I'm feeling much better today, horray!
We have visited a new church several times lately, and so we have also been visiting the new church's blog: www.wheatlandmission.org. There is much discussion at this church, and in the Church in general, about this idea of "missional living." I thought I knew what this meant, but to make sure I went and read an article suggested on the WM site: http://blindbeggar.org/?p=315 This is a pretty neat article; I like the concrete images used to explain the idea.
After reading the article, though, I thought, "Isn't this just being a Christian?" I mean, if you are really following Christ, and letting yourself be transformed by His Word and His Spirit, isn't this how your life will look? But then I realized, I am just so blessed to be surrounded by the Christians that I know. That's why it seems to me that every Christian wants their life to look like this. Maybe it's because many of us recently read Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller and discussed it at length with each other. Maybe that is what helped us to all get back on the same page and remind each other again what the life of Christ is really about. Not that we are all doing well at living these things, but I think most of the Christians who I know well would read the images from the Blind Beggar article and say "Yes! That's what I want to strive for. Thanks for the reminder and example."
Along these lines... how do we develop relationships with our next-door neighbors? I am here all day, going in and out of the house, and sometimes staying outside for extended periods with the kids. Yet I rarely, rarely see my neighbors. They are gone at work all day. When they do come home, they go inside and don't come back out. My next door neighbors have a beautifully manicured and landscaped back yard with a swingset and a freshly stained covered deck. I have seen them out there one or two times total since we moved in 5 months ago. When we first moved in, we went door to door and introduced ourselves to our neighbors to the north, south, and west. But we have hardly seen them since - just a few words exchanged with the man next door (who I have only seen to speak to during the day when Heath is not here - so hardly appropriate for me to try to deepen that friendship on my own).
Heath is having great opportunities at work though. Besides meeting a couple of other Christian guys he can fellowship with and encourage, he has met several Indian Hindu men. He has started to develop friendships with one or two of them, and hopefully that can be our door to the "outside world." I also have wanted to volunteer at His Helping Hands ever since we moved here, but I haven't been sure of what I could do with the kids in tow.
I guess the bottom line is, we have to continue to encourage each other to "live missionally" - or in my words, to live like Christ would in our time. To not become so isolated, so self-absorbed, so focused on material things or success that we forget to bear one another's burdens, to be humble and ready to serve during the short time we have here on earth - so that Christ's life and message will spread to everyone who is a part of each of our worlds.
Just thinking about the "Missional Living" thing I am reminded of what Rusty said in college about how people who say that everything is missions are wrong b/c if everything is missions then really nothing is. I am just throwing this out there without to much thought (a dangerous thing, I know) but maybe it would be better described as evangelistic living, where our life is a witness to Christ, and let the word Mission continue to describe cross cultural interactions. -- Just a raw undeveloped thought.
ReplyDeleteMissional living isnt really missions. Missions implies something you do - where as I believe missional is something that I am.
ReplyDeleteooo, I like this post; comments, too.
ReplyDeletei, too, went to blindbeggars. i left a comment about it at WM. i know they were just inspirational examples, but i got a bit disturbed at the perfection.
i see wonderful examples of missional living all around me. i guess i can look at these people as my realistic examples.
Perfection isn't the point, living more like Jesus is. Isn't that just Christianity? Yeah, I agree Ms.Bon-bon. Maybe the ideas behind living missionally are truly new to some people.
Or maybe it's also just a chance for God to sneak in the back door & inspire change where indifference and denial once took root. It is for this reason that I like all the discussion and the attention Christians are giving to this word.
I might get sick of all the confusion and definitions and explanation and differing ideas after awhile. When it comes down to it we can talk talk talk it to death. I think a lot of us are saying the same thing anyways...now let's just do it!
ps)Nattyman-Don't you think that the definitions are
ever-changing as the "mission field" changes? ie)Evangelicals used to be USA, Africa the "missions field". Do you think we might be coming to a time/place when/where Evangelicals might need to get more missional as the field is here/now?
I like your thought (willingness to be dangerous included). (Thanks for the discussion & chance to ponder.)
Sometimes I wonder if people who need to differentiate are doing so because of the threat to their calling/job. In this day and age, why can't a person be both wherever they are? ---Hopefully if we are living missionally, we ARE implying action. (A large reason a lot of my "missions" money stays local.)
I might just be misunderstanding, but I'm not sure I agree with Rusty's logic. I really do believe Everything is missions, but I don't think that means really nothing is.