Missional Church as a Repentance Movement

The missional church has been described as many things. Some see it as a fad. They claim that this is just a temporary over-reaction and that eventually these wayward souls will return to the fold and once again see church "their way." Some claim that it is offensive. They say that those practicing missional church are against the church and are at war with tradition; something that they hold dear. Some make it a means of salvation. They say that church that looks alternative to tradition is more authentic (okay, I don’t know if anyone actually says this, but they seem to think it). After 6 years of pursuing missional church I have seen truth reflected in many of these. But I have come to see missional church as a repentance movement.

Movement from Mission Centered on Growing a Gathering

The traditional form of doing church has been struggling for many decades (maybe centuries) to shake the one troubling characteristic that has plagued it: having a larger mission than their own growth. Some have outright embraced growing their church as synonymous with growing the kingdom (I am looking at you, Rick Warren). This has been turned over and over by eloquent and charismatic speakers to convince us that if the “local church” is growing then the kingdom of God is growing. After all, “isn’t Jesus’ point to grow the Kingdom of God; therefore, invite your friends to church this Sunday.”

The problem is that we walk away feeling sticky. We feel like we have just taken part in some kind of fraud but it is too complex to argue. We don’t really have an alternative. So, we invite our friends (which are probably all Christian) to church this Sunday. Deep down inside we feel that the Kingdom is bigger, that the purposes of Jesus are not for the number of people in a building, that our mission should expand our personal horizons and grow us as more Kingdom minded people. The reality is less compelling. A successful pastor will be the one that adds people to the congregation. Period.

Movement from Collecting Money to Pay for the Building

No one likes to talk about money. Except for the church. People that preach and teach in the church seem to love the topic. Truth is… they don’t. They hate it. They hate asking for money. Pastors feel like they are beggars sometimes. They have a unique burden that many don’t see. They feel the weight of the bills. The lights, water, gas, teaching materials, repairs, landscaping, cleaning supplies, coffee filters… the list is seemingly endless. But two line items are particularly burdensome, salary and building. These weigh immensely.

The pastor’s salary is significant but it is even more burdensome if there are other staff. Then he feels especially responsible for another person. Then there is the rent/mortgage of the building. The truth is simple, for the leaders in the gathering to continue to teach and preach then the building must survive. If the building must survive then money must continue to grow. But our money was never meant for such purposes alone was it? Should it really feel like begging? Is this constant burden and pressure not a danger to the spiritual position and growth of the pastor? Is the mission of God to the poor and needy of this world really second to these practical priorities?

  

Movement Toward the Church Described in the Bible

These are no the description that we find in the Bible of the church; increasing a gathering and giving. The missional movement is attempting to step toward the description of the church that is found in the Bible. Not as an addition to the gathering and giving numbers being a priority, but as a movement to make the care for the poor and broken a priority and building expenses the secondary concern.

In order to do this, there is a need to shed the weight of the building. This doesn’t mean that the building is always gone but that the weight is shed. Some move to homes and gather as smaller communities throughout the city. Some use a business or some other way of sharing the costs of having a building. Not in some temporary way like when planting a church gathering but as a constant way of staving off the costs that demand church “look” a certain way.

This allows for money to be decentralized from a collection called for by the pastor. No longer does he feel the need to “convince” you to pay for the cost of “doing church.” Instead there can be a focus on the real needs of real people and the Spirit has freedom move your heart toward those needs and those lives. This is mission.

Movement Toward Affirming the Mission in Everyday Life

The mission and vision of the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed is not beholden to a certain few or fixed on working a certain way. It is compelled by the Spirit, led by him, moved forward by him, it depends on him. So, every Spirit indwelled person is a part of this mission and vision. So, here it is… Jesus has a mission for you… He has a vision for your life. It does not need filtering through your pastor. It is around you… your everyday life.

Jesus did not make you less than your pastor, or the preacher on television, or the famous (sort of) Christian author that you like to read. He is on mission right now, all around your home, in your workplace or school, in the lives of many people that are in your city. He is working in the lives of those that go to the synagogue, the mosque, those that are atheist. He is moving. Do you see him? Those people that he is calling and reaching are people that you are passing every day. You are on mission.

