Missional as a Humble Renewal Movement

April 3, 2008 | Filed Under missional |

In David Dunbar’s latest issue of Missional Journal he speaks of the Missional Church as a much needed renewal movement; but one that should be characterized by humility and charity. This was a good reminder for me!

This may help you understand part of what attracted me to the missional church. It too is a renewal movement. I see it as a moving of God’s Spirit within the Western church at a very critical time in its history. We find ourselves (most Christians probably agree on this) in a time of decline. Churches in the West are in trouble: internal dissensions, the failure and discouragement of leadership, loss of our youth, widespread negative perceptions of Christians by outsiders, and the death of many congregations. Just the kind of dry-bones situation where the breath of the Spirit often begins to blow. . . .

When missional leaders point out current problems in the church, they often appear to have an arrogant disregard for what God has already done–as if the Holy Spirit has been totally absent for the last century and nothing of eternal significance has really been accomplished! Good people thus feel attacked and undervalued, their contributions unwelcome and unneeded.

I suspect most renewal movements, whether by intention or misunderstanding, have conveyed such messages. To those who have felt attacked, I apologize. The point is not to discredit the sincere and often productive endeavors of the past, but to ask, “How can we be faithful to the gospel in the new cultural situation of the 21st century?” Of course any attempt to answer this question involves evaluation of our current situation and some level of critique of the current state of the church.

Read the rest of the article here.