Miguel Labrador's Blog, page 18

Has “Missional” Become a Self Congratulatory Word?

I happen to like the word “Missional.”  It’s a great adjective describing the sent-ness of God and His people, or the sending language of scripture.  As early as 1934, Karl Hartenstein, a German missiologist, used this concept communicate that mission is driven by the very nature and character of God.  

According to Lesslie Newbigin and Jesus’ statements in the Gospel according to John, every Christian has been sent by Jesus with the gospel together in community to those in the surrounding culture for the sake of the King and His kingdom: “The Church is sent into the world to continue that which he came to do, in the power of the same Spirit, reconciling people to God.” Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you”  (John 17:18) (John 20:21).

Though the word “missional” has become a clay word and has likewise been co-opted by all sorts, it still drives what I think are critically important conversations and questions centered around the mission of God. 

Recently is a discussion about the word missional and its viable application in forming church, a friend said that it is a self-congratulatory word.  That struck me.

In my desire to be “missional” I’ve always had to guard against wanting to be part of what is gaining approval by the mainstream. Those missional folk, after all, tend to be very hip and trendy.  Being missional can become a destination disease where we pat ourselves on the proverbial back when we’ve arrived.  So, as difficult as it may be, I think it might be time to check our motives in missional mania and decide if we’re just on a trajectory of self-congratulation.  

I think this would apply to my “organic” friends too.  Striving to be organic (total participatory, non-hierchacal, smaller, mobile, relational, non-institutional, and often more spontaneous,) can serve to board up our missio-boxes rather than being a spring-board for mission.  It’s tragic when open ended Kingdom processes become closed self approving systems. 

A couple of years ago I coined the term “Missiorganic,” melding the best of Missional & Organic thinking.  I’m still trying to find my way through.  I hope that never happens.  I don’t want to pat myself on the back for attaining an artificial construct.  With these things in mind, I have one question:

Has the word “Missional” become self-congratulatory word?  

 
CommentsGreat insight and warning. by KyleRelated StoriesRevival or Outburst?Bread Machine DiscipleshipThe Poor You Will Always Have With You… (Mt 26:11)

A Question for Short-Term Missions Team Leaders…

Having hosted Short-Term Missions Teams and having been members of the same, I have a question for the Short-Term Missions Team Leaders:

Would you say the following is an accurate statement?

“You are the leader of your team.

 You are not the leader of the mission itself.  

You, as a leader, must defer to the leadership on the ground.”  

If you disagree with that statement, then why? 

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Bread Machine Discipleship

I recently ran across something I would consider an absolutely ingenious ministry idea.  I hesitate in calling it a “ministry” because certainly, someone out there will turn it into a methodology or a program and empty it of its power.  But, I found a guy who buys used bread machines from local second-hand stores, cleans them up, and waits for the Lord to tell him who to give them to.

In the course of his daily life, Jim will talk with people and engage them.  The poor, the depressed, and the spiritual seeker, are just a few of the types who make eligible receivers of bread machines.  Jim will identify a need in a person and then ask them if it would be ok to come over give them a bread machine and then show them how to use it.  The ingredients for the first few batches of dough are part of the gift and the bread baking begins.

They are taught to bake bread as Jim demonstrates, but thats not all.  Once all the ingredients are put into the machine, there’s nothing left to do except wait and talk, pray, or counsel with people.  As Jim puts it, when the smell of fresh-baked bread fills the house it opens the mouths and hearts of the people within.  The fragrance of fresh bread leads to the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15).  Jim uses this simple idea to make disciples of Jesus.

That’s being missional!  What a simple and effective way of inserting the gospel into an environment that is without it.  

I’m curious…

What innovative and non-threatening ways do you have of reaching in to other’s lives?  

 
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The Half-Life of an Evangelism Gadget or Method

Half-life (t½) is the time required for a quantity to fall to half its value as measured at the beginning of the time period.  When it comes to evangelism gadgetry or methodology, it suffers the same exponential decay.  I’ve seen all the gadgets and all the methods.  I’ve seen them used and abused.  I’ve seen the initial wow effect and the minimal long-term impact. 

