Third Way

(from my old blog, Third Way)


Numbers has always been in the fore front of my thinking (O.K. I said it, I admit and it was hard to say). As pastors we are programmed to think that way. We are asked for our church's statistics each year, we talk with other pastors about our numbers, numbers are the gauge in which success is measured. The more numbers the better? Right? However, when a church is in decline and things aren't going the best, pastors tend to say numbers are not important. They site spiritual growth as a measure of success, or the fact that there has been some sort of horrendous event in the church that has caused a downturn.

The question is, "Is there a third way to measure success in the church? Perhaps the all or none options are not sufficient ways to measure success. It seems that, generally, success is measured by what goes on in a church building (programming), the size of the Building, the budget/giving (the bottom line) and of course attendance/membership. When I think of third way of being successful as a church I think of how well are we living out the Great Commission and the Great Commandment? What if we measured success by how mobile and Incarnational we are as a church.? Are we successful if we as a church are convinced that sacred space is not limited to physical location? That the secular space we mostly live in can become sacred? What if the church were to let go of the invitational way of getting unbelievers to be present in church and encouraging the church to be present among non-believers? What if the church was more about infiltration and less about invitation? I know the word infiltration carries overtones of subversion that are not appropriate, but the purpose of infiltration is to recreate, restore, heal and bless. Would success better be measured by the way a neighborhood, community, or town begins to embrace Kingdom living? I am unwilling to measure success by just counting people and money, nor am I willing not to be held accountable by saying success is not measurable. I do think that success is measured in the long term by transformed lives and communities. What do you think?

Either/or

If there are a plethora of polarities, and if polarities are popular, what do we do to have a balanced, biblical witness that goes beyond either/or? Take the average and find the middle ground? Compromise a (your!?) position? Take one side of the spectrum and discard the other? Include both positions equally? The answer is, “It all depends.” That’s not a cop-out; rather, it’s an acknowledgment that each polarity needs to be discussed and evaluated on its own merits. Maybe that's a third way.

random thoughts

Question: Have we put ourselves in a position to hear from God? If not who are we hearing from?
Thoughts: The church in North America is more of a church culture. The American church is part civil religion and part club. It is where religious people can hang out with other people who share the same work driven lifestyle.

Questions: Did Jesus intend for the church to be a place where people are invited to join and to support an institution? Is the church is in denial that the world has changed and there is a problem? Are people leaving the church to preserve their faith? Do we really need God to operate the church?
Thoughts: I believe the culture today does not want the powerless God of most churches.

Questions: Instead of asking the question how do we do church better and running after the next thing or fad that will fix our church, maybe we should be asking how do we deconvert from churchianity to Christianity? I think we need to recapture the mission of the church. Do you think the church has forgotten why it exists? Do we need to reboot the church, with mission as focus, moving toward a radial obedience to the command of a loss to self rather than self preoccupation, have more a concern about service and sacrifice rather than style. Is change of style (music, technology, seeker, purpose etc) changed our rowboats to cruise ships? Is the mega church growing because people are leaving the rowboats and jumping on the cruise ship?
Thoughts: Twenty years of church growth.... I have done telemarketing, set up newcomer ministries, provided children and youth ministries, I have put up signs, made parking lots better, added services, styles of worship, so have many others.

Question: Is it working?
Thoughts: I have been in the best churches that people can build, but I am still waiting for something that only God can take credit for.

Question: In reality if people (in mass) are not coming to us, when will we realize we must go to them?
Thoughts: When we do go out it is as if we are selling membership packages, trying to give people what they think they need. I am beginning to believe our churches are impotent in trying to reach the masses.

Question: What would happen if the church stopped saying, "come and get it" and become a church that "gets it".
Thoughts: The church knows they should be outside the walls, but there are things that stop them: no money, going out means there is little money left to do things on the inside, nobody, we need people on all the commissions, building committees, ministries etc. There is no one left to go out.

Questions: What would happen if there were a church that meets in every mall, every Wal-mart, every restaurant, every Barnes and Noble, laundry mats, parks, apartment complexes, mobile home parks? Do we have to stay in a church building to be a church?
Thoughts: There is a Subway in almost every town, few own a building, they are in gas stations, strip malls, grocery stores, gas stations etc. Maybe Subway has it figured out. When we take the Gospel to the streets in an intentional 24/7 church presence in the community not tied to church real estate: offices, malls, and schools. Along with sports complexes, storefronts, homes and community centers etc. this will be the only way we et the gospel out to the people have no intention of coming to church for their spiritual pursuits we need to go where people are already hanging out an be prepared to have conversions with them about the great Love our lives. This will require our shifting our efforts from growing churches into transforming comminutes they are not coming to us. We've go to go to them.

I wonder have we gone too far? Is the church too organized? Do we have too many charts, too many plans and too much structure? Is there a point where our knowledge and our plans can actually suppress the work of the Spirit? Is our need for control so strong, or our fear of disorder so great, that are hands are tied? It seemed to me that Jesus did ministry in the following ways:

• start with people who have more questions than answers
• resist setting a regular meeting time or making meetings the center
• focus on life and relationships, not gift and function
• focus on the ordinary, not the “spiritual”
• care for each other in concrete, life giving ways
• be available to one another
  
• don't focus your life around Sunday or a building
• talk about Jesus, His kingdom, and transformation
• care for one another, pray for one another, and reach out to the least, the last & the lost
  
• be authentic, vulnerable, and gentle
• have fun together, share meals and holidays and life

I wonder if the church would be too messy or chaotic if it weren't so defined? What do you think?

Community engagement

Ways of Engaging with the Community

Community Service
(Stream one of Kokomo Urban Outreach Vision)
Caring services or activities are provided to those who want them; receivers use what is offered, without having been directly involved in shaping or delivering those services.

Positives

• provides services for those in need
• helps people to cope with their present circumstances
• good in crisis situation
• possibly of working with other organizations where there are common goals
• more opportunity to share Christian faith
• clear identification of who is providing the services
  

Negatives

• tends to focus on effects rather than root causes of problems
• can create over- dependence on the helper
• can leave the cause of problems unaffected
  

Community Action
(Stream two of Kokomo Urban Outreach Vision)
Collaborates more directly with local individuals, churches and other organizations to plan and deliver a focused caring in some way or to tackle more immediate needs through cooperation.

Positives

• addresses issues that directly effect an identified segment of the population
• organizes many groups to work on issues or provide services
• more responsive to "real" local needs
• helps people work together for lasting improvement of quality of life in the community
  

Negatives

• Sometimes more focused on tasks to be done
• Can be short term that does bring change but often is not followed up adequately
• More difficult to share Christian Faith
  

  
  
  Community Transformation
  (Stream Four of Kokomo Urban Outreach Vision)
  Works to organize local people to take responsibly for and act in response to perceived local social needs or issues.
  

