How Does One "Preach Missionally"?
[Edited 1 Feb 2007]
The title of this post comes from a question raised by Shannon in response to a previous post where I claimed to be doing this - preaching missionally.
Actually I don't really know if this is what I am doing, but it certainly feels like it is. This has been for the most part an unintentional, "God-guided" process - and I say that with qualification - it seems to me like God has led me and my fellowship down this path, independantly of a broader understanding of the missional/emerging movement. At least until more recent times when my studies of missional/emergent Christianity have helped a lot of the other stuff, the "God-guided" stuff gel and fall into place. And I really do say this with reservations - I know how presumptuous and even arrogan these kinds of statements can sound. So feel free to pull me up on this.
I have posted (below) my response to a couple of things Shannon asked and I think they are good questions/comments. At the moment though this is really looking a lot like the "Shannon and Andrew" show - I know I get a few other lurkers and visitors to this blog so I would really like to throw out the invitation and urge, encourage, and pester you into joining in this discussion.
I think these topics (missional leadership, missional preaching, missional living etc.) are all incredibly important, and I know I want to learn and know more and the best way I know to do that is to do it with other people!
Shannon Asked:
Good question, and I guess I can only respond out of my own direct experience. Hopefully some others can weigh in on this conversation and shed further light/criticism etc. on it.
How does one preach "missionally"?
I would say that in what I would call "missional preaching" I am regularly focussing on three points:
1) The kingdom of God;
2) The centrality of Christ and;
3) The royal priesthood (or Luther's priesthood of believers).
These are the three core topics I have found myself continually coming back to in so many areas of ministry/life, and I think all three are key to preaching and living missionally.
There seems to be something fundamentally different about a fellowship where one person wears all the hats and calls all the shots and where more of a team effort is applied.
Of course in my context, this doesn't mean we all sit around and make every single decision together. There are plenty of things I make decisions about - there are also things others make decisions about, but generally each one in their area of expertise.
Where we come together is where we overlap or where there is uncertainity. Getting to this point hasn't been easy. There are still those who want to come back to (what I beleive is a completely unworkable) place where all decisions are made corporately - even to the point of involving the membership in some pretty mundane decision making.
It's a work in progress and I am anything but an expert. The term "missional" in the sense we are using it in this discussion is new to me. However the concept, at least as I think I understand it, isn't. It encourages me to see and hear how others in similar and also vastly different circumstances are being led in the missional direction.
3 comments:
Andrew,
Thanks for posting and addressing some of the questions I raised.
Your comments on "missional preaching" are appreciated. If what you have said is a good indication of missional preaching, then I do a lot of this type of preaching myself. :)
What I have to speak to is this,
"I am not sure it is the same (although I am not sure it isn't - I am still wondering if we aren't just living in denial).
There seems to be something fundamentally different about a fellowship where one person wears all the hats and calls all the shots and where more of a team effort is applied - and I'm speaking of the typical "pastorcentric" kind of congregation here, not Shannon's fellowship specifically."
I don't think I gave the impression that somehow I attempt to wear all the hats that adorn our church "hat rack" :) I wear one hat in my church and I have worked hard to get to this place of single hat duty. In my first several years with my current fellowship, I did wear many hats but as we have been able to cast a vision, others have taken on those different hats. The only hat I now wear is that of the pastor. I do not by any stretch of the imagination make all the decisions. I do make the decisions that rest upon the office of the pastor; not the CEO. I would be dishonest if I said I didn't think we have a good model of "church" because I believe we do. Our church "meshes" well with one another and everyone is encouraged to live out their faith in the context of our community. We're continuously looking at and developing new ways to live out this missional thang. :) I don't want you to think I'm upset or angry because truly I'm not. I, like you think this conversation needs to be had and more need to engage it. But I would also say that unlike a great deal of what I find in the "blogosphere", Living
Springs isn't just talking about it, or complaining about what the church "should" be and do, we're doing it and attempting to do it in even greater ways.
Shannon said:
If what you have said is a good indication of missional preaching, then I do a lot of this type of preaching myself. :)
Well, that's two of us :) - I really hope we can hear what others have to say about this!
Shannon said:
I don't think I gave the impression that somehow I attempt to wear all the hats that adorn our church "hat rack"
Fair call - and I am sorry if it sounded like I was pointing the finger (which it obviously did). From what you described it sounds like you are in a similar place to us.
Shannon said:
Our church "meshes" well with one another and everyone is encouraged to live out their faith in the context of our community. We're continuously looking at and developing new ways to live out this missional thang.
That's great. And this is the picture I have been given of your congregation through reading your comments and posts to your blog.
I really didn't mean to sound like I thought otherwise. I was using your questions and comments as springboards - they were good questions and really challenged me to think about my own situation.
Shannon said:
But I would also say that unlike a great deal of what I find in the "blogosphere", Living
Springs isn't just talking about it, or complaining about what the church "should" be and do, we're doing it and attempting to do it in even greater ways.
And I think that is incredibly important. I do think though that we can and should be able to talk about things we don't understand or agree with freely, but if that is all we are doing then .... well you know! I hope that I don't come across as someone who just complains a lot - if that is the case then I think I will give up blogging - that isn't the sort of person I am or want to be perceived as being.
Shannon said:
I don't want you to think I'm upset or angry because truly I'm not.
I hope not, as it was never my intent to anger you. In fact it was never my attempt to single you out in anyway. You raised the (good) questions and I responded. If I did upset you then I am sorry.
Thanks Shannon.
Andrew,
You musn't give up blogging. :) Then who would I have such thought provoking dialog with? It's difficult to translate ones words in the context of the internet. Sometimes what appears to be antagonizing truly isn't at all. I appreciate your blog and the thoughts that come from it. :)
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