Showing posts with label Missions. Show all posts

A Video From Today's Worship For Our Advent Conspiracy

Loved this video.  I think it illustrates quite well the paradigm shift many churches, denominations, and individuals are talking about.  It's looking at a more missional understanding of church. It's a little "American-centric" at the end...but if we overlook that I think it's helpful.

Enjoy.

A pic from one of the bathrooms I cleaned during "Church Is A Verb" Sunday.

We had worship at 9 AM, then followed it with a "sending out" at 10 AM.  We were engaged in several "verb-like" activities.

• A "Bathroom Brigade" went out with cleaning buckets to clean bathrooms in area businesses, just because we love them.
• Children, with adult leaders, were unleashed on Forest Fair Park and the playground to collect garbage...and were rewarded with an unscheduled trip to the Ice Cream Shop.
• Our "Cookie Flingers" went out into the community with about 130 bags of homemade cookies with notes inside saying "Just a simple way to share the love."  This is something we do several times a year.
• We had persons working on a mosaic on a planter along Alyeska Highway.
• We had food being collected for our Food Pantry at the Crow Creek Mercantile and we had food being distributed at the Chapel.
• Back at the church, several persons stayed behind and textured the walls of the Narthex to get them ready for primer this week.
• We had a small change in schedule as we had originally hoped to be cutting wood for a local person in need.  That, however, will have to wait.

Overall, it was an awesome day.  What a blessing it is to go out in the community and just "love" it in acts of service.

See pics below.

Cover via Amazon“Allen’s charge against modern missions was that they had been tempted by their alliance with colonial powers to act as though the mission of the church could be pursued in the style of a cultural educational campaign, as though the object was to multiply replicas of the sending churches. In contrast Allen rightly saw that in the New Testament portrayal of mission the central reality is the active work of the living Holy Spirit himself. It is the Spirit who brings about conversion, the Spirit who equips those who are called with the gifts needed for all the varied forms of ministry, and the Spirit who guides the church into all the truth. The Spirit is not the property of the sending church or the missionary who is sent. It is not part of the missionary’s duty to mold the new church in to the style of the old. The Spirit is sovereign and free…”

Newbigin, The Open Secret, 130

(H/T -- The Next Reformation)

Image via WikipediaThis is from a beautiful reflection on a new type of church community in Edmonton, Canada.  It's a community called "We Care Marketplace."  While the bit about the community is beautiful...see a video of it below the quote...a love what Ron Cole says about the church over at The Weary Pilgrim.  It is a "missional" understanding.

Again, the question...what is church?

Jesus says in the gospel of John, " I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

In terms of my reflection, and musings on church, Jesus' words haunt me. No matter how I toss and turn, plug my ears, pull the sheets over my head...the confront me. For me, the church has to position itself in the brokenness of humanity, in the margins of our neighborhoods. To understand, to identify with...to be real neighbors...we have to be in relationship with " brokenness." We must allow them to teach us. We must be willing to learn, not just answer spiritual questions. For the church to move into this space, to occupy it and live in it...is real change.

Maybe, the church needs to die, and grasp it like the mustard seed...and have faith it can produce many seeds. I really believe in Jesus words there is radical scandalous redemptive imagination and power. We don't need " big " churches. Really, despite what the world tells us, " big is not always better." We need " lot " of small mustard seed communities, that are planted into the cracked and broken places of our neighborhoods. Change must be a reality in it's life. The reality of sustainability must be an ideal. Most of all, it must live as Jesus did. Also we should never fear death, we are resurrection people.

That's beautiful, is it not?

Here's a video about the community which led to this reflection:

Image via WikipediaLast week I sent the following e-mail out to the congregation.   I sent it with some fear and trembling, recognizing that I was asking a lot when we're having some economic difficulties (to say the least).  But I sent it out believing that it was a faithful response a need from the community -- that I really can't say too much about.

Here it is:

Friends,

We have a need in our community that has come to light just recently.  This is a financial need in the amount of $1,300.  In order to protect the privacy of those involved I cannot reveal much more than this.  I know that my vagueness might make it difficult to get behind this request.  I understand this.  However, I hope that my 11 years here has built up some trust and you understand that I wouldn't ask the people of our church to get behind a local mission need if I didn't believe that it was the right thing for us to do as we try to faithfully witness to Christ in this place.  This is so particularly in light of the financial realities we have as we live into our new facility,

I have been in dialogue with __________ and _________ (two of our financial leaders) along with some of my clergy colleagues in Anchorage.  We have talked about how to best meet this pressing need while allowing the greatest chance of resolution of the current problem by maintaining the anonymity of those involved.  We also talked about how best to phrase this very email, recognizing that it was a difficult thing to do.  Please know that, beyond the financial component, other steps are being taken to help.

