The real way to be “missional”

I’m making good on my promise to talk about the Emergent church. I’ll go soft for now. At the end of the day I firmly believe the Emergent Church is deceiving millions within the body of Christ. But Their roots are good, it’s where they took the conversations about changing the Faith that they went wrong. C’est la vie…

One thing Emergent and Emerging communities trumpet is the lack of service to our fellow man, lack of taking care of our planet, lack of “social justice” in the Church. They say the church has become more an industry trying to sell tickets to the show, and less a ministry reaching to the community they are within. That each church should be “missional”, meaning that missions isn’t something overseas, but something that takes place on a daily basis within the churches community. On this subject, I agree completely with those in the emergent and emerging church.

We as believers have indeed have become too selfish in our faith. We have more self help groups, “how to get blessings”, “how to be problem free”, “how to have your best life now” groups in the church then we do real outreach programs. To be clear I’m not talking about the once a year clothing donation that your church does. Where I appreciate that, and believe that it’s valuable, I’m talking about sustained daily outreach, sincerely serving those around us with a focused and sustained effort. On this point they are right on.

But I contend the way to fix the problem is much different.

Little known fact about me is I came from an Emerging/ post modern background. Before I moved to Kansas City I used to pass out cigarettes to homeless people on Mill Ave in Tempe. I used to have Beer and Bible night at my house, and tried as hard as possible to make Christianity relevant to the culture around me. My first years in Kansas City and on staff at IHOP, I moved into the inner city. I used to sit out front of a coffee shop called Broadway Café, smoke cigarettes (though not allowed to while on staff at IHOP; and I wouldn’t recommended it) and reason with Atheists, Agnostics, Muslims, Zionists, and homeless people. I tried to be as relevant to the culture around me as much I could. I tried to help as many people as possible, and preach the gospel to any I came into contact with. I figured surely they wouldn’t hear me unless they thought I was one of them, unless I shed the “right wing” conservative religious stench that they hated about Christianity. So I smoked, cursed a little bit, listened to Beck, Radio Head, and Elliot Smith. I watched indie movies, went to countless art showings and poetry readings, and ate as much pretentiously foreign food as possible. Pretty soon I found myself reading Nietchze and Kurt Cobain journals more than I did my Bible. I found myself less and less in the prayer room at IHOP, and more and more downtown philosophizing about man’s existential crisis.

In the midst of all this I helped as many people as I could. I would hold weekly worship gatherings in Westport (mid-town KC), and would have up to 50 to 70 gathered every Sunday night worshiping. Some homeless people would get saved, sometimes people from the local bars surrounding us would come out and raise a ruckus, maybe curse at us, maybe ask about Jesus. I’d spend what money I had getting those homeless people that did get saved food, groceries, and sometimes arranging places for them to stay, and work. I stuck with some daily trying to help them get off drugs and alcohol. They would get through the shakes and withdrawals; get free from drugs and drinking for about a month before they would fall off the wagon. Once they fell off, I’d faithfully help them back on. Sometimes they’d let me help, sometimes they’d shout at me to leave them alone. Either way I tried to always be available, and always help no matter what, but it got discouraging. It felt like the movie Ground Hog day. I would wake up every day and they would seem to be right back to where they were the week before. A cycle that as hard as I tried, as much time and effort I put into it; I couldn’t get them to break the cycle. I stuck with them for 2 years. Day in day out- nothing changed. Finally in the winter of 2004 I decided to make a change. It wasn’t working.

I did what the Emerging Church is trying to do for 3 years faithfully. But it doesn’t work. No really- I’m saying I tried it… IT Didn’t work!

Here is the problem: When you try to make the church relevant to the culture, you become a follower of the culture; not Christ.

Its right to say the Churches focus has been off, in many cases it has been. In the last 50-60 years, the church has equaled a self help ministry. A way to get friends, make friends, network, help your life and be a better person. In doing so the church (in some cases mind you, not all) is starting to look more like a Tony Robbins/ Zig Ziglar conference then a place of worship and faithfulness to Christ. But to fix the problem should we do so by changing the church model? We would only be doing the same thing, but instead making it more like Bono, less like Robins.

No. the change is in the focus. We change our focus to a life built around Christ. Not only is He upholding all things presently, in him do we find grace to be “Missional”. The fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5 (love, joy peace, patience, kindness, etc) are not actions we aspire to, but are the result (fruit) of a life rooted deep in Christ. We build a history of the First commandment. We love Christ with everything within us, ONLY then can we truly love one another. (John 15; I John 3:23-24) Then we are being Missional. The idea that loving our neighbor is a cool new concept within Emergent circles speaks to me of 2 things:

1. These people don’t read the Bible
2. They don’t know Christ.

For if they did they would realize that their “super cool concept” is simply what Christ commands us to do (John 14:12; Matt. 22:37-40) If the church is outside of those things written in the word, then the focus needs to be brought back to Christ, not outside of Christ. In Him we live, move, and have our being. We don’t otherwise have the grace, the unction, the wisdom, the love to be missional. For we are hidden in Him. The change that needs to happen in the church is not one of new doctrine but a going back to the old. Forgetting Schleiermacher and Kierkegaard, McLaren and Bell, and returning to the Gospels and Paul and John. The Church needs to Love Christ, then out of that foundation love those around us.

That’s what the Bible says however To argue outside of that is to argue something outside of Christianity and is therefore irrelevant.

This has been part one- stay tuned for part 2.

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