave His disciples His final instructions before leaving earth:
I am a Missionalist! 2007-09-04 10:00:00 I am a Missionalist -- This realization hit me last week! I am a Missionalist! A missionalist is a person who lives to fulfill Jesus’ redemptive mission to the glory of God! Essentially, a missionalist is sent by Jesus to “be Jesus” to everyone everywhere. It is important for every Christian, aligned with Jesus’ missionary heart, to incarnationally display the gospel to those around them. A missionalist views believing in Jesus as so much more than an escape plan from hell and judgment. Every missionalist realizes that believing in Jesus is our daily hope. Being a missionalist is the only way to connect the dots of God’s redemptive plan of salvation through faith alone in Jesus with the plight of the world. A missionalist sees the problem of sin, the plan of God for salvation, and their unique role as a missionary all at the same time. A missionalist aligns with Jesus’ mission to seek and to save what was lost. A missionalist is fueled by a passionate, ferv
Do I Have a Right to Cross an Ocean if I Won’t Even Cross My Street? 2007-10-12 14:00:00 My friend and colleague, Bob Rasmussen, has posted this question on the Missions Fest Seattle webiste.May I get a bit personal with you? I served with my family as missionaries in Kenya for ten years. I know the rigors of cross-cultural missions. I know how stupid it feels to learn a language as an adult, how humbling it is to stumble over beginner-level words as a 40 year old senior-pastor. And I also know that nothing magical happens on the airplane from here to there. The same spiritual wimp steps off the plane in Nairobi that got on in San Francisco. My friend, Simon Ziegler, who works with international students in Seattle, was asked to go with a group from his church to Togo, West Africa. As they prepared to go, Simon asked if anyone had talked to a person from Togo about what it is like there. “Can we do that?” someone asked. “Yes,” he replied, “just today I talked to a student from Togo.” When the group was being commissioned to leave, they had the student from Tog Read more:Right
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Join our Monthly Support Team 2007-11-15 23:00:00 We have an immediate need to raise our monthly support as OC missionaries. Recently I’ve been calling people to see if any of them might be ready to join our monthly support team. I’ve been encouraged by those who have responded. We are praying for 50 people to decide to give $10 or more each month. Are you with us enough to make that commitment? Here’s what I would ask you to do: Talk about this together as a family…Talk to God and ask Him if He wants to use you to provide toward our monthly support… If God leads you to join our support team, please let us know! You can send monthly checks to: OC International PO Box 36900 Colorado Springs, CO 80919 If you prefer to give through automatic monthly transfers, click this link. Whether you choose to contribute monthly or not, please pray for us—and pray that God will supply our full support. We have raised 62% of what is needed. “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or thi Read more:Monthly
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The Mission Field Called America 2007-11-26 17:21:00 According to Tom Clegg and Warren Bird in their new book Missing in America
… Every day, people must decide what they’ll do with Jesus. In America, researchers have identified over 600 different religions.This very day, among some 300 million Americans… The number of people identified as “nonreligious” or having “no religion” will grow by 10,337The number of Mormons will grow by 1,787The number of Jews will grow by 1,063The number of Muslims will grow by 414The number of Buddhists will grow by 406The number of Hindus will grow by 288The number of Wicca followers (organized witchcraft) will grow by 115 But this very same day as many as... 5,969 Americans will begin to follow Jesus.Eight U.S. churches will close their doors forever.And 10 new churches will open somewhere in America.________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of MISSIONAL – being a missionary everywhere you are!
