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MISSIOLOGY – GRAB WHAT’S IN YOUR FACE

Eph 4: 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, NIV

So what you do is organize the church according to those 5 ministries and then you have a functioning church. Some people are the ones who go and initiate ministries (apostles), some people challenge us with teaching or obedience (prophets), some people evangelize (evangelists), and some people are the care giver’s nurtures (pastors), and finally some are gifted teachers (teaachers). So find out which of those 5 areas you put a person in and if you do that to your whole church you’ll have a functioning church!

No you won’t – show it to me!

You can’t!

So what is that verse about? We pastors read it – and love those offices and ministries because that’s who we are. So we try to fit everyone into our mold, our calling, our office, and that’s our mistake. We push our gifts and ministries off on everyone else. Our response is a religious response, it is focused on a church organizational response – and the result is we rarely engage society.

Those offices and ministries exist for those in leadership in the church not as an end to themselves but as a way of equipping others to do their ministries in engaging society – read the next verse:

Eph 4: 12 to

prepare God's people for works of service

, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. NIV

Here comes the ball – study the ball – notice the shape and dimensions of the ball - observe the spiraling patterns – notice the speed – map out wind currents and evaluate what the perfect atmostphere is - look at where it’s coming from to understand it’s origins – map out projections of the ball – log all your projections and give lectures on it – get hit in the head with the ball – what careless person threw

The focus then, according to the Bible, (which is important), is for those offices and leaders to prepare people so that they can fulfill their ministries –works of service. Those works of service are to be the stuff of sun-up to sun-down of recognizing God at work, in the family, in relationships – as Rob Bell would say making all of life sacred even sex!

Sadly, we’ve tried to turn everyone into preachers – instead of salt and light. The world will not be won to Christ because we have more preachers – but because the whole body is raised up in it’s daily pattern of living and in those places glorifying God. (That’s in a new book coming out in a few months.) Not because of a worship service – be it building or house – be it seeker or charismatic or exegetical - but because individuals are connected to God and see things through his eyes. I fear we as pastors and leaders perhaps have come to the tomb of Lazarus and with great authority, passion, and power spoke and said, "Loose him and let him sit over there!" We have taken one set of death clothes off of them, only to wrap another set of religious ones around them. If we would release people to their own ministries and services in daily life then discipleship would be a daily response to the voice of God. What would that church look like?!?! The lasting result is unity, maturity, and fulness.

Here comes the ball – focus on it – run towards it – jump up – reach your hands out – grab it! Run baby run.

Or

Not long ago someone wanted to know my "missiology" I told them it was simple, "Just grab what God’s put in front of your face." I was with a group of guys traveling and we started acting stupid and came up with our new slogan and body movements – "Just grab it!" But it’s true. We want to be missional, we study it – desire it. Yet – I don’t know that will get us there. Instead – missional is the way we live.

Anyone who knows me knows I love God and want to see this world transformed. (I think I wrote a book on that!) But, today I awoke in North Richland Hills, Texas. Today – I must be missional right where I’m at. Today – I have to recognize God’s face in every situation and every person. Great opportunities to change the world may come today – but they won’t come from the other side of the world – they’ll come from here. Often people say, "You don’t have to go to the other side of the world to be missional." How right they are – God brings it to us right where we are. We then have the luxury, opportunity – whatever you want to call it – to disobey him right here about over there or over here whatever the case may be. Keep in mind, time and boundaries are not God’s issues like that are ours.

Let me give you steps on how to be missional I learned from a new believer from the Middle-East who became a believer on his own by reading the Bible and literally has only a handful of believers near him – and none of them are Western! These will work for you life – and they will also work for your church.

First, seek God.

Second, obey God.

That’s too easy isn’t it? Where’s the action plan? Where’s the purpose statement? Which values line up? Those two steps encapsulate how people are transforming their spaces. The biggest problem with grabbing what’s in front of our face is that it doesn’t pass through our grid of purpose, values, priorities, goals, and action plans. I live by those things – too much comes my way or I’d go crazy. But I’ve also learned, my plans are not always God’s plans and I’d better have some filter for letting God get through or I can do my action plan and fulfill God’s plan. God’s thoughts and ways are not mine.

I don’t want to write about this too much – It may take too much time writing about it when I should be out and about engaging it! I think we have enough literature – we need more stories. Oh yeah – that’s the big talk now as well – we live in a narrative culture. So – we write and lecture on narrative – but what’s our narrative!?!?

As pastors – we tend to tie people to all this religious work – which costs people their time and energy to really engage with those around them. Let me give you an example – I’ve been taught – and believed it – till recently that my job as a pastor is to get everyone someone in the five-fold ministry.

Why They Start Churches---Through Their Eyes?

Take a minute to read Bob Roberts` latest blog. Fresh on the heels of his recent trip to Vietnam, Bob stirs the pot once again. www.glocaltrekker.blogspot.com. The comment button is on!