I do understand the need for confidence in proclaiming the gospel.  I also understand the need to have a system in place to prevent the gospel stutter.  The problem comes when those we’re trying to transmit the gospel to, unwind our presentation.  We’re often left looking weak and worse ignorant of the good news itself.  Not only is the gospel emptied of its power, but the very tools or methods we use as a delivery system also suffer impact decay.  

So, if this theory of mine holds true, what can we do to prevent an incorrect, incomplete, and inept gospel message? 

 
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Create a Contrast Culture in Your Church? How About “As” the Church…

 

Just read an article passed on by a friend entitled “Create a Contrast Culture in Your Church.”  Harmless enough, right?  Within the article were these 12 points on “Ways to Cultivate Such a Culture.”

1. Train and equip one another for being Christians. 

2. Center the church’s weekly gathering around the gospel. 

3. Preach all of Scripture. 

4. Apply sermons and small group lessons corporately. 

5. Encourage church members to build their lives into one another’s. 

6. De-clutter the church calendar. 

7. Provide tools for evangelism and discipleship.

8. Pray together about evangelism and good works. 

9. Highlight the saints by practicing church membership and fencing the table. 

10. Practice church discipline. 

11. Live near the church. 

12. Commit for the long-term. 

I know some of you are already chomping at the bit, but make sure you read the whole article in its context before going any further.  

Now that you’re back, Permit me to rewrite the title and the 12 points:

Create a Kingdom Culture as the Church.

1. Teach them to obey all that Christ commanded by walking with them as you follow Him.

Teaching someone to be Christian sounds, so… how shall we say it… WRONG!  I can remember asking a team of missionaries what their purpose was on their next upcoming mission trip and they responded, “we’ve evangelized them, and now we’re going to go back and teach them how to be good christians.”  Ack!  

2.  Center your life around the Gospel.

Putting all of your gospel eggs into the week end meeting is tantamount to servants burying the money so as not to anger the business man when he returns. Matthew 25:14-30  Living the Gospel, loving the Gospel, and planting yourself in community with the gospel doesn’t require centering a “meeting” around the gospel.  That kind of thinking insinuates that outside of the meeting, the gospel doesn’t have to be center.

3.  Proclaim the entirety of scripture.

I have little disagreement with this point as such, but the manner in which scripture is delivered from behind a pulpit without  open participatory engagement serves better to lecture about the gospel rather than to preach and demonstrate it.

4.  Limit sermons and lessons.

First of all, there are no sermons in the scripture as we commonly know them today.  Again the presupposition is that these sermons and lessons can only happen from within hallowed walls.  The gospel must be set free from this constricting environment.  Preach!  Yes!  But, do it less from “the front” and more from within and among the people who you’re trying to show this Kingdom culture.

5.  Encourage life in community as the church.

Be the church in your community and the gathering will happen naturally.  I know this to be true.  Become intricate and engaged in your immediate surroundings.  Evangelism (relaying the gospel message) doesn’t happen by inviting people to your church.  It happens by inviting others to follow Christ as you are hopefully already doing.

6.  De-clutter the church.

You can minimize your schedule, but the system chugs along.  We must de-clutter our church systems and the calendar will take care of itself. 

7.  Be the tools for evangelism in discipleship.

Read that again.  Anyone can provide tools for evangelism and discipleship.  Just go to the nearest christian book store and weigh the materials (tools) there.  People gifts (Ephesians 4:11,12,13) were given to equip the church and to bring unity.  You are the tools! :-p  Be them. 

8.  Pray always and without ceasing.  

If you’re praying without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, and others are doing likewise, then all we have to do is pray together when we come together.  Isn’t “prayer meeting” somewhat artificial? 