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere! Read more:Mission
, Field
Alcuin of York: A Missional Charge 2007-12-07 20:00:00 After dinner last night, my friend, Randy Vandermey, shared the following quote. It was a charge given by Alcuin of York (735-804) to monastic novices during the reign of Charlemagne. I believe it is a solid charge to Christians today, especially as we seek to align with the redemptive mission of Jesus in this world. Be an honour to the church, follow Christ's word, clear in thy task and careful in thy speech. Be thine an open hand, a merry heart, Christ in thy mouth, life that all men may know a lover of righteousness and compassion. Let none come to thee and go sad away. Hope of poor men, and solace to the sad, go thou before God's people to God's realm, that he who follows thee may come to the stars. Sow living seeds, words that are quick with life, that faith may be the harvest in men's hearts. In word and in example let thy light shine in the black dark like the morning star. Let not the wealth of the world nor its dominion flatter thee into silence as to truth, nor Read more:Missional
Incarnating the Gospel: Practice Jesus 2008-03-12 00:10:59 What did Jesus
do? Since incarnating the gospel is about being Jesus, believers have to be good followers of Jesus. They have to learn from Jesus. They have to imitate Him. To put it simply, incarnating the gospel is about doing what Jesus did.To learn what Jesus did, you have to make the Gospel
s our primary text (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Alan Hirsch observes that Christians “so easily abandon Jesus. Our religion has become Paulism. We need to get back to Jesus. Jesus will teach about mission more than anyone else.” (Missio Intensive Conference, October 7, 2006)Michael Frost sees that Christians are essentially “a group of people who have oriented their lives around Jesus.” (Missio Intensive Conference, October 7, 2006) Therefore, they must focus on following Jesus. Jesus i Read more:Practice
Lifelong Learning and Blogs 2008-03-10 21:56:58 It's easy to get sucked into the world of blogs. There is so much to read out there--and then you've got people like me posting something every day. If there are a few blogs that you read regularly, I suggest that you use a blog reader. I started using Bloglines and now I've switched to Google Reader. It's really easy to use. Just look for the RSS feed on a blog that has some really good posts and click on it. Then click on "Add to Google Reader." It's really easy to use.You can also subscribe by email. All of my posts have a "Subscribe by Email" link on them. Just click on it and you will be able to receive each new post to my blog as an email the next morning. It's a convenient way to stay current with new posts if you don't want to use Google Reader or visit my blog directly.If you read Read more:Learning
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Show Your Love for the Alien 2008-03-10 01:48:21 Did you know that thousands of the world's refugees are tucked into the suburbs of Los Angeles?Did you know that persecuted Christian in Iran are fleeing to Los Angeles to escape for their lives?These refugees are invited guests of the United States. They live with "anchor" families until they're on their feet. The Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Services at an 80-year old Episcopal Church in Atwater Village runs one of five centers in LA county that assist refugees. Last year, 3, 241 refugees came to Los Angeles, according to an article in today's Daily News (Worlds Refugees Building New Lives in L.A.). Most are Iranian Christians and Jews who fled persecution under President Ahmadinejad's Islamic regime.President Bush determined last year that 70,000 refugees from approved nations co Read more:Alien
Birthday Reflections 2008-03-09 00:52:38 I turned 43 today. Amazing.It's been a good year. It's also been a challenging year.A few days ago I was reading in Deuteronomy in my quiet time.For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing." (Deut 2:7)As I reflected on my birthday this week, I was so grateful for the Lord's continued provision for me and my family. He has blessed us. He has been with us--especially in our transition from serving as pastor of Lake Hills to being a missionary with OC International. In the midst of financial challenges, in a wonderful sense, we have not lacked.--even when it feels like we are wandering in the wilderness right now.The next day I read...O Read more:Birthday
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The Misison: Jesus is Lord 2008-03-07 11:28:58 I was driving up Interstate 5 to northern California one day and I passed a Panera Bread truck. I love good bread - and Panera is good bread. In fact, I've never had anything there that wasn't good. My daughter loves their cinnamon crunch bagels. Their bagels are really good.As I passed by this Panera Bread truck, I read on the side of the truck: "A Loaf of Bread in Every Arm." I thought to myself as I wrote it down, "Now that's a mission!" It's clear. It's memorable. It's measurable. It's inspiring. It's simple, yet comprehensive. I could picture it - everyone carrying a loaf of bread under their arm.This caused me to ponder the mission of the church as I drove.What is our mission?What are we trying to accomplish?What are we devoted to?My wife is on the mailing list for Panera Bread. Toda Read more:Jesus