You are at the ends of the earth. Your driveway, your job, your favorite gas station, or grocery store. Mission is not another country or culture. Mission is the movement of Jesus into the lives of other people. There is no church in Scripture that is not a missional church. It is true that Jesus calls people to go to other countries, and he may call you. If he does, then it will probably be in response to your obedience where you are.

Missional as a Movement of Repentance

So, I don’t see the missional movement as another way of doing church. I see some problems with the way the church has been for centuries and many attempts by many people to repent and change to better fit the mission that Jesus has called us all to in the Scriptures. This repentance comes from outside and inside the traditional church but ultimately leads to one place: an acceptance of the consequences of Jesus’ way of life and his commands.

Jesus' American Dream

"Some who are last will be first, and some who are first will be last."

I cannot tell you how many times these words from Jesus have rung in my ears. They are said with perceived understanding...from teachers...from pastors...from preachers. But are they? Are they understood? These words are preached like Jesus is "flipping over" things. He is upsetting the apple cart. He is making the religious mad because he moves the top to the bottom, and the bottom to the top. But is he? Perhaps, he is doing something much more.

The Center of Society

It is no surprise that Jesus came with certain expectations and theories. He was expected to be someone at the center of society. He was expected to rub elbows with them. He was expected to wear their roles...their robes. The center of society is the rich…the powerful...the political...the religious. They were expecting the Messiah to be one of them. Seriously, they all did. He was going to be a religious, political, powerful, conqueror. 

So much of what I see in the "American Church" is here in these expectations. We plant churches in the suburbs because they are more "sustainable" (by this we mean that we can financially support a bunch of people coming to a big room to hear us talk). We endorse (or defile) political leaders based on how they provide a more favorable position for our filled auditoriums that we call the "church". We go after cars...homes...educations...all that have the same smack of circumstance that is at the center of society. These are the things we pray for. These are the things we expect Jesus to give to his Church.

So, we say that Jesus is "flipping things over." We claim that these that are at the center of society were just not "spiritual enough." They didn't really "believe in Jesus." It was in “their head, but not in their heart.” But what if Jesus is doing something much more practical…much more compelling?

The Margins of Society

The truth is that Jesus came to the margins of society, not the center. He was born on the outskirts…with the outcasts…around the poor…the broken…the unrefined. He didn’t just live in the neighborhood. He was with them…for them…of them. He was one of them.

This was what was so confusing about Messiah for those in the center of society. Not only was he born to these marginal people, he upheld them. He defended their position. This is not “flipping over”; this is a seismic shift!

Jesus teaches that the margins of society are the center of the kingdom.

This is what freaks us out. He flatly never calls us to the suburbs…to the political…to the rich folk. According to his Kingdom, the wealthiest place in your city is actually the most dangerous neighborhood (and vice-versa). More than your life is at stake. Your soul…your heart…your eyes…your ears are all at risk as you drive through the perfectly kept lanes and dream suburban fairy-tales of happily ever-after. Far from desiring these homes…we should fear them… we should run as fast as we can from the simple assertion that we stay a night in one…our stomachs should ache and our skin should crawl.

The poor, the powerless, the broken, and the outcast are more than welcomed into the kingdom. Their lives display the kingdom. Somehow, in this reoriented kingdom, we will find the clearest understanding of Jesus as we touch the untouchable. Then a shift happens. What you spent 1,000 sermons searching for is suddenly right in front of you. All of those mornings hoping God “would show up” suddenly becomes clear that what he said was true; He is “with you always.” Here. In this broken bramble of a neighborhood. This place where few dare to be at night is a doorway to the very King you have been hoping would grab you and grip you like he did the first time you met.

Jesus call us to REORIENTATION

Just like the Rich Young Ruler and Zacchaeus or the Pharisee and the Prostitute. There is an open call from Jesus to “deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow me.” The place we are following him to is to the poor, to preach liberty to the captives, to set free the oppressed.

He calls us to re-center our lives. He openly admits that there are some that are so hard hearted that they could never see the kingdom…never. There are some that see the kingdom and want it but life on the margins is tough…we suffer with those that suffer…so we walk away. There are some that desire the kingdom but they also desire what is at the center of society. Desire for this “world” chokes out a desire for the kingdom like thorns. But there are some that will lay aside their own lives and see the kingdom, desire it, suffer for it, and see fruit come as a result.