9.  Highlight Christ.

Church membership?  A discussion for another time.  How about bearing one another’s burdens, esteeming others higher than yourself, blessing those that curse you, and praying for those that spitefully use you?  You don’t need a building to do any of those things, do you? 

10.  Practice Church Discipling 

Disciples of Christ are made in community and by community.  Individual discipleship can and should happen within corporate structures (not buildings) but each of us has something to offer to others.  Instead of looking for moments to separate one from another, we should dwell more on opportunities for inclusion while maintaining orthodoxy. 

11. Live near one another.

Proximity and community are crucial to gospel furtherance.  Authenticity is demonstrated up close and personal.  Plant yourself with the gospel in a central location and then move outward towards Samaria and the utter most parts of the world.

12.  Commit for the Lord’s term.

There is always someone who wants to tell you that you are or have been in a lace too long or too short.  Be open, available, and ready to go wherever and whenever the Lord directs.

All of these revisions are somewhat reactionary.  Forgive me.  I don’t want to be one of those who complains about how you gather.  I am very concerned about any form of church or church functions that impedes the gospel.  One of the ways the church does that is by trying to create culture in church rather than as the church.  

 
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Revival or Outburst?

It always makes me smile when I hear someone say “we’re going to have a revival.”  I think it’s presumptuous, but I understand what they’re saying.  Clothe it in whatever other words you’d like, “break-through,” but to me it almost means “we’re going to create a lot of short-term excitement with little long-term impact.”  ”We’re going to satiate an emotional longing without an encouraging and equipping effect.”

These are more like outbursts than revivals.  In every revival, I look for the long-term ripples.  I’m often disappointed.  When “God has shown up,” it seems like the people shut down.  A real revival is contagious and like a good virus, it goes on contaminating for the Kingdom.  The original splash kicks off a continuing movement of concentric ripples.  

Otherwise these revivals are just bratty kid outbursts or temper tantrums to get we what we want without paying the price.  How often do revivals have an entitlement attitude?  The emotional satisfaction is like a welfare check.  They only meet the needs of the moment and serve to keep you waiting until the next one.

Forgive my rant.  But, I do have one question for you:

What, in your view, constitutes a real revival?  What is the stuff it’s made of?  

 
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The Poor You Will Always Have With You… (Mt 26:11)

Guest Post from my wife today:

I tend to swim around in my mind and heart a good bit in Christ’s teachings on the matter of poverty. In the Gospel of Matthew, we can find that Jesus has much to say about it. At times his teachings may even have seemed contradictory to some or many. Obviously in one regard, he taught of physical poverty, the lack of means and such. And on another front, Jesus seemed to be addressing pride and spiritual poverty. But there is no contradiction really. Can one be addressed without touching upon the other? Truly?! I think not, and maybe that’s exactly why Jesus proposed both ideas together in his teachings.

This is an issue that is really near and dear to my heart, as the past 7 years of my life have whole-heartedly been focused a great deal on serving those in poverty. I think it’s good for “the Church”, (people of faith) to consider that Jesus’ teachings on poverty were TO THE yet to be born CHURCH, (to people of faith who were following his instruction as he led them around). He wasn’t speaking to Caesar (government rulers) about poverty. In some cases there were likely people of faith in the crowds Jesus was speaking to who were poor themselves. So, hmmmm??? What could that possibly mean for them?! My understanding is that the Church, people of faith who should be viewing each other as one corporate body under Christ, (no matter how skewed humanity has become that it would dissect doctrines and break out into sub groups called sects and denominations), and should be looking to “serve” one another, and also serving those outside of faith with what they have been given—because the premise in Christ is that all good things come from God anyway, including provision. Christ shared a “share and share alike mentality”, which I believe meant that according to what we are given, IF we are like-minded and hearted to him, we will not hoard those things for ourselves, but rather would share especially with those in need. I wonder sometimes if he said we will always have the poor among us was like some kind of test to see if we would be giving and obedient to remaining generous even if we knew it would never seem to be enough. I wonder sometimes why many believers would look to Caesar, (the government) to do their share of taking care of the poor? Then when the government moves to take a larger slice, we see it as some kind of secular, governmental power play or abuse that we should be made to pay more taxes for social programs that would help the poor. In this we often cannot clearly see the hypocrisy. But those who don’t share in the faith can. They see the church eating the fatted calf, taking the best cuts, wearing the finest garments, living in the biggest mansions/houses, having want for nothing, while at the same time extending its hand to drop a few coins into the cup of the poor man sitting in front of the church gates that won’t allow him in, because well…..he isn’t dressed right, for starters.