Lunch with Dave, Steve, Alan and Deb 2008-03-06 11:40:15 A few months ago, I grabbed lunch at BJ's with my friends Alan and Deb Hirsch and Steve
Ogne. We had a great time sharing what God's been doing in our lives and through ministry opportunities that He provides. I wish you could have joined us...We also talked about the church in America and how to adopt missional behaviors to start new churches. Here are a few of the thoughts we discussed:Experiencing Community Alan observed that "America's sense of connectedness is fragmented." It's difficult to really get to know people. The way that most churches meet on Sundays (and even during the week in small groups) does not build community. American Christians are so busy and often centered on family and children's activities that they neglect relationships with others, especially non-Christians. Read more:Lunch
The Harbor: Loving the Last, the Lost, and the Least 2008-03-05 09:40:35 The Harbor
is an amazing church in Ventura, California. It was started several years ago by my friend Milt Davis and recently, Sam Gallucci became their pastor. It's not a big church--but they are having a big impact on people that many churches don't want to embrace.Currently, they're ministering to several women who have young children and are living on the streets. They are intentional in their efforts to go after "Samaritan woman at the well" types. Many of these women have experienced multiple divorces, have young kids, emotional struggles. There are now seven women like that who are coming and they "have stories that blow me away," Sam says. Yet, at The Harbor, they are beginning to experience God's grace.Sam's vision is to keep loving on them, providing food and medical supplies to Read more:Loving
The Challenge of Engaging the Culture 2008-03-04 09:17:42 Engaging the culture around you with the gospel can be a struggle. Deciding that you are a "missionary" right where you live doesn't automatically result in effective engagement with those around you. In an article I read recently, Why People Struggle with Engaging a New Culture, it identified several of these struggles that are faced when adjusting to an international assignment. These responses are certainly relevant when applied to a missional context here in America:"I don't want to." This response may take a variety of forms from "cocooning" in your own home instead of meeting your neighbors, or only spending time with your Christian friends. This may be verbalized directly, or simply observed through busyness with "church" activities."I don't know the culture around me." This lack of Read more:Challenge
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Missional: "Be Baptizers" 2008-03-03 11:17:48 "The Bible doesn't command us to be baptized, but to be baptizers." - Neil Cole, The Organic Church, p 205What are the missional implications of this?________________________________________
Here’s a quick understanding of the word MISSIONAL – "being a missionary everywhere you are!"
It's being Jesus to everyone everywhere!
Read more:Missional
Attractional and/or Missional 2008-03-02 10:35:27 Here are some blog posts this week that address the attractional and/or misisonal discussion.Attractional vs. Missional
Attractional or Missional: Must We Choose?Attractional Ministry: an ongoing investigationThe Circus of Attractional ChurchEvangelism – Missional, Attractional, or Confrontational?I think that the danger is swinging toward Attractionalism and redefining evangelism efforts as "the courage to invite someone to a church service or event."If every Christian aligned with the redemptive mission of Jesus and sought to embody the message and mission of Jesus everywhere, maybe there would be less of an emphasis on trying to bring people to church to meet Jesus. They would have already met Jesus as Christ-followers declare and display the gospel.___________________________________
Missional Evaluation: 12 Questions 2008-03-01 14:29:05 Recently I listened to a message by my friend Dan Harty (Windsor Community Church) where he outlined the mission of their church and included several questions they ask to evaluate what’s important to them as a church. The questions were originally worded to be answered either “yes” or “no.” In an effort to increase the depth of your evaluation process, I’ve re-worded them to be “open-ended” and to focus on behaviors. 12 Questions to Evaluate Missional
Effectiveness 1. How have we demonstrated that we are a gospel-centered church? 2. How have we made sure that we remain true to God’s Word? 3. How have we been active as a praying church? 4. How have we seen people “saved”? How have we multiplied disciples? 5. How have people’s priorities changed in obedien Read more:Evaluation