The simple truth is that “fruit” is not more people in your auditorium, your classrooms, or your small groups. It is bigger. The sad truth is that you may never see it…feel it…or touch it. You may spend your whole life in these rooms for preaching and teaching yet never once actually see the kingdom. This is because your “church” is reaching for the center of society. You are not being shown what life in the kingdom looks like because your “pastor” has never actually walked with you for one second of your life. He has never guided you toward the kingdom. He has never shown you what life on the margins looks like, feels like.

Deny…Suffer…Follow

The path is still the same as when Jesus walked the earth. He is calling you on a journey. In order to go with him you must deny yourself. Deny your American dream. Deny your white privilege. Deny your identity as an African-American. Deny your “church” programs. Deny your need to preach every Sunday. Accept the call to the consequences of Jesus’ words.

Follow him to the margins.

Stay there.

Love them.

This is the Kingdom.

Book Review: EP Study Commentary on the Book of Acts

I love commentaries. I read them often and I have certain things I look for when choosing one. I don't always look at the author, although that can be a massive factor if I am familiar with the work. I don't always look at the series, although that could still be huge if there is a consistent and useful format. Mainly I look for the problems that are addressed, the readability, and the application of the text.

Recently I have been spending a lot of time in the Book of Acts (since I am church planting) and I came across a commentary on the book and an opportunity to review it, so I jumped.

The EP Study Commentary on the Book of Acts by Guy Prentiss Waters is a readable length (less than 600 pages). It lends itself to being used as you walk through the Book of Acts with a group or just to sit down and read through (which I did). The commentary has great readability and is accessible to pastors, teachers, and serious students. This is not a technical commentary so just about anyone leading or teaching a group of people will find it helpful and useful.

The commentary deals with many problems but not exhaustively. This is by no means a critical commentary. However, Waters has dealt with many of the modern commentaries that I love and trust, both critical and pastoral. Waters also deals with the narrative unity and flow of the Book of Acts. This can be missed by many commentators that deal critically with the text. There is much more to be dealt with than Waters touches, both critically and literarily, but this commentary does a good job if you are reading through or teaching through Acts.

Finally, the application of the text was hit or miss. There were many applications to the "church" as a gathered reality. Waters doubtlessly serves in the church and is applying it to the congregation. But there is a lack of individual application. Since this is not a critical or literary commentary I was looking for more direct application to the reader. Certainly all of the Book of Acts does not lend itself to individual application but it would have been good to see a balance, especially in texts dealing with issues on both sides like the account of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11).

When all is said and done I would recommend this commentary if you are teaching through Acts. It is a bit too expensive ($43 US) for just reading through for my wallet. But it is without a doubt a solid job treating the text and explaining the meaning of key difficulties of the Book of Acts. 

Book Review: The First Time We Saw Him

When I first saw the title and make-up of this book I was intrigued and excited. I have been pursuing the life and teaching of Jesus for a while and I thought that this might offer a new viewpoint or a way that I could share the life and words of Jesus with others differently. At the very least this book held the potential to reconnect with familiar passages in a new way. As far as these are concerned I was not disappointed.

Mikalatos essentially retells the basic story of the Gospels in modern language but also places them in a contemporary setting. He recasts various stories from the Bible and guides the reader through the real emotions that might be present if we encountered Jesus today.

There were many things that I liked about this book. It is easy to read. It does not just tell the stories but Mikalatos interacts with the theology and implications of Jesus on our lives. The book has a fresh and up front way of talking about Jesus and the importance of the interactions told in the Gospels. For the new believer or the person that has grown weary of reading the same passages over and over this may be a good surge to the soul as they see Jesus differently. However, those who are still captivated by Jesus and seek to read in order to obey this book doesn’t really add much value, if any.

This brings me to the things that I did not like about the book. One issue is that the stories were cherry picked. I get that the author was not trying to retell the Bible but it feels like so much was left out. The other thing is that the author tried to harmonize the Gospels. He picked from different Gospel writers without carrying over the unique theological thrust that these stories communicate as they are tied together in a particular way.

All of that being said this is a good book. It may not  be for everybody but it is a well written and certainly creative expression of the life and teaching of Jesus.