Positives

• Draws agenda from people's immediate experiences and needs, not from the perceptions of need by others
• Helps people discover their own and the community's resources, using discovered resources to address issues at hand
• Enables people to take control over their own lives and to participate in the making of decisions which affect them
• Provides possibility of long term change within the community
• New community leaders can incorporate community service and community action within their new group--serving others in the community
• Helps by focusing on community relationships

Negatives

• Issues can arise around how much of the Christian faith can be shared
• Questions could arise by partnering with non-Christian groups

Secondary Vision of Kokomo Urban Outreach

Church Cooperation and Collaboration

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body..."
1 Corinthians 1:12-13

Positive Ideas for Cooperation and Collaboration

Local Churches

• look beyond the activity of any one congregation
• consider the church as the whole body of Christ across a city or neighborhood
• move from information sharing to collaboration

Potential

• the church is the largest voluntary organization in Kokomo
• the church is full of people who are willing to give up their free time to serve their community
• church members are already involved in a large number of community projects
• there is a great deal of resources available for community outreach, not only people, but finances too
  

  
  
  When there is unity among churches

There is improved and renewed relationships with:

• God
• the wider community
• other Christians
  

  
  Consequences of Duplication and Competition
  

Duplication and Competition Consequences

• the inefficient use of resources
• lack of energy and workers to respond to new opportunities
• the concentration of resources on primary, obvious needs, leaving churches without the time , space or capacity to look for strategic solutions
• poor public image of churches to community
• our actions doesn't match our message
• erosion of relationships with those outside the church
  

  
  Key issues that perpetuate duplication and competition

• territorial issues
• difference in doctrine or worship style
• jealously of effective churches, discounting of struggling churches
• focus on keeping own churches going
• lack of real communication
• lack of cooperation and strategic planning

Ideal-Isolation- Incarnation

I have been thinking about three different types of churches that I have ran across over the years. The three general categories are: Ideal, Isolation, Incarnation.

An ideal church is a church in which everything on the inside is flawless, the building is very nice, the people are nice, there are is a feeling that all is well, the problem is on the outside of the church. The world is full of unjust systems, poverty, racism, an inequitable educational system and a whole host of social ills. These churches desire to do something to remedy the social ills so they lobby, solicit and give money to fix the social ills. The problem cannot be fixed permanently without people having a change of heart. The focus is on societal change, but evangelism is not a priority. So law makers are courted, money spent and little has changed. I wonder why?

A church in Isolation is a church that has decided to move into the church building to worship, do Bible Study and care for one another. They stay out of the world for fear of being polluted by it. Often their idea of fixing the world is fixing the heart. Often this group is not interested in social injustices. The prevailing thought is that a revival is what is needed. So speakers are secured, musicians tune up and the word of a series of services are published. Usually the faithful few show up to support the speaker, but little changes, the world is still in bad shape.

In the Incarnational church there is a combining of meeting social needs and addressing social issues along with the concerns of evangelism. A sort of redemptive relevancy. An incarnational church is one that is not afraid to confront the social issues of the day or the spiritual issues of the individual. It connects with the community and becomes community reformers and at the same time people's lives are changed as they encounter Jesus. To be incarnational means that people unlike you might come to your church. To be incarnational means the restrooms might get messed up, to be incarnational means that one does whatever one needs to do to make a difference. I think that is what rechurching is all about. Moving from an either or situation to a win/win situation, it means being open, it means pursing a vision, it means taking risk, it means being a church that is fluid, dynamic and making the most of every opportunity. It means to be creative, innovative, to play offense and not defense. It means instead of responding to culture we are creating culture. Obviously you can see I have a passion and opinion on this subject. What do you think? Jeff

(Mark 1:16-18)

It was Jesus who, in calling the first members of his faith community, the disciples, invited them to become fishers of people. By calling fishermen and inviting them to fish for humans, he used language that made sense to his hearers. But he did more than that. He used an image that conveyed a great deal more than some simple idea that he was concerned with “catching” people. It made reference to an activity that fishermen engaged in regularly, and by doing so created a sense of the missional community that was to come.
When we think of fishing in our culture, we think about a single person with a single rod and a single hook on the end of a single line. The fisherman is attempting to catch one fish with each cast of the line. It is a one-on-one engagement, and good fishermen know how to read the weather, the tides, the presence of weed, and the use of lures to catch that one fish. So when we read about Jesus inviting the first disciples to fish for people, we think of the pole and a person. We have thought of evangelism like this in recent years. We go out to fish for someone we can bring into our church. Getting someone to attend a service with us or come to a fish fry or youth rally is thought of catching fish. Unfortunately, many people have tried church and were left unsatisfied or they aren’t interested at all in church attendance.
Fishing during Jesus’ time, it wasn’t done with rods and reels. It wasn’t one-on-one it was done with a net. They would have cast their nets out into the water, and dragged the sea as they hauled the net back onto the boat. Whatever happened to be swimming in the way of the net as it was lugged back on board would have been caught. The key to successful fishing wasn’t in the details of tides and weather patterns, but in the strength of the nets. For this reason, Jesus’ fishing disciples spent most of their working day, not out on the lake but on shore, mending their nets strong and tight, anything caught in them couldn’t escape.
There are important implications of this today. Instead of adopting a stance that requires a Christian to leave a sacred zone to go and fish for an individual to return to that zone. What would happen if before we tried to catch people we spent time preparing our "nets". Nets are the things we use to catch the fish. For us the nets are the relationships that we build before we catch the person for Christ. If our relationship is not in tack then our nets are not ready to bring in the "catch" . Our nets are a network of relationship "webs" that we build over a period of time. These webs of relationships, friendships, and acquaintances that we normally have makes up the net into which not-yet-Christians will swim. I think we should spend more time on building friendships, then buildings or purchasing and implementing new programs.
Charles Ringma, from the Philippines Theological Seminary, makes this point about the emphasis on programs over relationships:
A telling example is where a church community develops a special plan for service and action by the church in the community and then tries to sell it to church members for their involvement and support…. It is this plan that requires all the publicity, the prayers, and the church’s money. This is the official project.
Most church members can relate to this aspect of the traditional church. The church leaders decide that Alpha from Holy Trinity Church, Brompton, is the answer, or that they need to develop seeker services like Willow Creek Church. All the church’s energies go into making the program work. Usually it is a strategy or a program that has been transplanted from somewhere else. And even though the program might be sound and biblical and is obviously very effective in its original context, it nevertheless smacks of something artificial. This is because it is not an indigenous, locally-based, “homegrown” initiative. I am wondering if a majority of churches are an authentic Christian community or a source of entertainment or a producer of religious goods and services.