This is a leap of faith...faith in my judgment and faith that God can use our collective gifts to help bring healing to a troubling situation.  The identities of those being helped may or may not be revealed at some point in the future.  It will be up to them.  This is hard.  But, perhaps, as we try to pay off debt, as we make improvements to the building as required, as we look at heating bills and lighting bills, etc....perhaps this is a way for us to really BE the church.

If you can help in any amount, your gift will be well-used.  It will be used to help a very local mission situation.

Thank you.

We'll take up a special offering this week.  Please pray about how you can help meet this very real need.

Remember our mission:  "Love God.  Love others.  Change the world."

Peace,

Jim

Well, on Sunday, I made the appeal again recognizing that it was asking a lot of the congregation.  I know persons are more inclined to give when they "know" where the money is going.  I know it helps to see the faces and hear the stories to make it personal.  But it couldn't happen this time around.

And the congregation responded very well.  I asked for $1,300.  $2,150 was given.  And the persons to whom the money will go are relieved...for now.  There are other issues at hand and we're trying to hook them up with the resources they need.  And, hopefully, we can start to meet some of the immediate needs in the day-to-day running of the church (e.g. light bill, mortgage, construction bills still needing to be paid).

But this was a time "for the church to be the church" giving because it is good to give.

It was a good thing.

It was a God thing.

A post from over at Indexed.

photo © 2003 Dave Gilbert | more info (via: Wylio)
Ernest Goodman at Missions Misunderstood recently wrote:

There are too many ‘experts’ using the word ‘missional’ to refer to traditional missions or serving in the local elementary school. Without a radical shift in the basic understanding of what it means to be on mission, we’re just doing more of the same.

He’s right, but it is not just about orthopraxy. What is missed to often in the missional discussion is that it is not about what we do or how we do it, but about who we are. Missional is about a Jesus followers DNA. It is about a life where “the way of Jesus” informs and radically transforms our existence.

So then, where does this leave me as pastor?  See, I'm not sure I've been doing a very good job at either "missions" or "missional."  Most of our "missions" have been one-day, brief experiences.  You know...come together, do something good for someone, go home.

How do we go about transforming "our existence?" 

I want to be part of a church where the entire DNA has been transformed so that every breath is seen in the larger missional context of the church.


(HT The Blind Beggar for the above quote)

Image by Armando Maynez via Flickr

During today's sermon, when talking about the total "About Face" of Paul in the Bible (from persecuting Christians to preaching Christ), I shared the "about face" of Scott Harrison of Charity: Water.  He went from someone in the entertainment industry in New York City to leading a charity with the following mission:

charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

I find his story compelling and share it here.

Luxury Lab - Scott Harrison of charity: water from charity: water on Vimeo.

Heard Tony Campolo speak night in Nashville.  He's a challenging person when it comes to issues of politics and justice and living as "A Red Letter Christian."  He's dynamic.  He's funny.  And he is truly trying to live out the faith as best as he can.  This was a benefit for Haiti (earthquake) and Nashville (flood).

Great music.  Great preaching.  His talk focussed on mission work and what we've done wrong, in addition to what it means to live the  words of Jesus and what it means for the United Methodist Church to address a lot of the issues that face today's world and to address young persons who struggle with what it means to be Christian…or at least how Christians have been perceived in today's world.

I want to take a moment to talk about mission work.  Now, I say this all as a pastor of a church that has benefited…greatly…from mission teams.  But, Tony talked about how much of the mission work Christians have been doing around the world have had a negative effect on the persons for whom and to whom and with whom we've been in mission.  We've not been empowering anyone.  Instead of HAND-UPS we've given HAND-OUTS that, particularly outside of crises situations, has ended up hurting.

I enjoy the stuff over at NextReformation, especially getting deeper into the concept of mission and missions.  The church IS A MISSION.  We participate in the story of God for the world.  And yet, the church is involved IN MISSIONS.  We have a food bank and we do outreach in the community.  And it's interesting pondering what the whole point is of the church without some kind of dance between these two concepts...what the church is and what the church does.  The author of NextReformation is Len Hjalmarson in British Columbia, Canada.  He's making me think.

I've had the following couple of paragraphs from his blog on my radar for over a week now.

Newbigin distinguished between missions and mission. The church both “does mission” and “is a mission.” Missions are specific activities undertaken by a human decision to bring the gospel to places or situations where it is not heard. These efforts have quantifiable results. But while missions activities are a part of healthy churches, they do not adequately describe the fullness of God’s work in the world.

The concept of missio Dei, however, captures Newbigin’s wider intention. The mission of the church is less a “missionary mandate” than a participation in the ongoing work of redemption. The missio Dei is God’s mission – the grand story of creation, fall, and redemption. And it is a “story,” not a list of propositions. Propositions are helpful in particular times and places, but are enculturated by language and ethos. The story, however, rooted in time and place, transcends both. When we attempt to export a set of propositions from one time and place to another, we are usually operating in a colonial mode."