The Church as an Expeditionary Force 2008-02-29 12:06:32 Dr. Ray Bakke (on left in photo in India last year) describes the church as an expeditionary force in The Urban Christian (1987). He views Christians as ministers to their worlds of relationships. For example, a banker who is a Christian doesn’t simply serve at his church by teaching Sunday School or being on the Finance Committee. Instead, he would “identify a mission within the bank, perhaps running a Bible Study with his colleagues or even planning resources to help build up neglected neighborhoods.” (p 132) Bakke sees several advantages to an urban church which sees itself as an Expeditionary Force
, emphasizing its role to “go” on mission into the city: It legitimizes the call to lay missionIt reaches more widely and follows the urban twenty-four-hour clockIt fulfills the n Read more:Church
The Danger of Attractionalism 2008-02-28 16:01:58 Attractionalism is the belief that creating an appealing church service and programs will attract unbelievers to come to church. I begin here with an important distinction: Attractionalism is not the same thing as being attractive or seeking to attract people to Christ. Some members of “attractional” churches are adopting missional behaviors and practices. However, the majority of members in these churches have abandoned personal responsibility for showing and sharing the truth of the gospel. Instead, they expect the church services and the paid professionals to accomplish the evangelistic ministry of the church. This abdication of personal responsibility to join Jesus in His mission, coupled with churches that design church services to attract unbelievers to church, are significant o Read more:Danger
Further Dangers of Attractionalism 2008-02-28 15:59:01 This is a continuation from yesterday's post: The Danger of AttractionalismAttractionalism is the belief that creating an appealing church service and programs will attract unbelievers to come to church.A second danger of attractionalism is that it misdirects the focus of church gatherings. When the church comes together, the purpose is not primarily to evangelize lost people. Rather, believers gather together to worship Jesus corporately and to be equipped for mission and ministry. It is not about “what the church service does for unbelievers as much as how well the service equips believers to ‘be’ in the world.” (Tim Willard, “Brilliant Irrelevance”) A third danger is that people are attracted and won to the church instead of to Jesus. It’s possible for us to witness to o Read more:Further
A Missional Challenge 2008-02-27 00:48:35 Years ago, I was motivated toward disciplemaking by reading Allen Hadidians’ book Successful Discipling (Moody Press, 1979). He describes how he often challenged those he was discipling with an exhortation to Christian living. They were designed to stimulate greater commitment and faith. Here’s an example of one of his challenges: Allen’s Challenge
Many Christians felt strongly rebuked when Billy Graham first read publicly the following letter, written by an American college student who had been converted to communism in Mexico. The purpose of the letter was to explain to his fiancée why he had to break off their engagement: “We Communists have a high casualty rate. We’re the ones who get shot and hung and lynched and tarred and feathered and jailed and slandered, and ridicul Read more:Missional
Restoration Church of Long Beach 2008-02-26 00:13:28 Desiring to see all people restored to God, self, and others through Jesus Christ.My friend Tim Culling sent me a link today to his church website. They are starting a new church in Long Beach
. You can visit their website here.There is something wrong. Things are not what they ought to be. And though this reality is often ignored, it is beyond obvious. There is a darkness that has so permeated this world that nothing remains untouched. Evil extends it's reach into every social institution, every relationship, and every human heart. And we all know that this is not the way it's supposed to be.There was a time when this wasn't the case. In the beginning, God created human beings to live in fellowship with Him and with each other. They lived face-to-face with their Creator and with one anothe Read more:Church
, Long Beach
Developing a “Birth Plan” to Start New Churches 2008-02-25 01:17:42 My son turned 18 last week. I still remember the excitement we felt on the day he was born. And although he arrived about two weeks early—we were as prepared as we could be for his arrival. In preparation, we attended natural child birth classes at the hospital, we took preparation for parenting classes at our church, and we purchased baby furniture and decorated his bedroom. Several of our friends gave us a baby shower and we received wonderful gifts to help welcome our son into our lives and our home. Less than nine months later, we gave birth to Lake Hills Church. I’ve often thought of the many similarities between my son’s birth and development toward maturity—and the birth of Lake Hills and its growth toward maturity. In preparing for the day of Lake Hills’ birth, we atte Read more:Start
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