Mark 4:1-20 The Parable of the Sower

I have read this scripture many times. I always thought it was the parable of the soils. The scripture talks about four kinds of soil. There is the soil that is a path that when the seed (Word of God) falls on it it goes nowhere. The birds eat it up. The second soil is the rocky places. The seed is planted it grows awhile and the plant dies because there is not enough depth. The third soil is one that is filled with thorns. The seeds are planted, something grows, but the cares of the world choke the plant and kill it. The fourth soil is the good soil, soil that receives the seed and grows and grows and grows.
Often when this scripture is preached the preacher implies or asks what kind of heart do you have? It is as if we need to get our hearts right in order for the Word of God be planted in it. Is that Grace? Or do we have to do something to receive the Word of God, ie. get our hearts right.
I think this is the parable of the sower. The sower did not take the time to cultivate the soil. The sower just through out the seed expecting the soil to accept the seed and grow. Any farmer knows you have to cultivate the soil in order to plant seed or the seed won't grow. It takes a long time to cultivate the soil. In the story we (Christians) are the sowers. I think the scripture calls us to prepare hearts before we even try to plant seed(the word of God). We must slowly and carefully break through hard hearts, we have to help people remove the rocks in their life (the stuff that has been there for a long time), we need to help others rid the mess of weeds in their life in order for them to receive the word of God.
I wonder if the reason we are seeing so many people "de-Church" is because the ones who sowed the seed did not take the time to cultivate the hearts to help folks receive the seed? It seems to me that a great deal of Evangelistic services of the past, had sowers up front throwing seed. Of course, some where ready to receive it and hold on to it, but for others because of little or no cultivation the seeds couldn't grow and flourish, many ended up in churches but have since quietly left, as the joy and excitement of knowing Jesus faded away. What do you think? Jeff

De Churched

This is a post from http://www.subversiveinfluence.com/wordpress/?p=408,
I found it interesting.


Smith points to a good post by Yasmin Finch on the “de-churched.” She quotes a study with five categories, but Phil argues for a sixth category;

Despite my faithful attendance in body, my mind and soul are unashamedly becoming increasingly dechurched. You see i might be there, but that’s more out of habit than desire and so, to the authors of mission shaped church, i call for a sixth category “The Dechurched Regular”, who goes week in week out but really is pretty tired of the whole thing and hopes to find a righteous way out soon…

I realized I was one of these people for a while, and I know people who are in this category. At the risk of offending “Missional Chickie” I also know people who don’t attend church regularly but haven’t quite let go of church entirely… they would be fairly solidly in the de-churched camp, but don’t tend to admit it freely, particularly with the still-churched crowd.

In addition, there is also the re-churched/de-churched person. I’m running into some of these lately…. people who are de-churched, but for one reason or another have returned to or remained in a church structure. Normally this has to do with their kids or some program they’re involved with. When friends recently announced their intention to start attending a church again because their kids were asking to be involved in a youth program, we expressed our concern… is their faith strong enough to survive in a church context?

Phil’s next post mentions my piece at Emergingchurch.info — he swapped recommendations with a de-churched person, and got back Jake Colson’s e-book titled, “So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore.” The e-book is unfinished, but most of it is online so you can still get a good feel for it. If you aren’t already living it, that is.

writing

Re: Church

Jeff Newton
urban.outreach@gmail.com
2005

This writing is dedicated to Jesus.
I want to thank my family especially my wife Chris, along with the churches that I have served and have been so patient with me over the years: Ingalls, Hillsdale, Attica, Lowell and Trinity United Methodist Churches

A special thanks to the proof readers and editors who spent countless hours helping me to perfect this document, Mary Zoe and Barbara

RE: alizing

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. " Matthew 28:16-20

For more than a year, I have been trying to figure out what God would have me and the "church" do next. During this time, God has brought me back to the above verse, over and over again. I have read it and reread it. One day I suddenly had an epiphany, a realization. God is calling the church to GO into the whole world and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them all that Jesus has commanded them which states simply to love God and love others. I began to make a list of how individuals from within and without might perceive the church.
Church as a place: For many people, church is a place to go. It is a facility, a campus or a building. The common phrase, “I’m going to church,” summarizes this view. When people are at the building or facility, they are at church. The implication is that when they are not at the building, they are not at church.

Church as an event or spiritual activities: For others, church is something that happens. Church is defined by worship services, Bible studies, prayer meetings, or other ministries. Again the implication is that when people are not engaged in one of these events or activities, they are no longer doing or having church.

Church as associated with a person: For others, church is an organization associated with a pastor or Christian leader. For example, people often say things like, “I go to Jane Smith’s church” or “I attend Bill Hybles' or Chuck Swindoll's church.”

Church as offering programs or services: For others, church is determined by what the organization offers in order to meet needs such as youth programs, music programs, marriage groups, fellowship, discipleship, mission opportunities, etc.

While there are truths contained in the statements above, I have come to the realization that the church is much more than buildings, programs, or leaders. I began to think about the world we live in and began to ask myself how the church is affecting not only the world but also our community. I learned that we are living in a country and a community where fewer and fewer people profess to be Disciples of Jesus. Statistics bear out the fact that in our country, "Christians" are in the minority. While 90% of people surveyed say they believe in God, only about 43% practice Christianity on a regular basis. What these facts tell me is that we live in a country that needs missionaries. While we send missionaries across the world, which is good, I am wondering if we are forgetting the home front. I asked myself why we don't send missionaries to our own country. As I was praying one day, the “aha moment” came. I realized that, in fact, we have millions of missionaries in our country. As a matter of fact, there are literally thousands of missionary bases spread throughout our land. God has set up these bases over a period of time; we call them churches. The people inside are missionaries. I believe when we, as the church, come to realize that we are a missionary base within our community and that each person in the church is a missionary, then we will make a difference. Then we will fulfill the Great Commission of Christ in our communities. In a missional church, the church IS mission rather than does mission as a program or activity of the larger life of the church. Everything we do flows from the idea that we are a missional church. The church’s nature is to show the world what it looks like when a community of people live under the Kingdom of God in every aspect of daily life.

I, without a doubt, believe God is calling the church, every church, to be a missional church. That means when everything is stripped away – the building, the events, the activities, the leaders, and other identifying markers for the church – the people are the church, and church is the people. The church is sent, and everything we do is about reaching others. Therefore, wherever God’s people are, corporately or individually, that's where one will find the church. Church is at home, in the car, in the restaurant, on the beach – wherever God’s people find themselves in their daily lives. What this writing intends to do is to help us understand what a missional church is about and offer practical suggestions of ways we can be transformed by the Holy Spirit from an institutional church to a missional church. By rethinking the way we worship, pray, preach, teach, evangelize, lead, administrate, and live, we will be able to embrace the command of Jesus to go into the whole world, making disciples, baptizing, and teaching His commands.

RE: Membering

Cecil had just turned 100 years old when I sat down with her to talk about where she had been in her life. Cecil shared with me that she felt like her life had gone by so fast; it seemed to her that it was just yesterday that she traveled in a horse and buggy. She shared how she and her family would sit on the front porch and visit with people as they walked by her house. She talked about the people in her neighborhood, the camaraderie she had with her friends, the big family reunions, and the excitement of the County Fair. The County Fair was the place where people who hadn't seen each other for a long time could catch up with each other, spending hours chatting and looking over the exhibits of quilts, jams, pies, and cakes. It was a place to meet new friends and to experience community. It was when the city folk and the country folk came together for a period of time. After a great time of reminiscing, she looked at me and said, "Pastor, I have found myself living in a world I don't understand. Everything is different; everything has changed. What happened?" Of course Cecil knew what had happened. The world was changing, and she couldn't keep up with it. No longer do people sit on their porches and talk to their neighbors; many don't even know their neighbors. The County Fair is just another event on the calendar of things to do. The County Fair has changed from the highlight of the year where you meet friends, to a place you go with your friends to be entertained with concerts, tractor pulls, carnival rides, and games. Cecil had no idea that people today often meet new friends in chat rooms and keep up with family events through E-mail. The front porch has been replaced with decks in the backyard where guests are entertained by invitation only. My response to Cecil was simply, "Yes, the world has changed."

