Mission vs. Membership

Michael Frost speaks of Mission and Membership in the video below and gets at one of the main shortcomings of membership.  By focusing on membership, we focus too small.  We focus on the individual and their "personal" relationship with Jesus.  But, the mission of the church is much larger than this an involves participation in the unfolding of God's reign here on earth.  And, while we can talk about that in general terms, this really happens at a specific level.  It happens in specific places, gets recognized at a local level and gets celebrated there.  So, instead of trying to "fill the pews" we open people up to what the kingdom of God is already doing in our midst.


What does place have to say to the word "missional"? from Parish Collective on Vimeo.

(HT -- Brad Brisco)

"I am a Pastor" -- Quote from Eugene Peterson

Image via WikipediaIn the secularizing times in which I am living, God is not taken seriously. God is peripheral. God is nice (or maybe not so nice) but not at the center. When people want help with their parents or children or emotions, they do not ordinarily see themselves as wanting help with God. But if I am going to stay true to my vocation as a pastor, I can’t let the “market” determine what I do. I will find ways to pray with and for people and teach them to pray, usually quietly and often subversively when they don’t know I am doing it. But I am not going to wait to be asked. I am a pastor. (The Pastor: A Memoir -- p.142)

(HT -- The Internet Monk)

From Missions to Missional -- Quote from Leslie Newbigin

Cover via Amazon“Allen’s charge against modern missions was that they had been tempted by their alliance with colonial powers to act as though the mission of the church could be pursued in the style of a cultural educational campaign, as though the object was to multiply replicas of the sending churches. In contrast Allen rightly saw that in the New Testament portrayal of mission the central reality is the active work of the living Holy Spirit himself. It is the Spirit who brings about conversion, the Spirit who equips those who are called with the gifts needed for all the varied forms of ministry, and the Spirit who guides the church into all the truth. The Spirit is not the property of the sending church or the missionary who is sent. It is not part of the missionary’s duty to mold the new church in to the style of the old. The Spirit is sovereign and free…”

Newbigin, The Open Secret, 130

(H/T -- The Next Reformation)

Ash Wednesday -- An Explanation in Two Minutes

(HT -- One of my Facebook Friends)

Is Your Church Sitting Empty? Is It More Than Offices?

photo © 2004 Dave Gilbert | more info (via: Wylio)



Carlos Whitaker posts:

When I was in the Dominican with Compassion International I saw that the local church was literally the lifeline for the community. 7 days a week. Hustling and bustling. Never empty. Actually. Always FULL.

I thought…”Man. I’m pretty sure most churches back home are ghost downs on a Tuesday at 1pm. Seems like a waste of prime space.”

In what ways can the local church use it’s prime real estate and building to give back to the community 7 days a week rather than 2?

I’m sure some of your churches are a good example.

How can we do this?

Los

This is what we're trying to do and be at Girdwood Chapel.  We're a long way from it.  But I'd love to see our church in this way.  Right now we're barely even offices...with a lot of building sitting empty for a lot of the time.

Discipleship...Is A Journey of "We."

"Jesus-shaped spirituality hears Jesus say "believe and repent," but the call that resonates most closely in the heart of a disciple is "follow me." The command to follow requires that we take a daily journey in the company of other students. It demands that we be lifelong learners and that we commit to constant growth in spiritual maturity. Discipleship is a call to me, but it is a journey of "we."

— Michael Spencer (Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality)

To Change A Culture You Must Change The Conversation

“To change a culture you must change the conversation.” 

Reg McNeal

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 -- A Version By Matthew Paul Turner

Image by joiseyshowaa via Flickr

I thought this version by Matthew Paul Turner of Jesus Needs New PR was beautiful.  (Plus you might enjoy his book, too.)

Seasons exists for all things, good days for every experience under God’s watch.

Days for giving birth and days for resting in peace.

Days for putting seeds in the ground and days for plucking fruit from trees.

Days for slaying dragons and days for restoring hope.

Days for punching holes in walls and days for patching walls with holes.

Days for wiping tears off cheeks and days for laughing your ass off.

Days for mourning what’s been lost and days for celebrating what’s been found.

Days for hiding your feelings and days for putting it all on the table.

Days for holding on and days for walking away.

Days for keeping hope and days for facing truth.

Days for remembering what was and days for forgetting what wasn’t.

Days for ripping apart and days for sewing seams.

Days for speaking your mind and days for shutting your mouth.

Days for making love and days for knowing what to hate.

Days for fighting good fights and days for letting opinions die and rebuilding relationships.

Seasons exists for all things, good days for every experience under God’s watch.

What Is Church?

Image via WikipediaThis is from a beautiful reflection on a new type of church community in Edmonton, Canada.  It's a community called "We Care Marketplace."  While the bit about the community is beautiful...see a video of it below the quote...a love what Ron Cole says about the church over at The Weary Pilgrim.  It is a "missional" understanding.

Again, the question...what is church?

Jesus says in the gospel of John, " I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

In terms of my reflection, and musings on church, Jesus' words haunt me. No matter how I toss and turn, plug my ears, pull the sheets over my head...the confront me. For me, the church has to position itself in the brokenness of humanity, in the margins of our neighborhoods. To understand, to identify with...to be real neighbors...we have to be in relationship with " brokenness." We must allow them to teach us. We must be willing to learn, not just answer spiritual questions. For the church to move into this space, to occupy it and live in it...is real change.

Maybe, the church needs to die, and grasp it like the mustard seed...and have faith it can produce many seeds. I really believe in Jesus words there is radical scandalous redemptive imagination and power. We don't need " big " churches. Really, despite what the world tells us, " big is not always better." We need " lot " of small mustard seed communities, that are planted into the cracked and broken places of our neighborhoods. Change must be a reality in it's life. The reality of sustainability must be an ideal. Most of all, it must live as Jesus did. Also we should never fear death, we are resurrection people.

That's beautiful, is it not?

Here's a video about the community which led to this reflection:

A Husband's Love of HIs Wife (Very Moving Video)

Today is my wife's birthday.  Here in the 20th year of our marriage (our anniversary is coming in December), there is much I could say to express how thankful I am for her.  We've been together since 1986, when she was merely in 10th grade and I was entering my Junior Year of High School.  That's a long time.  I've spent more of my life with her than without her and I look forward to many more birthdays together.

So, just how much can one say, "I love you" and really mean it?  How does one show it?

Over at Challies.com, I found the following video.  It's a story I'd never heard before.  “Although thoroughly enjoying his role as president at Columbia, McQuilkin resigned from his post in 1990 to care for his wife who had been battling Alzheimer’s Disease since the early 1980s.”  What did this mean for Roberston McQuilkin?  Listen to his words and be moved by a husband's love of his wife.



We're healthy right now.  The world is at our fingertips.  But may our love and my devotion to my wife be as beautiful as expressed by McQuilkin.

Happy birthday, Julie.  You're the best gift I've been given.