Are You Intentionally Missional?
Duluth/Suwanee/Johns Creek CPA: Are You Intentionally Missional?
Most churches (established churches) are seen as doing missions and not being missional.
In today’s church, most of the work is put into the church service and making the members happy and comfortable. The success of the church is based on the seats that are full, the cars in the parking lot on Sunday morning, the membership numbers, the music, the pastor – A pastoral model.
KEY POINT: Pastoral care is important but should be a management role. Leadership should be missional and a church leaders key task should be to prepare God’s people for works of service (equipping)
Most churches are afraid of doing grassroots missions because of large mission organizations and they have to get beyond the pay and pray thought process. I believe that Sugarloaf has embraced that more than many churches simply in not focusing on one or the other but being open to both grassroots and established missions and missions organizations. We have the same problem that other churches run into when it comes to being missional…there will always be those who want to sit in the pew and do their “church” on Sunday.
The author says that changing a church from a pastor to mission centered church is almost impossible and very few have managed to change. It is quite a task and undertaking when you look at the big picture but we have to start – whether it’s baby steps or leaps and bounds. This movement may be the very thing that allows our church to look at “missional” as so much more than going on mission trips or raking a yard. The people within the church have to know that missional is every day, every way, everywhere and we have to equip them with that.
We can no longer be churches where worship is what makes the church and is the organizing function…to be intentionally missional, missions would have to be the organizing function. We have to change the way we “do church” and the way we see “missions/missional”. We have to start looking at everything we do through a different pair of glasses…a missional pair of glasses. Much like the WWJD theme of years ago, everything that we do, say, attempt, desire, plan, organize, pray for, aim for, has to be seen through those missional glasses…”the dominant and priority vision must be to see the Kingdom of God expanded by spreading the gospel and social action.” (Secher 1962).
Knell says that there are 6 characteristics of an intentionally missional church: 1) Vision 2) Decision “If if does not involve mission, we will not do it.” 3) Discipleship 4) Teaching/Learning 5)Worship 6) Community – fellowship is vital because there will be challenges, pressures and attacks We seem to be getting the vision but will have to change the way we make decisions. If we equip through preaching/teaching/learning then we are preparing everyone to see the vision through missional glasses. We have to make missional our way of life, our only way of life and it has to be a part of everything we do…worship included. Not only by doing 1-5 will we build a stronger community, but we will all have the ability to feed and fuel those around us and gain strength from others when we are challenged or attacked. We have to become a network of strength and vision for each other.
Written be one of the Smartest People I Know…My Wife
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