This year I reached a benchmark in my life as I have just completed twenty years in the ministry. In those twenty years, the world has changed tremendously. I live in a world that is radically different from the way it was even twenty years ago. As a matter of fact, there has been so much change that few people can keep up with it. While science and technology have changed at breakneck speed, we must also recognize how drastically and quickly our culture has changed. Over the past several months, I have read a number of books, talked with many people, and lived in the culture, as it exists now.

I have begun to wonder how the church should respond to the "new world" we live in. I think often our response is to either criticize it or ignore it. In order for us to be the church that is effective in making disciples for Christ, I think the church needs to " Re:" many things. One may ask, " What do I mean by ‘Re:’?" "Re:" is a prefix that means to start something anew as in the word rebuild, or it can mean to look backward on something and think about it again as in the words react or review. What I am proposing in this writing is that we "re: church". To re: church means that we look carefully at where we have been and examine the options that are before us today and even into the future.

RE: Viewing

In order to better understand where we are today, it is helpful to know where we have been. Re: viewing the past is an exercise in understanding the present. Most theologians, people who study God, agree that there have been four periods of thought and ideas that have affected culture: Ancient, Medieval, Modern and Postmodern eras.

The Ancient Era was from the time of Christ to about 590 AD. During this time, Christianity was being birthed and embraced. In 312 AD, Constantine the Emperor of Rome, had a conversion experience and decreed that all the lands he ruled would be Christian. The culture was Christianized, and the Church became institutionalized, reflecting the government of Rome. The Medieval Period lasted from 590 AD to 1517 AD. With feudal states and kingdoms on the rise, the churches became more influential and in many ways corrupt, setting the stage for the Reformation and the rise of Modernism. The Protestant Reformation brought about the decentralization of the church. It put the Bible in the hands of the laity and espoused the priesthood of all believers. During this time, there were numerous monumental scientific discoveries and the emergence of national states.

The Modern Era's roots can be traced back to the mid 1500's with the discovery of the "New World", the rise of science, reason and logic driving culture. Science replaced religion as absolute truth for many. The Modern Era was a period of scientific certainty, human optimism, and the belief in inevitable progress toward a better world. Reason supplanted the role of faith. In modernity, faith and morality were labeled subjective truth and therefore not suitable for discussion in the public arena. People no longer needed to cling to superstitions or even biblical revelation now because through study and scientific rational one could conclusively determine what was true and real. The church found itself in mortal conflict with the forces of secular humanism, which abandoned God and the need for faith.

In the process the principles of modernity emerged. They include
Reason is the sole arbitrator of determining truth.

• The world is seen to exist as a cause and effect relationship.
• Everything can be explained.
• Progress, meaning technology, scientific discovery, and economics advancement was good and would eventually lead humanity to a better world and personal happiness.
• Humanity was basically good and using the powers of reason and ingenuity; people could solve all worldly problems. The individual was autonomous, and society not only recognized the rights of the individual but also was duty bound to serve those rights. (2)

Theologian Stanley Grenz concludes, "It became the goal of the human intellectual quest to unlock the secrets of the universe, in order to master nature, for human benefit and create a better world."(3)

Postmodernism is a reaction to the principles of modernism. The beginning of the end of Modern Era was World War I and was validated with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the reaction to the Viet Nam War. The basic values of modernism were questioned asking that if humanity is so good, why is the world so bad? If we can put our trust in science, why are so many dying? If we believe that government can meet all needs, then why aren't people's needs being met? The fall of the Berlin Wall drove the final nail in the coffin of the Modern Era. With the fall of the Wall, the Cold War ended causing a shift in politics, economy, and church. There was a backlash to the disasters of the times: the explosion of the Challenger, the fall of various Televangelist and ministries, the fear of terrorism, and the realization that our hope in humanity had failed. Essentially, Postmodernity is a reaction to Modernity. The Postmodern theme can be summed up by the words of a rock group called The Talking Heads' song. Their song The Road to Nowhere is as follows.

WELL WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOIN'
BUT WE DON'T KNOW
WHERE WE'VE BEEN
AND WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE KNOWIN'
BUT WE CAN'T SAY WHAT WE'VE SEEN
AND WE'RE NOT LITTLE CHILDREN
AND WE KNOW WHAT WE WANT
AND THE FUTURE IS CERTAIN

GIVE US TIME TO WORK IT OUT
We're on a road to nowhere
Come on inside
Takin' that ride to nowhere
We'll take that ride
I'm feelin' okay this mornin'

And you know,
We're on the road to paradise
Here we go, here we go
Maybe you wonder where you are I don't care
Here is where time is on our side
Take you there...take you there
We're on a road to nowhere
We're on a road to nowhere (4)

Where Modernity reveled in reason, science and human ability to overcome, Postmodernity wallows in mysticism, relativism and the incapacity to know with any certainty both what is true and the answers to life's deepest questions. Modernity once proudly boasted of changing the world and solving all human ills through technology advancement and human progress. Now that dream is seen to be an illusion. Technology and progress have not only failed to solve all human dilemmas, but in the course of events have actually contributed to human suffering as evidenced in such cases as the threat of nuclear annihilation, the destruction of rainforest, cyber ography, global pollution and the depletion of the ozone, to name just a few. 5 To aid in understanding the difference between Modernity and Postmodernity, the following should be helpful. Make a note that neither philosophy is particularly Christian

Modernity
Truth is absolute and must be proved by science
I can only believe what I can prove
And/Or (must be one thing or another)
I trust hard scientific fact
Black and White
We possess the truth
Individualism

Postmodernity

Truth is relative
The unexplained is all around us
Yes, and.....(there can be more than one truth)
I trust my emotions
Shades of Gray
The truth is somewhere out there
Community

I think this can best be explained by two television shows that I really like. The first is the Scooby Doo Cartoon, in which a group of friends encounter the supernatural, ghosts, monsters, etc. Working with all of the clues, they try to figure out what is really going on. At the end of the half hour, the friends would solve the supernatural goings on with a rational, explainable ending to the mystery; it is usually some guy in an outfit. The other show I really like is the X-Files, in which two friends try to solve unexplained, supernatural phenomena. The show usually ends without really having any rational explanation of what happened. Hints are given that the government or those in authority are deceiving the public with some elaborate conspiracies. It would often promise answers but rarely would deliver. Hence the quote, "The truth is out there,” reflected what was going on in the minds of millions of people. Most just wished they could find it. 6 The positive qualities of Postmodern thought include

• Healthy skepticism--Asks "why?"
• Thirst for spirituality---any kind of supernatural phenomenon
• Openness to faith--any faith
• Friendly tolerance
• Craving connections with real people--many have had cyber connections and found them not satisfying
• Community--looking for a place to belong

Postmodern culture has influenced and continues to influence the church, the family, the education system, the economy, politics, and the way we communicate. As we get a better grasp on the culture we live in, the more effective we become in our missional endeavors as a church. A few years ago, I went on a mission trip to Brazil. We spent a great deal of time studying the history and present culture of the country because in order to be effective missionaries, we had to understand what was happening around us. It would be to the advantage of a missional church to understand the culture that they are trying to influence, whether or not we like what we find. As we better understand our community and its culture, the more effective we will be in reaching people for Christ.

