Category: Missional Church

What a Missional Community Isn’t

Posted on July 27, 2010

The missional leaders of Soma Communities, Jeff Vanderstelt and Caesar Kalinowski, have helpfully distinguished missional communities from various other church structures by stating what they are not.[1] In their helpful document, “Building Missional Communities” they state that a Missional Community is NOT primarily:

  • A Small Group
  • A Bible Study
  • A Therapy Group
  • A Socially-Minded Small Group
  • A Weekly Meeting
  • A Cell Group

This is both clarifying and intriguing. What then is a missional community? While missional communities contain aspects of these types of groups, they are not defined by one of these characteristics alone. Missional communities do study the Bible, often reflecting on a sermon or a passage of Scripture. They do provide gospel-centered counsel (not therapy) for one another. They are socially minded and socially active, frequently engaging the social needs in their part of the city. They do meet numerous times a month for a more formal gathering, but their community is not restricted to a meeting. Like a cell group, City Groups are evangelistic; however, they practice evangelism within a much larger understanding of mission and nature of the church.

What then is a missional community? A Missional community is a local community that gathers and scatters throughout the week to share and show the gospel of Jesus Christ in their cities (towns, villages, or suburbs). They are where the church can be the church to one another and the city. Missional communities are shaped by three primary elements—Gospel, Community, and Mission.[2]

[1] Vanderstelt and Kalinowski, “Building Missional Communities.” I have adapted their list. See www.gcmcollective.com/resources for more.

[2] This post is an excerpt from the chapter, “What is a Missional Community?” in my forthcoming book on this topic.

Non-Christians in Christian Community? (Pt 1)

Posted on July 22, 2010

This is a guest post from Nate Navarro, Director of Missional Community at Austin City Life and Co-Director at Music For The City.

The second time I ever met my friend Jonathan Dodson it was at Austin Java over a good cup of coffee. He was telling me that he was starting a church where Christians and Non-Christians would be in community together and would work together for the good of the city.

I was intrigued to say the least. Here’s a story to show how this vision can unfold…

Dylan is cool. He is good looking, has the right tattoos, and has the attention of the ladies. He is a fast living Austinite who waits tables for a living.

Dylan was raised  in Dallas and tells stories of growing up in a church where he felt left out, judged, and unloved. As soon as he graduated high school he packed his bags and moved to Austin.

I met Dylan a year ago on a Sunday afternoon and invited him into the house for a beer and to watch some football. He stayed all day long and kept coming back every Sunday night for dinner. On Sunday nights we open our home for dinner. Folks bring their own beverages, and a different person every week cooks up a meal. Some nights there are 10 people, sometimes 20, once we had 35.

After about a month he started asking who all these people were that came over for dinner on Sunday nights,  and “when can I come to this church everyone is talking about?”

What he didn’t realize is that he had been visiting the church, every Sunday night for a month, in our home.

Now it looked more like a chaotic dinner party with lots of food, loud kids running around, and a few empty beer bottles. In reality it was a group of very imperfect Christians, living life together, on mission to love Austin. Soon after that my friend Dylan began to drop in on our Sunday morning gatherings. He occasionally meets me for lunch, and serves alongside me at the nursing home in our neighborhood.

Last month I shared the Gospel with Dylan over a turkey sandwich. We have been friends for more than a year.

I told him that although we are all more broken than we dare admit, in Christ we are more accepted than we could ever imagine. I pleaded with him to see that Jesus offered him perfect love that one night stands could not.

Dylan is skeptical.

My best guess is that he loves our community but does not yet love Jesus. I pray that he will see through the inconsistencies in my life, and in the life of our church, and see how good and perfect Jesus is. I am thrilled to be part of a Christian community where people like Dylan, who struggle to believe, feel welcome, loved, and respected.

And for those reading this and looking for a practical application:

Stop inviting people to your church and start inviting them into your life.

To Be Continued……..

Rashid Emmanuel: A Modern Martyr

Posted on July 20, 2010

Just a few days ago I heard about pastor Rashid Emmanuel’s arrest. I was trying to figure out how to help him. Then, within 36 hours I was grieved to discover that Rashid had been shot to death in Faisalabad, Pakistan, after being exonerated from false accusations of blasphemy against prophet Muhammad.

Apparently enemies printed up flyers with blasphemies and put Rashid’s name at the bottom. Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s minister of minority affairs commented: “I personally don’t think that anyone who wrote derogatory things against Muhammad would put their names on the bottom,” he said. “This was just to settle a personal issue.”

The Gospel from the Grave

Please pray for the comfort and protection of his grieving family and church. May God be pleased to honor Tertullian’s remark in the life of Rashid Emmanuel: “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” May this modern martyr’s death bring new life to many in Pakistan as the gospel is faithfully preached from his grave, reminding his neighbors, countrymen, and the church that Jesus will return to avenge his blood and redeem those who share his faith:

They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, ​holy and true, a​how long ​before you will judge and c​avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given ​a white robe and ​told to rest a little longer, g​until the number of their fellow servants​ and their brothers​ ​should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been (Rev 6:9-11).

Modern Martyrdom

Unfortunately, Rashid is among many modern martyrs. In fact, the 20th century saw more martyrs than all prior centuries put together. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity notes: “The effect of Christian martyrdom on evangelization over the centuries has been profound. Naturally, Christians have almost always insisted that martyrdom should not be deliberately sought for; but when it happens, the news spreads widely, and unbelievers including persecutors are converted. Martyrdom    can be termed the final witness, the complete personal statement of faith in Christ, the ultimate proclamation of the gospel.” (emphasis added) May Rashid’s death have just this effect, “news spreading widely, and unbelievers including persecutors are converted.”

For more information on the persecuted church, go to www.persecution.com, the website of The Voice of the Martyrs.

Knowing YOUR City

Posted on July 18, 2010

As we settle into our cities or as our churches grow, it can be easy to assume we have “a handle” on the culture of our city, suburb, or town. However, a good citizen-missionary never “arrives” in cultural exegesis but is always knowing, exegeting (studying & interpreting) their culture. To that end, here are some general and specific suggestions for continuing cultural exegesis:

(1) Ask your neighbors and fellow citizens lots of questions. Don’t interrogate them but show sincere, intentional interest in them and the info they possess. Anecdotal information about your city and fellow citizens is unbeatable. Ask them the what, how, and why questions: What do you think is broken in our neighborhood or city? What gets you excited about life? What do you think should be done about economic decline in our city? why do you drive across town to do X? why do you dislike traditional Christianity. Feel free to add to this in the comments.

(2) Read local, independent publications. Very often the stuff that looks like a waste of time contains some of the most clear voices from within your culture. Get local (not just national) opinions and reviews on movies, books, culture and politics. For Austin: Statesman, The Chronicle, Misprint, Austin 360 blog, the Austinist, etc. Feel free to add to this list in the comments.

(3) Gather historical information on your city and neighborhood. How did your city come to be the way it is? What political and cultural and economic issues have shaped the ethos and beliefs of your city? Read local authors and histories. Austin: Writing Austin’s Lives, History of Austin DVD, Bob Bullock History Museum, Neighborhood Assns, etc.

(4) Participate in local art, music, and business. Learn to love your city, celebrate its strengths, learn from her citizens, love her citizens! Support local business, go to art shows, listen to local music, eat local food. Examples are endless in Austin.