This Friday is for Friends post is from our long-time blog friend, “T,” the one who once won a contest on this blog in which we gave away a pair of crocs. T, you still wearing them? By the way, we are always looking for more submissions for our Friday is for Friends slot. I get lots of notes from folks who appreciate this open forum for our readers. <\/b><\/p>\n
<\/i>People familiar T asks this question of us: Is being “missional” much easier to say than to do? And what do we really mean when we say we are being “missional” like Jesus?<\/b> <\/p>\n Some specific thoughts:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \nNow, I’m not
\nwith John Wimber and\/or the Vineyard will know what
\n“Doin’ the stuff” refers to<\/a>. And if you want a
\ngood intro to ‘missional’ thinking, go here<\/a> or here<\/a>.
\nBut what does “missional” have to do with “doin’ the stuff”
\nthat Jesus was known for? Towards that question I want to throw a few
\nideas for folks in both camps to think about, because I think that the
\nmissional movement and doin’ the stuff could be a match made in heaven–and
\nearth. It’s also why I have Wimber’s Prayer Model as a tab on this blog,
\nbecause I think routinely praying for people who are sick, both with the
\ncompassion of Jesus and the power and insight of the Spirit, is a pretty
\nmissional habit to pick up.<\/p>\n\n
\nabout incarnating Christ, about being Christ, imitating him, right
\nwhere we are. Amen to that! It is difficult to talk honestly,
\nthough, absent some thick protective theological\/western glasses
\non, about incarnating the Jesus of the NT, about being sent by Jesus as
\nJesus was sent by the Father, without talking–a lot–about healing the
\nsick, casting out demons and having prophetic insights as we announce his
\nreign–wherever we are. As Wimber’s doin-the-stuff story makes
\npainfully clear, only someone with theological training and\/or church
\nexperience would read the NT and think Jesus’ disciples don’t<\/i> do
\nthat kind of stuff as they embody and announce him to others.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nin the missional movement really want to try to embody Christ to
\nthe broken people of the world, say we’re his apprentices, and
\nannounce that he is Lord above all powers without<\/i> the kind of actions that pretty much defined Jesus’
\nown ministry and signaled the power and character of his reign?<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n\n
\nfamous\/infamous for some amazing ‘stuff’ that God would do through
\nseemingly anyone in their meetings, the meetings weren’t Wimber’s focus.
\nHe was disappointed that the Vineyard Movement, in his words, ‘never
\nbecame the evangelistic movement that [he] hoped’ for. Ironically,
\nthose in the missional movement now are motivated by the same desire
\nWimber had to bring Jesus to ‘the streets’, to everyday life and
\nrelationships, not just ‘the meetings.’\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nthe similarities the missional movement has with Anabaptists. Well, if it makes anyone feel any
\nbetter, Anabaptists
\nwere doin’ this stuff in spades at their inception<\/a>, but eventually
\nstopped, which is a surprisingly common tale for western denominations as
\nthe Enlightenment and natural human tendencies took hold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nwithin the ‘missional’ movement is the conviction that the Church in
\nthe West needs to take the stance or mentality of missionaries
\nwithin a post-Christian\/pagan\/secular culture. Again, amen to
\nthat. If we analyze, though, not only Jesus’ own actions as he
\npursued God’s mission, but also the initial missionaries that he sent out,
\nwe are again confronted with the role that healing, demonic expulsion and
\nthe prophetic gifts have in that work. Indeed, even in today’s
\nworld, such activity is more common in missionary work than in established
\nchurches. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nmovement is the shift in thinking about the gospel toward the proclamation
\nof Jesus’ reign or lordship, over all other powers, about the dawning of
\nthe new age amidst the old through the cross and resurrection. Dave Fitch has
\nargued<\/a> with many others that in response to this gospel that
\nmissional orders must take on practices of resistance (to the judged but
\noperating powers) and practices of engagement that reveal and
\nembody the purposes of the reign of God. Again, can we faithfully
\ntalk about either–as Jesus’<\/i> disciples–without talking about
\nhealing and demonic expulsion?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nmissional movement has rightfully identified for resistance is the
\nGnosticism that continues to try to drive a wedge between the Church’s
\nwork and ministry and the good of the physical world. Another amen!
\n(and I really mean it!) Nowhere is the western Church more Gnostic,
\nthough, than its discomfort with the practice of divine healing of
\nthe body. In common western theology, the human body gets thrown in
\nthe same disdainful category as the rest of creation–good for
\nnothing but the fire that’s a ‘comin. Is that what we believe God’s
\nposture is to the physical body and the rest of the physical creation? No. God wants to heal both.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nextremely offended by the ‘big-show\/big-star-religion’ that seems to
\nplague the only (modern) ‘healing ministries’ they’ve ever
\nseen. Ditto. But as Todd Hunter has said, the answer to
\nwrong-use isn’t no-use, it’s right-use. Missional churches have
\nrecognized, as have many in the Christian tradition, that power of any
\nkind can be corruptive to one’s soul. Unfortunately, being used as a vehicle of God’s power
\nto heal or expel demons, for instance, is no different<\/a>.
\nMissional churches, while just as human as any, because of their awareness
\nof and intentional practices against being corrupted by various
\nkinds of power that we must use in our lives and mission, are in a
\nposition to minimize corruption as they still actively seek God’s
\npower to help others, rather than take a practical ‘vow’ against it in
\nfalse piety.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nsaying that healing and expelling demons is all there is or should be to a
\nmissional church, regardless of how much it marked Jesus’ life. On the
\ncontrary, I wholeheartedly believe that we still must pursue love as our
\nhighest goal, and that other practices towards those ends must be
\nprimary. We must become different as a matter of character, for the sake
\nof God and others, first and foremost. But just as we in the missional
\nmovement are seeking to reclaim those aspects of Jesus’ teachings that have
\nbeen too often avoided in the West, especially regarding money, community and
\ndiscipleship, we must also ask if we are doing the same regarding his example
\nand teachings to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons, that
\nwas so central to Jesus’ own missionary work and that of his
\ninitial missionaries as they declared that his reign was at hand. <\/p>\n