RE: Thinking

Like it or not, we live in a new world, a world defined by the people living in it. If you are like my friend, Cecil, you too realize that the world we live in is different and maybe even a bit foreign.
Postmodernism has affected the number of those who attend church. That number continues to decrease. According to the Barna Research group, there has been a 92% increase in the number of unchurched Americans in the last thirteen years. In 1991, there were 39 million unchurched Americans compared with 75 million currently.7 The faith of Postmodern people is shaped by the culture and not really by the church or the Bible. In total, 83% of teens maintain that moral truth depends on the circumstances, and only 6% believe that moral truth is absolute.8 When it comes to believing in absolute truth, only 9% of born again teens believe in moral absolutes and just 4% of the non-born again teens believe that there are moral absolutes. Many teens and those in their twenties have rarely, if ever, attended a church. These young people are "secular" people with no Christian memory and have no idea what we in the church are talking about.9 Why aren't they in church? When their Boomer parents returned to the church, most gave their children the option to go to church or stay home; most opted out. As a matter of fact, most 20 -30 year olds have no church to return too. Their stereotypes of church folk make them reluctant to attend. They do not know the proper etiquette for church, and they feel like they are not refined enough to feel comfortable.(10)

We are now at a crossroad as a church. Do we move into the prevailing culture to reach people with the truth of Christ, or do we withdraw into our cathedrals to shield ourselves from the evils of the world? I am convinced that we are called to embrace the people living in the culture by interacting with it. How do we interact with culture and reach people for Christ without compromising our message? The answer is that the church must be willing to do things much differently. The church must take its focus off of itself and put it on others. We have to come to the understanding that God does not call every church to be a Mega Church, a seeker church, a traditional church, or a charismatic church. Perhaps we should ask ourselves what we are called to be. I believe that every church is called to be a missional church. The missional church understands that it is primarily a community of people being trained and equipped to live among the world as missionaries. The same principle of overseas missions is applied in our community. We speak the language, wear the clothes, and submerge ourselves into the culture we want to reach. The missional church journeys with people along the road of life and realizes that conversion isn’t always instantaneous.

As a missional church, we will need to redefine our role in the community. The walls between the church and the community must be blurred. I often hear people say that the church needs to bridge into the community. I disagree. When we bridge into the community, it means we walk across the bridge, grab up some people, and convince them to come back across the bridge into the church and become church people. Plus we also have the option of deciding whom we invite back across the bridge with us. There is another option. The church should be the water under the bridge, flowing into the community. Water brings good things into a dry place. Every place the water touches has the potential of receiving new life. The church as the water brings the Living Water to dry places in the community. I can only imagine what our communities would be like if the dam of the church walls burst, and the Church was set free. I can only imagine how hope would sweep out of our buildings into the streets. I can only imagine what would happen if the church actually flowed into the lives of others, meeting them where they are. As we expand into the community, the church will become more multi-cultural, less judgmental, and more spiritual. Our building will not so much be the "place" for ministry, as it will the "base" for ministry.

Too often, we have relied on pre-packaged programs that God used in other contexts to save our church or to accomplish our mission. While most of the programs are worthy and most have been effective in the context in which they were developed and at times work well in other contexts, they are not effective in every situation or every time. Just as one reality television show gives birth to another and another, church programs spin off of each other at break neck speed with the hope of being the next "big hit,” often at the expense of the Church. Sometimes resources are depleted in the church following the next craze or embracing the latest ministry fad. What would happen if we released the people in our church from committee or program work to the freedom of doing missional work? Later in this writing, I will be more specific on our missional options. In order for us to be in line with being a church in mission, it is my estimation that the church needs to completely rethink the way it does everything.

RE: Organizing

As a missional church, I think that it would be advantageous to consider rebuilding the internal structure of the church. One thing we do when we feel a bit restless is tinker with the machinery. History has shown us, however, that when we make changes in our structure, we tend to change the names and keep operating in the same old way; nothing new happens. I wonder if we shouldn't tear down the old house and rebuild a new more efficient one. Presently, the church revolves around consensus and structure. Decisions must be supported by the broadest possible agreement, and the only way to achieve that is through layered meetings. Every task must have a committee; every cluster of committees must have an oversight committee; every cluster of oversight committees must have a management board, and on and on. The corporate church operates like a business with plenty of committees, structures and policies in place.

Often, the corporate for the church is not about creativity, but control. Spontaneity is usually suspect. Continuity with the past is always valued. Vision is expected to be generated by groups, which means that often no vision emerges. Significant minorities always have the power to paralyze action. Personal trust is secondary to parliamentary procedure. The most common responses to a new idea are "No!” "It will never work!", "We've never done it that way before!", and "Let's assign an ad hoc committee to think about it". In the corporate in which most churches function, perpetuating the body is more important than growing the body. The bottom line is what is valued--number of members and financial stability. Agendas must be carefully protected, group process must be painstakingly planned, nominations must be carefully controlled, and crazy ideas must be studiously sidetracked. The goals of this are to maintain harmony, achieve debt freedom, and save, save, save against The Rainy Day.
Some churches have opted for a "team " of church where committees function like teams. Teams are carefully selected to complete a particular task or goal. Coaches with the mantra being “winning at all costs” head teams. Too often the team in the church sets up various "teams" to become territorial, vie over resources (people and money) and tend to forget about the "whole" of the church as they focus on their team.

I believe to re:church, we will need to scrap the corporate and the team by incorporating a missional ; the missional church is based on the idea of community. The chart following illustrates what this would look like.(11)

Formation
Committees Elected in keeping with bylaws
Teams Drafted to do a specific task
Community Voluntarily connect for meaningful experiences

Focus
Committees Decision making/ policy setting
Teams mature over time to become a high task performance group
Community Fashion experiences that move the church forward

Membership

Committees Fixed Term
Teams task completed term ends
Community people are free to come and go based on their continuing interest in the journey.

In a missional church, Lay people will not spend a great deal of time sitting in meetings but will busy themselves doing ministry. The missional church prioritizes creativity, not control. There is more trust and less parliamentary procedure. Worship attendance is more important than membership, because regular worship is what unites people around the transforming experience of God.

In the missional church, if ministry requires money, it will be spent. If ministry requires a wall torn down, it will be torn down. If ministry requires a new space, it will be found. Instead of save, save, save for The Rainy Day, it will be risk, risk, risk because it’s already raining outside!
All indicators seem to tell us that our old system is not adequate to carry us into the twenty-first century. Our membership has declined dramatically during the past twenty years; (see Appendix) we as Christians are continuing to decline in terms of percentage of the population; we are rapidly aging; our supporting agencies, boards, committees, councils- from the local church to the general church -are not clear about their mission and generally are not in touch with the people they are supposed to serve. If we are honest, we have to admit there needs to be a different way of conducting church. Leadership in the community/ missional would need to Re: think leadership style.

