When the Missional Church Gathers
May 13, 2008 | Filed Under church, missional |
The purpose of the formation of these communities, initiated by Jesus with his disciples and continued by the apostles, was not to create enclaves of the pure and the righteous who lived in legalistically defined isolation from their polluted environments. These communities were to demonstrate before the world the nature of the love and healing that God had made real for all in Christ in the way that they lived and related.
Their work, beginning with how they earned their bread, to how their families lived, to the character of their called communities, to their interactions with their neighbors, was defined as their witness. It seems to me to be clear that the necessary outcome of the basic assumptions and insights of the current missional church discussion must be a strong focus upon the work of witness, which means, I believe, that the lay apostolate merits our full attention. As we see more and more evidence of the “end of Christendom,” especially in our public and cultural life, the issues of ministry in daily life become more urgent.
The constant question of the earnest Christian in the workplace is, “How shall we then witness?” The answers are by no means easy. To assume that North American society is still, in its core, Christian, is both dangerous and illusory. But the response is not to retreat to “fortress ecclesia.” Rather, it is to take the fundamentally missional character of the gathered church so seriously that we begin to ask, “How shall we prepare one another for our work as witness when we are gathered for worship, nurture, and fellowship?”
Darrell Guder from “Worthy Living: Work and Witness from the Perspective of Missional Church Theology” in Word & World, Fall 2005
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Brad,
Good question. I hope that part of the gatherings I am part of will actually include doing mission-related tasks together. I think that serving others together is one of the best ways to accomplish worship, nurture, and fellowship.
great thoughts, and definitely the right question to keep us moving while experiencing deep community.
one aspect would definitely be the sharing of stories and celebrating…
another, I think would simply be reminding one another that it is the Spirit of God that goes ahead of us… regardless of us being missional/intentional… there will be plenty of failures and obstacles.. but as the church, we really need to remind one another that it’s Jesus we follow when we gather and as we scatter…
Jeremy, yes I agree. Part of what we need to rethink is the time we actually “gather.” Instead of always thinking of the gathered time being that which happens when we gather for ourselves, we need to see that we can gather as we witness collectively in mission and at the same time experience worship and fellowship.
Lon, thanks for your comments. Yes, yes and yes to sharing stories. I don’t think we can over estimate the power of story. I also agree we need to be reminded that this is a spiritual enterprise.
In answer to this question “How shall we prepare one another for our work as witnesses…” we decided to give 3-4 different people $100 at each of our weekly gatherings. We then laid hands on them and “sent” them out. Their assignment was to listen to the Father and participate with Him as “agents of redemption.” The following week they would come back and share the stories of how they were able to bring life, hope, love and redemption to our world. It has been amazing. We have laughed, prayed and cried more than ever before. We are in our 5th week.
Jamie, I love your terminology … “agents of redemption.” That is a great practice, thanks for sharing.
Your question is a good one and one that can’t be answered adequately in this little comment. In reading NT Wright’s Surprised by Joy, recently, he described sin as dehumanizing behavior. I think that perspective is helpful and offers a challenge. First, that we ourselves would engage in a more human existence (the type we have been created for). Secondly, that we actively help others re-humanize. I realize that my answer is stuck in the theoretical realm, but it helped me in picturing things a little differently.