Through Their Eyes

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Why They Start Churches--Through Their Eyes

Often when I speak at conferences or at gatherings of church planters, I’ll hear someone say they wanted to start a church because they wanted to reach seekers--that’s good. I’ll hear them say they wanted to be a part of something fresh and new and more culturally relevant--that’s good. Those that are theologically adept (like me!) will say they want to start churches to glorify God. The big thing now is we wanted to start something missional. Obviously, to me, that’s very good. But I’ve NEVER heard that in Vietnam or other countries where the Gospel is exploding--sometimes under difficult situations.

There are no talks, lectures, research, explanations or steps on what is "missional" and how to be more "missional" from the emerging church in the East--it’s just what and who they are. If you called them that, they wouldn’t know what you’re talking about. It’s fascinating. We’re dissecting the word and concepts, forming lectures and teachings on what it is, mapping out plans on how to be "missional," and most of us have never even experienced it. It’s the rage right now. We have built a whole religious industry around it--primarily for young pastors. I was like the frog in the kettle recently in that my speaking schedule began to get too full and cramped my "involvement" schedule with how I’m actually on the ground here and working around the world. I had to choose to "speak" missional or "do" missional! At best, in the West, we’ve tried to implement a few things or activities that would be seen as "missional." Yet, those who are experiencing it don’t realize it, can’t explain it--but are it! Neither could they give a lecture on it. This humbles me tremendously, as a Westerner, and makes me think maybe we are too confident in our ignorance and lack of production with regard to movements and, perhaps, even following Jesus.

This may be the biggest difference of how we intentionally start churches in the West and how they unintentionally start movements in the East that explode like wild fire. However, we’re all "talking" starting movements here in the West (Neil Cole would be the only one I would say who may even come close to that at this point). They don’t talk movements--they don’t know what they are. Movements just happen. I really believe it has to do with the disciple they create. You’ve heard me tell many stories. There are other stories I would love to tell but can’t for now. But, this is my observation from watching it up close the past few years. The differences in the philosophy, the focus, the expected results, the motive, are all reversed! Their philosophy is based more on discipleship where people know who Christ is and follow it together--never expecting big results. In the West, we fund, plan, and strategize our focus on starting something that grows into a movement from a single church, be it big or small, and often we get the growing church—yet, not the movement. On the other hand, sometimes but not often, they will get a growing church like in the West or South Korea, but they do get the movement.

What can we learn from them? Or should we? We’re all talking movement language because we’ve seen it "over there" and want it "here." Yet, we’ve industrialized it. Can movements be industrialized? What motive for planting a church would be one that God would honor here--beyond converting some different kinds of people? What would it look like for us here in the U.S. to learn from the church in Vietnam, China, or Tehran?

We Wuz Had

Please pass the salt...this crow needs a little something to make it more tasty. Here's the deal--the previous post (Freeloaders)--was a bogus story. It comes from a satirical site. We should have done our homework a little better on it. For that...sorry. However...still...The story makes a pretty good point don't you think?

"Free-Loaders" Not Welcome

Okay...what do you think about this article?

    WINSTON-SALEM — Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to "participate in the life of the church" — or worship elsewhere.
    "They basically called us freeloaders," says Julie.
    "We were freeloaders," says Bob.
    In a trend that may signal rough times for wallflower Christians, bellwether mega-church Faith Community of Winston-Salem has asked "non-participating members" to stop attending.
    "No more Mr. Nice Church," says the executive pastor, newly hired from Cingular Wireless. "Bigger is not always better. Providing free services indefinitely to complacent Christians is not our mission."
    "Freeloading" Christians were straining the church's nursery and facility resources and harming the church's ability to reach the lost, says the pastor.
    "When your bottom line is saving souls, you get impatient with people who interfere with that goal," he says.
    Faith Community sent polite but firm letters to families who attend church services and "freebie events" but never volunteer, never tithe and do not belong to a small group or other ministry. The church estimates that of its 8,000 regular attendees, only half have volunteered in the past 3 years, and a third have never given to the church.
    "Before now, we made people feel comfortable and welcome, and tried to coax them to give a little something in return," says a staff member. "That's changed. We're done being the community nanny."
    Surprisingly, the move to dis-invite people has drawn positive response from men in the community who like the idea of an in-your-face church.
    "I thought, 'A church that doesn't allow wussies — that rocks,'" says Bob Clark, who admires the church more since they told him to get lost.
    He and Julie are now tithing and volunteering. "We've taken our place in church life," he says. •

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Author Ryan Bolger on Emerging Churches

This is a 25 minute interview with my friend, Ryan Bolger, Assistant Professor of Church in Contemporary Culture at Fuller Seminary. Listen and share your comments.Download emerg_podcast_01_ryan_bolger_64kb1.mp3

Ryan recently coauthored the book Emerging Churches with Eddie Gibbs