RE: Leading

When I started in ministry twenty years ago, pastors were thought of as Chaplains that conducted weddings and funerals and cared for people in the hospital or in crisis. Leading worship on Sunday morning was important as well as leading a couple of Bible studies. However, I soon learned that pastors were to do more than that. We were called to be leaders. A whole culture of "Leadership" emerged in the Church, influenced by John Maxwell and others-- where pastors were called to be CEOs in the church. To me things just didn't feel quite right. It seemed that we did things for people so that we could have influence. It seemed like we were asked to manipulate situations to our advantage. It seemed to me that the focus was taken off Christ, and the focus was on the pastor. Recently, I felt that the pastor should be more of a Spiritual Guide rather than a CEO of a large corporation. As a spiritual guide, I would become a servant leader, ing Jesus to the church. I believe in empowerment of people, giving people in the church freedom to be where they are in their faith journey with Christ, and to allow people to become the people that God called them to be. The chart below illustrates what I think are the differences between the pastor as a CEO and the pastor as a spiritual guide

Pastor as CEO

CEO
Hierarchical/structural
Leaders, not servants
"I" do things "for" and "to" "
Answers (expert)
Selective wisdom resides in a few
Decisions by voting, winner take all!
Power

Motivation: bottom line, performance
Looks for opportunities
Special interests drive agenda
Program director/control

Pastor as Spiritual Guide

Spiritual Guide

Community of equals/relational
Servant leadership
We" do things "with"
Questions (pilgrim)
Shared wisdom resides in all
Discernment by consensus, Spirit rules!
Empowerment
Motivation: faithfulness, process
Looks for openings of the Spirit

Communal interests shape agenda
Spiritual director/companion

Over the past few years, I have even been rethinking the pastor as Spiritual Guide. I believe I am called to pursue all of the qualities of a spiritual guide; however, I think that in a missional of leadership, the leader goes one step further. The leader becomes a "thinker-architect-shepherd.” This type of leadership will not try to get people to do anything, but to be something. Instead of aiming to change behavior, it will aim to change the heart. More time will be spent making worship a transformational event not an informational event. More time will be spent equipping laity to do ministry, than the pastor doing ministry alone. The primary role of pastor is to point out the star and release people into the community. They may go east, west, north, or south; they may vote for any political party; they may pursue this cause or that cause. None of that is the leader's primary concern. Their concern is to help every person give birth to the potential for good that God has given them and equip every Christian to follow the calling that Christ has offered them. The Pastor and other leaders become a midwife helping people birth their ministries.

The problem with the prevailing form of church leadership (CEO) is that for the most part it has reduced the Gospel to a manageable number of programs, structures, budgets, and, of course, the outcome is institutional survival. The arbitrary whims and personal opinions of a few people in leadership positions replace the Gospel command to use the gifts that are endowed to each Christian. After all, committees and staff can be managed and controlled, but the gifts of the Spirit can’t be kept under one’s thumb.

Control is an organizational issue. It’s a form of reducing Christianity to serve a handful of members of the institution, rather than freeing everyone to follow the still, small voice of God. When everyone is free to listen and free to be a part of the church, the former distinctions of Christendom between "clergy" and "laity" are erased. God speaks to the laity as well as the clergy.

The missional church is not about more control or about more hierarchy. Just the opposite is true. The missional church is about the cultivation of a permissional and missional atmosphere where everyone thrives, everyone grows, everyone dreams. Leaders become permission-givers and missional-movers when they are more like:

• Mentors and less manipulators,
• Role-models and less regulators,
• Facilitators and less enforcers,
• "Horizontal" in style and less "vertical" in style,
• Guides and interpreters of experience and less deliverers of information,
• Servants and less served,
• Humble and less career driven,
• Focused on "being" and less focused on "doing,"
• Poets and prophets and less CEOs,
• Concerned with character and authenticity and less concerned with crowd control.
• Passion driven leaders and less like purpose driven leaders

Permission-giving that releases others, particularly the less trained and less experienced, is hard for many church leaders who have issues of control. Our early church forbearers looked for those “full of the Holy Ghost,” rather than those with the highest GPA from the most prestigious training center or those who would have the most influence in the church. When the Spirit falls among us, which was prophesied in Joel 2 and explained in Acts 2, dreams, visions, and prophecies are given to old and young, men and women, boys and s, in reality to everyone. Doesn’t it make sense then that in the purest form of cooperation with the Spirit’s moving, that we engage everyone upon whom the Spirit is falling into the ministry of the church? This is not just allowing, but encouraging all Spirit-filled people to participate in significant ministry, and not just some token crowd response.

This means addressing the “class system” that so often exists in today’s church. As Len Hjalmarson states, “There are not two classes of Christians, the adequate (the leaders, the few) and the inadequate (the people, the many). All are able to hear from God and discover His leading for themselves. The other path leads to dependence on man.”

A quick read of 1 Corinthians 14, shows us an environment where everybody gets to “do the stuff,” where everybody gets “to play.” Not just one person, or even an elite or select few people who are teaching, prophesying, or exhorting all the time are involved.

A leader in a missional church is a sojourner, fellow traveler, who may not have all the answers or even all the questions but are people that are willing to walk beside others encouraging them to be the best they can be for God.

RE: Porching

My friend Cecil talked about the front porch and how it was important in her day. It was a place to meet people to say hello and to find out what was new in the world. The American front porch further represents the ideal of community in America. For the front porch existed as a zone between the public and private, an area that could be shared between the sanctity of the home and the community outside. It was an area where interaction with the community could take place. The porch further fostered a sense of community and neighborliness. In the evenings as people moved outdoors, the porch served to connect individuals. The neighbors from next door might stop by one’s house, sit on the porch, and discuss personal and community issues. The couple walking down the street might offer a passing, “Hello,” as they passed house after house of inhabitants resting outdoors. The front porch was a social space, an entry point for neighborly conversation. Watch the Andy Griffith Show, and you will see the front porch conversation practiced at its best. People in our time yearn for this kind of conversation. They want to engage in a neighborly conversation about life, including their spiritual life. (12)

Today there is not much front porch activity in our community. It is all about the deck in the back. People are invited to come to our deck for food and conversation, but the deck in the back only includes those who are invited to participate in community.

Unfortunately, along with its host culture, the American church has moved Evangelism to the back deck. Congregations are instructed that effective Evangelism uses the exclusive, intimate, and “pressure treated” language of the back deck. Get people away from the world, talk to them as though they were intimate friends, feed them the biblically marinated food from a grill, and argue them into faith. Regrettably, some evangelism marketers have convinced us that people really need this back deck kind of experience.

As a missional church, we must Re: Porch; in other words, we must find places or ways in which we can connect with and converse with those in the community in which we live. It is when we have a moment with people that we can help them to connect with God.

Front Porch Evangelism is a way for us to connect with others, even if but for a moment. When we spend just moments with people, we have an opportunity to know the person and for the person to get to know us. These moments are interactions of those who know Jesus with those who often don't. Front Porch Evangelism feeds off the idea that God is already at work and is passionate about the people that don't know Him. Front Porch Evangelism is completely satisfied with our brief and normal interactions with the people Jesus misses most. Approaching Evangelism more like a midwife than a surgeon, Front Porch evangelists see themselves as partners with the process more than initiators or concluders of it. As we build Front Porches into our lives (places where we can take a moment to meet or talk with someone), we can be used by God to make a difference in the lives of others.