Now, the question I have, as I ponder this at 11:45 PM on a Thursday night is... "Can the church have an adequate understanding of the MISSION of the church without a grounding in MISSIONS?"  My hunch is that it is only when grounded in "mission work" can the church understand the mission of God.  I think this means that the church (and my church) has its work cut out for them (and us).

Well, yesterday was "Father's Day."  I have to confess that I try to "tapdance" around this and "Mother's Day."  I understand the importance of fathers and mothers.  I appreciate fathers and mothers.  However, I recognize that some of our folk...some of any church actually...never knew their biological mothers and fathers.  And we have folks who, because they couldn't have children of their own, went the adoption route and were wonderful, loving parents.  And we know some folks who are just trying...hard...to become parents and have (so far) been unsuccessful.  So, what does "Father's Day" mean for them?

At my wedding today I saw some folks I knew and wished one of them a Happy Father's Day and was told, not rudely, but bluntly, "I don't celebrate Father's Day."  There's probably a story there somewhere.

I know that the holiday is mostly a Hallmark-ready day, with cards and phone calls.  And I know that it can lead into a sappiness that we want to avoid.  But I'm aware of my own father and the relationship we have and have had.  I'm aware of my own joys with fathering and teaching and leading my own children.  I want to celebrate all of this.  I think fathering (as well as mothering) is important and we have too many people in the world who have had bad experiences with their own fathers and mothers.  We don't have enough good role models out there.  We should celebrate that we have some good ones.  And, as we look at Jesus, we know that at least the understanding of "Father" was an important one to him.  It was a way that he related to God and understood God and communicated God.

It is with these reflections going on in my mind after worship yesterday that I read Jamie Arpin-Ricci's missional church blog called "A Living Alternative: A Missional Pilgrimage."  It's a great blog that has helped me as I've gotten into a theology of the "Missional Church."  Jamie has struggled to become a father and has, as he says, mixed feelings about the day--particularly seeing so many 20-somethings with broken relationships with the fathers in their lives.  It's a good read. It is closed out with the following:

It is with this significance in mind that we must understand our call, as the Church, to be fathers to the fatherless.  This is not a poetic way of saying that we need to fund orphanages and combat divorce trends.  Both of these things are good, but when God calls us to be a father to the fatherless, He calls us to follow His example of genuine relationship and sacrificial love.  He calls us to an active love that blasts through the boundaries of cultural propriety and familial loyalties- not the detriment or neglect of our own families, but through the conviction that God is calling us to a devotion to Him and others that must rival all others.

Our world is filled with the fatherless- and in more than just the literal meaning.  This is call to extend the Father’s love to others is not some project or program that interested Christian might get involved with, but rather it is a defining characteristic of what it means to follow Jesus Christ.  And it is a commitment that should not be driven by guilt (though conviction for our failing to do so is surely important), but driven by the same thing that drove Christ to pay the highest price for us: LOVE.

I'm father to five kids.  How am I being a father to the fatherless around me?

Ministry With The Poor In Nicaragua from Sushil Bhujbal on Vimeo.

Denominations appear to have fallen on difficult times. Theological controversies over core Christian beliefs have weakened some denominations. Others have succumbed to classic liberalism. A handful of denominations have reaffirmed their commitment to theological orthodoxy, but even many once-growing conservative denominations have experienced difficult days. All in all, membership in 23 of the 25 largest Christian denominations is declining (the exceptions being the Assemblies of God and the Church of God). ....

Given all that, call me a cautious believer in the idea that we can do more for the kingdom of God by doing it together with people of common conviction—which usually means in a denomination—than by doing it alone....

In my view, denominations are certainly not the answer to the world's ills, nor are they our last and only hope. But a denominational structure can be a valuable tool for the church to use in her mission.

When I hear about a pastor's revolutionary idea to partner a local congregation with congregations overseas to work together in mission, I say, "Great. Be sure to learn from the Wesleyan Church. They have been doing just that, very well, for a long time."

When I hear about a start-up church-planting network, I'm excited—but hope its leaders know what the Presbyterian Church in America's (PCA) Mission to North America is doing well, and will not try to independently discover what others already know. Many ministries that have gained national prominence in church planting, such as Redeemer (New York City) and Perimeter (Atlanta), have been more effective because of their partnership with the PCA.

Denominational ministry is often much quieter than similar efforts from independent start-ups. (No surprise there: Novelty gets attention, and entrepreneurial networks and churches need to make a splash in order to win people to their new effort.) But make no mistake: The vast majority of world missions, church planting, discipleship, and other forms of ministry are done through denominational partnerships.