I can tend to be a little harsh on my view of what the church as a whole offers to serving the poor, primarily because I have been living in the barrel of poverty for the past 7 years, serving those in poverty, while watching the larger portion of the church turn away and cross the street to avoid the discomfort of confrontation. What confrontation would that be? Well, it would be the very Spirit of God that convicts the heart of one who has much. Maybe there’s a fear that God might ask too much of me? After all, I worked hard to earn my money. It’s mine! And there’s the rub when it comes to the teachings of Christ, those who claim to follow and serve him, but their actions just don’t jive. So…maybe, just maybe THAT is why Christ said we would always have the poor with us. Maybe it has more to do with our own unwillingness to give up our riches to truly be a disciple of Christ and serve the poor. Not everything Jesus said was in a literal sense, but as parable. Perhaps in the statement about the poor, he gave a prophesy about His Church that was a little of both, literal and parable. It certainly is something worth chewing on if one is at all serious about integrating Christ’s teachings into their life.

One of the most humbling things I have ever witnessed in all of my past 7 years in poor, rural Ecuador is how those who are poor in worldly fashion but rich in Spirit serve others with the very little they have. I’m talking about people who live in one room shanties with barely a window or door opening, with floorboards that the wood is so separated, it can’t keep the rats out. Those who eat rice and eggs from chickens that might be running around, but will sit a visitor to their home at their table and feed him or her chicken cooked from one of their hens that they depend on for eggs to feed their family.

Another extremely humbling testimony was born when my husband and I became displaced, made instantly homeless. We made a couple of quick calls to a community leader we had worked with who lived about 40 minutes from where we were living at the time. In rural Ecuador 40 minutes away can seem like hours of driving. But the next thing we knew, half of the poor community we had been serving for the 3 years prior pulled up into our drive, helped us load up all of our ministry tools and personal belongings in an oversized farm truck, and took us away from there within 3 hours. They put us in a cabin by a beautiful river and told us to rest our betrayed and broken hearts for a time in the tranquility there. Didn’t charge us a dime for the cabin or for the truck, or anything! They even fed us! A couple of days later, 2 of the men came back to us and took us around to talk to a few area men who had rental houses, to help us find a new home. We were offered a rental home for a very good price, because the owner was impressed with the good we were doing in the community. (A Divine appointment, I think!) We moved in a few weeks later, after his crew was finished with renovations that had already been in progress. We’ve been in that home now for almost 4 years. The things that blew me away even more than the betrayal that befell us which caused us to lose our previous home was that here were these people who we had only seen as poor, who needed our help all that time ago….and those very same people came to our aid when we were in distress. These people became our family here. They literally rescued us. That’s actually very humbling, even looking back on it now! So, I believe Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he was speaking of serving the poor and speaking those words among even some of the poor in his day. I believe it is the heart of Jesus that we would reach out to help and serve the poor in any and every way we have means to. My own life experience has humbly taught me that, but not without some intervention by the Holy Spirit to ensure I understand what it is He is trying to teach me on the matter. We never know just how much our acts to love and serve the poor will empower them to pay it forward when they recognize a call to help another. Maybe THAT is truly a hint of what we’re supposed to be learning; a true picture of “discipleship”.