• Smile
• Make eye contact
• Comment about someone’s jewelry
• Inquire about the logo on someone’s shirt
• Ask about people’s weekend
• Open doors
• Walk your dog in a public place
• Pay for someone’s item ahead of them in line
• Remember that a person’s name is the sweetest sound they will ever hear
• Ask people about their holidays
• Look at someone’s nametag and use their name in your greeting
• Give them something free
• Wave someone’s car into your lane
• Converse with people while waiting in long lines
• Comment about a book they are reading
• Tell them a joke (keep it short and in good taste)
• Wish people a happy holiday
• Greet people with "Good Morning," instead of "Hello"
• Become genuinely interested in the other person
• Shake people’s hands
• Introduce yourself to people
• Inquire about someone’s job
• Initiate gatherings in your neighborhood
• Tell someone you will pray for them
• Ask someone how old their children are
• Ask for someone’s business card
• Pay attention to servers, clerks and all service people chat, with them13
• As you get to know people and the opportunity opens itself up, you may ask questions that will catch people off guard and get them thinking (and maybe talking):
• If you could design God, what would God be like?
• What is your first impression of God? Where did you acquire this idea?
• Is God religious?
• Was Jesus religious?

Not only do we as individuals need to re: porch to meet people, the church as a whole needs to consider ways to create new front porches to reach out to others in our community. A missional church would believe that God is expressing love to all outsiders through our acts of kindness and service. After all isn't that what God anointed Jesus to do? (Acts 10:38) As Christians can we do anything less?

RE: Living

Life in this new world is very complex. The "traditional family"(husband/wife) has been replaced by multiple new family forms. These new forms, the "postmodern family," include single mothers, blended families, cohabitating couples, and partners, grandparents as parents, and surrogate parents. Whereas the traditional family was child-centered, basing decisions on what was best for the children and relying upon a universal, natural "parental love" for domestic stability, the postmodern family is more parent-centered, basing decisions on the needs and aspirations of both parents. Now in our time, parents are not only making sure that their children's needs are being met, they are making sure that their personal needs are met too. Trying to accomplish both, makes families busier than ever. There are so many "opportunities " for children and their families: sports, the arts, church, school activities, homework, clubs, and family activities. Most children are moved from activity to activity with little or no time to eat a family meal. Fast food is often the menu for the dinner hour. Families have evolved from the days of Leave It to Beaver to the chaos of the Simpsons.

Whether we like it or not, this lifestyle is the reality of the world. How does the church respond to "Family Chaos"? First, I think we need to realize what seems like chaos to many of us is normal to others. Secondly, we cannot be judges of families that are not "traditional.” We may not agree with lifestyles, etc., but these folks are people that are loved by God and need to realize that. Thirdly, we as the church need to address the needs of today's family. It becomes increasingly difficult to minister to families that live on the sports fields. As church people, we complain about the amount of practices, the amount of games, and the Sunday children's sports activities that take so many out of church. We must realize that this is probably not going to change. We have some options to consider as a church. We can make people feel guilty about the time spent in activity other than that of church. We can choose to ignore that the reality of family differences and that busyness exists, or we can become missionaries and see the activity as a way to do ministry and be in ministry with others. The sport’s team, the dance group, the academic group, and the band usually have parent booster clubs that can become a front porch for us to meet others. Those on the bleachers, who travel from game to game, become a community in and of themselves. What would happen if we were to use these venues as a way to interact with people and over the course of time, share something about our faith? What would happen if after they shared their struggles or heartaches, we promised to pray for them or simply prayed with them on the spot? We must remember God is already at work in their lives. We simply join Him. What would happen if we became creative at the practices and had a Bible study for parents on the field or talked about parenting from a Christian perspective? How could lives be impacted if we secured permission from a restaurant like McDonald’s to run a mini kids club in the playground area for an hour one evening? We could care for children while the parents ate. In most cities and towns, there are many small parks tucked a way throughout the city. What would happen if we had a rotating kid’s program that went from park to park in some fashion? What if we went into mobile home parks, apartment complexes and into neighborhoods to have a school supplies carnival, a rummage sale, an exercise class, a cooking class or just cookouts? What if we planned block parties in neighborhoods that need to experience some kind of joy in their lives? When we begin to think outside the church box, the possibilities are endless as we consider how to help families in their quest to raise children and to care for themselves.

Of course, we would need to consider the needs of senior citizens, single s, the impoverished, and the Hispanics, all of who present themselves with a fair amount of challenges in and of themselves. As the attitude of the church shifts from the inside out, we will see many needs that need to met, and there will be many ways to have those needs met.

RE: Churching

As I approach the end of this writing, I have already explored some new ideas, methods, and possibilities that we could think about in order to be a more missional church. Let's take a moment and review some of the facets of postmodern culture that offer a unique opportunity for the Gospel. Let's list some of them:

• recognition of the essentially spiritual nature of life
• openness and desire for community
• rejection of authority in position and acceptance of authority in relationship
• emphasis on participation over spectator mentality
• leadership by wisdom and example, not knowledge or position
• emphasis on practical answers, "walk" over "talk"
• emphasis on journey and process over goal
• desire for experience over knowledge, the "subjective" and mystical dimension
• recognition of truth in paradox, images and story

The present of a "successful" church is what is known as the Mega Church. A Mega Church is a very large church that offers a vast variety of ministries and programs with the goal of making Disciples for Jesus. The worship is usually very polished, childcare is the best, and it is an experience. The one thing that is difficult for the Mega Churches to achieve is a sense of community. I believe it is time to Re: church. Re: churching means redefining success, modes, and structures by rethinking what the church should be about. Think of the billions of dollars spent on building church buildings and maintaining them. If just those resources were diverted to the home mission field, our communities would be different. After all, Jesus didn't build a building; he used the building that was already there. He taught in the established churches (synagogue and the Temple). He taught in the homes of sinners, on the hillsides, and in public places. His goal was to build the Kingdom of God everywhere. He did not expect people to come to Him. He went to them. If we rethink the way church is done, maybe bigger isn't always better. Maybe more people can be reached in smaller faith communities. After all, in very large churches, often the plan is to assign people to small groups so community can happen. What would happen if things were done backwards?

Missional Churches (mission bases) would extend into communities through mission outreach events and outposts with the goal of connecting people with each other and with God. If mission outreach and outposts are successful, people would begin to accept Christ as Savior. In order to make disciples, there would be a need for groups in which people can experience Christ and explore their faith. As people give their life to Christ, faith communities are formed These small faith communities would serve one another, encourage one another, value one another, accept one another, love one another, and forgive one another They would also engage in spiritual formation (Bible study, prayer), pray for others in their community, and make contact with others in the neighborhood by meeting needs in the community (setting up their own mission outposts and outreach events). Small communities of faith would not only care for each other and others, they could also worship together. Worship would be indigenous to each faith group especially when it comes to music style. Any style of music may be the chosen way to sing praises to God. These small communities of faith would be taught from day one that they are missional in nature. Out of their love for God, their gratefulness for the sacrifice of Jesus and knowing that they are empowered by the Holy Spirit, they would live out the gospel at home, at work, and in their neighborhoods. Small communities of faith would not have the goal of building a building, owning lots of stuff, or having a large organizational structure; their goal would be to set up their own missional outreach events and/or missional outposts. However, while the people in these small faith communities may never attend the missional base (a church), each faith community should be affiliated with a missional base (a church) to encourage accountability.

