missional ministry

As I suggested in previous posts in this series, "missional" is not the same as being mission-minded. Missional individuals embody a lifestyle in which they live and minister as "missionaries" within the context of a specific culture (think "local" missionary). "Mission-minded," as the phrase has traditionally been used, means that an individual or church understands the importance of missionary activity (whether overseas or within your own country) and supports missionary endeavors through finances, mission trips and other resources. You can be mission-minded and not be missional, but you cannot be missional and without being mission-minded.

Missional ministry has a few indicative qualities:

1. Support of missions locally and globally--church planting, overseas missionaries, etc..
2. Equipping and sending members within the local church to different and or foreign cultures both within the local area and beyond.
3. Leadership embodying strong apostolic ("sent one") visioneering.
4. Incarnation of the Gospel within pre-existing systems. (For example, employed within the area, living in the same neighborhood and recreating with others within the culture.)
5. Multiplication through church planting.
6. Comprehensive (holistic?) discipleship methods that involve imparting knowledge primarily in and through missional activity. (i.e. Beyond simply "knowing" stuff about Christ and the Church.)

So concludes my series on missional made practical. *whew* A lot of this stuff has come from a plethora of resources that I have read, heard or otherwise studied. Consider all this stuff a synthesis of resources (c.f. my "missional thinking" post below for a list of resources).

Missional Made Practical:

• Missional: A Primer 
• Missional Thinking (or, "All I ever needed to know about missional church planting, I didn't learn in seminary 3 years ago.")
• Missional Living (or, "Oooohhh... so that's how you do it!")
• Missional Ministry (or, "Uhh, yeah, we're a missional church... I think.")

Comments

[Matt]

Again, great stuff on missional ministry. One thing I would specify - which is included in a couple of your broader catagories - is the 'social' aspect of holistic ministry. Many timies we get scared of that word, 'social gospel.' However, I think under your holistic discipleship and local mission support is a social component. We must demonstrate the gospel through social engagement as well as the many other avenues that are normal to us. This places service and community development as an important part of missional ministry.

[Kevin Bussey]

Wow!

Thanks for this post. It finally hit me. Missional for me means I have to change my progressive ways to some extent. Ouch!

[adam feldman]

thanks, matt...

kevin~ don't worry. #7 (which didn't get on the list) was going to be: "missional leaders have blogs." ;^P

[Joe Kennedy]

Great series, Adam. I hope a lot of people read it. That way we don't get "We've always been missional in the SBC" Sunday School guides. Anyhoo, thanks. Oh, one last thing:

Your mom's a missional baptist dissent blogger who goes to college.

I couldn't resist.

[Ken]

Adam,

Hello again. I've been traveling as of late to places where there is actually limited or not internet access. Hard to believe isn't it? Anyway, now that I am back in the small hamlet of Guadalajara and internet access I have caught up on your latest blog series. Wow! Other than our conversations about Bama and 24 I did not realize I was on the record. I guess I'll need to be more careful next time.

Seriously, as a newcomer to the term and thinking of being "missional", it would help me if you and or several of your cohorts would respond to some questions I have in order to better understand where all this is going. Let me preface my questions with the fact that I am not in disagreement with missional thinking as I understand it and I definitely like the endvision of where it leads Christians in their daily walk. So, here is where my understanding is limited.

1. In your Missional Living post you make the distinction between being missional and evangelism. Crossing cultures seems to be the key here. How do you define crossing cultures in a U.S. melting pot context? And can a Christian be missional and never leave their own culture?

2. What is the difference between being missional in your lifestyle and what some have described as "the normal Christian life"?

3. In your "Primer" post you mention that living missionally is living like a missionary. How do you define missionary so that you know that someone is actually living a missionary lifestyle?

I'll stop here but I do have many more questions and I am reading all I can get my hands on to learn. I believe what happens with this concept will have impact on the international field and I for one want to understand and not react simply because I do not know.

Okay, one more question. Would it be fair to say that missional makes no distinction to what the church should be and do from what a missionary should be and do?

Thanks for your patience as an old dog, oops, elephant learns new tricks.

[Rodney McCarty]

Good series Bro. I'm linkin to it to see if the 1 guy who reads my blog besides my family will catch the hint.....

[adam feldman]

ken~ thanks for the thoughful questions. i don't have time to respond right away, but perhaps some folks who read this series and/or are exploring the whole missional ministry stuff can chime in. i may just copy/paste your q's into a new post and address them there.

rodney... i know the feeling. :)

[adam feldman]

joe~ you should know that my mom actually reads my blog and comments on here regularly. she was a bit confused by your comment, but i was able to explain to her what it meant. so, why don't you go eat a decroded piece of crap? (just keeping up the napoleon dynamite slams...)

[Joe Kennedy]

d'oh. one of the classic blunders. the first is never get involved in a land war in asia, but the second and only slightly less well known is this: never tell a "your mom" joke when the mom is present!