We as a church, as one Body in Christ are pretty selective about which teachings of the Christ we want to adopt. Poverty, feeding the poor is one of those things that will always stare us in the face and confront us with the very depravity within us who call ourselves saved and redeemed. And perhaps this is why we as a church should be the very first to address the plank in our own eye before we point out the splinter in another’s. Perhaps this is why most of all the Church needs a redeeming Savior every single day, and not just in a moment of conversion. I think Christ is calling us to stop “doing church” and start BEING The Church. Endless poverty is merely one significant manner in which He is trying to get us to truly come to His Table and “see”.

Claudia is not a missionary’s wife.  She is a missionary in her own right.  Together we stumble around doing our best to serve people for God’s glory.

 
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Are You a Red-Headed or Black-Headed Church Vulture?

On a long bus ride, I had the pleasure of riding next to a friend who is a bird guide.  We talked of many things, but one in particular set my mind to thinking.  There are many species of vultures here in Ecuador.  Our conversation centered on two of those species.

The first is the Red-Headed Vulture.  Apparently this vulture doesn’t like to hang out in populated areas.  It is a solitary creature that is ever in search of something that is dying or that has already died.  The Red-Headed Vulture has poorer vision than the Black Headed Vulture.

The second is the Black-Headed Vulture.  The Black-Headed Vulture doesn’t care if an area is populated or not.  It hangs out wherever it wants.  Because the Black-Headed Vulture covers a wider area, there is generally less to eat and much more competition.  The Black-Headed Vulture has excellent vision and can see long distances.

The Black-Headed Vultures have learned that when they see a Red-Headed Vulture in the distance putting its attention towards the ground and beginning t descend that there is potential prey nearby.  The Black-Headed Vultures follow the Red-Headed ones and compete for the meal.

Now, I’m not saying that anyone should be a Vulture within the body of Christ, but unfortunately I’ve seen this behavior in the church.

What lessons would you draw from this analogy? 

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You’ve Been Duped! Ekklesia Does Not Mean “Called Out Ones.”

In a recent article called 7 Ways to do a Bad word Study,” the author lays out 7 bad ways of doing word studies from the Bible and making faulty conclusions.  The article reminded me of D.A. Carson’s book Exegetical Fallacies, chapter 1.  In this article, Regarding point number 1, he states: 

You’ve heard this: “The word ekklesia is a Greek word for the church that literally means, “called out ones””. Technically, this isn’t true. While combining the two root words (“called out from”) does indeed create something like “called out ones”, the truth is, the word ekklesia is never used that way in the New Testament or its contemporaries. In fact, ekklesia was used to refer to a group of philosophers, mathematicians, or any other kind of assembly in the Greco-Roman world. So unless we’re supposing that actors and gladiators were called to a holy lifestyle by assembling together, we can’t create a relationship between holiness and ekklesia necessarily. While it’s true that the church is composed of “called out” ones – that’s not the particular point of this word. It just means “assembly” or “gathering.”

While focusing on a good issue, namely fallacies regarding the roots of biblical words, I think he makes too many assumptions regarding ekklesia.  What about you? 

Can you justify “Ekklesia” as meaning anything other than “gathering” or “assembly?”  

Does it matter? 

 
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Because Elders Need More Time In Word & Prayer

“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them, and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”  Acts 6:1-4

In less than 24 hours I’ve heard the claim that Elders in the Church need more time to do elder stuff.  In other words, elders need to be freed up by others picking up the slack so that they can spend more time “in prayer and in the word.”  

Secondly, because these elders are spending more time in the word and prayer, they are further along, more sanctified, more mature, and “better” christians than non-elders.  So, of course it’s rightful that they take authority over non-elders.  

I’m not sure if you would agree with either of the above propositions, but I wanted to ask you a few questions:

1.  Can we apply Acts 6:1-6 and the creation of deacons to justify our duty to find ways of freeing up the time for elders? 

2.  Can we equate the Apostles with New Testament Elders?

3.  Are Elders supposed to be at a higher level, spiritually speaking, than the rest of the flock? 

 
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