What would happen if over a period of time, scores of small communities of faith dotted a city, influencing families and whole neighborhoods to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and then teaching them to love God and to love others? What would happen if long established churches understood themselves as mission bases? What would happen if every Christian thought of themselves as missionaries? Maybe we would fulfill the great commission of Jesus.

Glossary of Terms

Church--People that have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Command of Jesus--Love God and love others. John 13: 34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Community--People that share their lives with one another by serving one another, encouraging one another, valuing one another, accepting one another, loving one another and forgiving one another.

Evangelism--Sharing the Good News of Jesus with others, with the hope that those hearing the Good News might respond in faith. In the context of this writing, it is not the traditional guilt laden, understanding of the four spiritual laws or even praying a salvation prayer. It is when folks willingly give their hearts, hands and minds to Jesus.

Front Porch—Front Porch refers to places or ways in which we can connect with and converse with those in the community in which we live. It is when we have a moment with people that we can help them to connect with God. Front Porch Evangelism is a way for us to connect with others even if but for a moment. When we spend just moments with people, we have an opportunity to know the person and for the person to get to know us. These moments are interactions of those who know Jesus with those who often don't. Front Porch Evangelism feeds off the idea that God is already at work and is passionate about the people that don't know Him. Front Porch Evangelism is completely satisfied with our brief and normal interactions with the people Jesus misses.

Good News (Gospel)--The Good News of the Gospel is that God loves all people and that God wants to be in a relationship with every person. God’s Son Jesus expressed that great love when he went to the cross and died for each of our sins. The Good News is that we can be forgiven, guilt and shame removed. We can live an abundant life, and we have the promise of life everlasting in Heaven.

Great Command- The Command that Jesus gave his disciples in John 15:11-13. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I d you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Great Commission-- The charge that Jesus gave to his disciples and us right before He ascend into Heaven as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Ministry--Any good thing done in the name of Jesus.

Missionary--A person that declares the Good News of Jesus through words and actions.

Missional Church--When an established church takes its eyes off itself and realized that the church IS mission rather than does mission as a program or activity as a part of the church, then they would be considered a missional church.

Missional Base—Missional Base is the name for an established church that focuses on outreach into the community. It is a planning and training base for missionaries that will be sent out into the community in which the base is located.

Missional Event --see Outreach Events

Missional Outpost-- A missional outpost is a place where missionaries do ministry. A missional outpost can be in a storefront, in a park, in a restaurant, in the Laundromat, in backyards, almost anywhere. Outposts could also be school gyms, soccer fields and in some cases churches.

Modernity--The prevailing thought of previous years was that all the problems of the world could be solved by knowledge, reason and science. It was believed that God created the world, set it in motion, put together laws of physics and when the laws are discovered our world will be transformed into something good. Human beings can save the world.

Outreach Events--Events planned in neighborhoods or within communities. These events can be random acts of kindness, sporting events (3 on 3 basketball), concerts, block parties, etc. Outreach Events are usually one-time events that could be repeated at a later date. Events at Missionary Outposts happen on a regular basis.

RE: Churching- Re:Churching is a new way of thinking about the church. Success is measured not by size of the congregation, the amount of money involved, the kind of building or the things that one possess, but by who posses you. When we Re: Church the most important thing is others leading others to Jesus by going to them.

Postmodern—Postmodern is the prevailing thought and culture of today, which is a reaction to the modern thought of yesterday. Postmodernism people desire to believe in something greater than themselves but most have no clue what that might be. Most believe that truth is relative and is hard to grasp. There is some distrust of institutions. However, postmodern people crave community, being connected, and willing to explore spiritual things.

Appendix
Protestant Majority Disappearing in U.S.
By RACHEL ZOLL, July 20, 2004

The United States will no longer be a majority Protestant nation in years to come, due to a precipitous decline in affiliation with many Protestant churches, a new survey has found. Between 1993 and 2002, the share of Americans who said they were Protestant dropped from 63 percent to 52 percent, after years of remaining generally stable, according to a study released Tuesday by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. At the same time, the number of people who said they had no religion rose from 9 percent to nearly 14 percent, and many are former Protestants, the survey's authors said.

The study was based on three decades of religious identification questions in the General Social Survey, which the opinion center conducts to measure public trends. The United States "has been seen as white and Protestant," said Tom Smith, director of the General Social Survey. "We're not going to be majority Protestant any longer." Respondents were defined as Protestant if they said they were members of a Protestant denomination, such as Episcopal Church or Southern Baptist Convention. The category included members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and members of independent Protestant churches. Among the reasons for the decline were the large number of young people and s leaving denominations as the number of non-Protestant immigrants increased, comprising a greater share of the population. Also, a lower percentage are being raised Protestant, Smith said. Smith said it is also possible that some former Protestants are now identifying themselves only as "Christian," a choice on the survey. The Roman Catholic population has remained relatively stable over the period, making up about 25 percent of the U.S. population. People who said they belonged to other religions — including Islam, Orthodox Christianity or Eastern faiths — increased from 3 percent to 7 percent between 1993 and 2002, while the share of people who said they were Jewish remained stable at just under 2%.

Endnotes

1Graham Johnson, Preaching to a Postmodern World, pg. 25.

2 Martin Robinson, "Post What? Renewing Our Minds in a Postmodern World," On being 24, no. 2(March 1997) pg, 30.

3Stanley Grenz, A Primer on Modernism Grand Rapids: Eerdman, 1996, pg. 3.

4 Talking Heads, Popular Favorites 1976-1992, Sand In The Vaseline, Release Date: 1992 Label: Warner Bros./Sire Track 23.

5Johnson, Op.Cit., pg. 27.

6Johnson, Op. Cit., pg. 28-29.

7http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=38

8http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=Topic&TopicID=37

9George Hunter III, The Celtic Way of Evangelism, pg. 9.

10 Ibid, pg. 96.

11http://www.leadnet.org/allthingsln/archive_template.asp?archive_id=86&db=explorer Retrieved June 24, 2004.

12http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7ECLASS/am483_97/projects/cook/cultur.htm, retrieved July 3, 2004.

13www.hellomynameisscott. com. Retrieved July 3, 2004

Selected Bibliography

Bible Gateway. . All Scripture Passages are from the NIV.

Easum, Bill . Beyond the Box. Loveland: Group, 2003.

Frazee, Robert. The Connecting Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervon, 2001.

Frost, Michael. The Shape of Things to Come. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2003.

Hunter III, George. The Celtic Way of Evangelism. Nashville: Abingdon, 2000.

Johnston, Graham. Preaching to a Postmodern World. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001.

Lewis, Robert. The Church of Irrestible Influence. Grand Rapids: Zondervon, 2001.

McLearen, Brian. The Church on the Other Side. Grand Rapids: Zondervon, 2000.

Sjogren, Steve. Seeing Beyond the Church Walls. Loveland: Group , 2002.

Webber, Robert. Ancient-Future Evangelism. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003.

White, James. Rethinking Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003