Missional Ministry

Lately I have been trying to do a better job of "Missional" ministry. This is a new buzz word in church circles, and all it means is that we are living out the great commission, making disciples of the nations. Now this might not seem like a revolution, but it kind of is.

There are many reasons that this is a revolution, the majority having to do with the church nit doing its job. The idea is that for years the church has been inwardly minded, instead of outwardly focused.

I am not going to get into most of this though. What I want to talk about is how hard being missional actually is. If we are to believe the authors of books of this new movement, we just need to be missional, and stuff will happen. And while that is sort of true, it is sort of untrue at the same time.

What is true is that if we are reaching out to the community, hanging out with non Christians, and loving sinners, eventually people will come to know Christ. What is untrue is that all this will just happen if we change our attitude. We need to change everything- and that is why it is hard. I have much easier weeks when I am at out church building re-tiling or doing some other kind of task. It is just easier. There is a definite beginning and end. I can see the results of my labors in just a few hours. When I am done raking leaves, there are no more leaves. There is no guess work. The same can not be said if I am outwardly focused.

When I am at coffee shops engaging in the community, people watching, meeting with guys in our church, or meeting new people, the results are not quantifiable. Sure there are some obvious ways to tell if the work I am doing is baring fruit, people come to church, ask questions about the Gospel, become Christians, but these are few and far between.

And that is just the problem, isn't it. We like to check things off our list- I know I do So the church as a whole retires back in to the walls it has erected up for itself, and once again becomes inwardly minded. We call it going deeper, discipling, preparing, growing up our believers. But we should call it what it is- sin.

I can sympathize with the desire to look inward in stead of out. It is easy. Unfortunately we are not called to this kind of life. But at the same time, how fortunate for us that we are not called to that kind of life.

If you read my sermon, you will note that I talked about Paul telling us that we can share in the blessings of the Gospel when we become missional. There have been so many times in my life that being missional has filled me with joy. Three in the last year. There is nothing more rewarding than watching Jesus turn someones life around.

And this is the crux of the thing. What the missional guys have discovered is that there is joy in this burdensome, weary work. While it is not quantifiable as often as we would like, when it is there is nothing greater.


Being missional is extremely hard. We need to be intentional about everything we do. Whether we are watching the Sox with our friends, at work, or going for a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, the work is never done. Our entire attitude must change. We must forsake the American way of lie that says this is your works time, and this is your time, and submit to a Biblical way of thinking that says this is God's time- and that is all there is.

That is not to say that we don't have days off, or vacations, however we remember that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, and sometimes we are called to do this too. Th difference in our attitude must be a full heart conversion. Our whole perception of the world must change. And this is part of why becoming missional is so hard.


At the same time, and in contrast to everything I have said thus far, becoming missional is easier than many of us think. The reason is that we don't really have to do anything. If we call our selves Chirstian, then we have the Spirit of God with in us. What does this mean? It means that we are being Sanctified all the time. And the big deal about this is that the Spirit desires us to b missional, so if we just listen to God, slowly our entire selves will be transformed.

We will be able to be nothing but missional. Romans 12 :1 states it like this. Therefore, in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Our motivation is God. Our transformation id from God. Our lives become about God.

We can't do this on our own. we can;t force others to either. If we were to sit on our high horses and simply told people to become more missional, they would for about a week, and then the would stop hanging out with us because either they were ashamed that they were not doing what we told them they ought to be, or they just simply wouldn't want to be yelled at again.

As with every other epidemic in the church, this one has to be dealt with by the Gospel. Paul knew this, and that is why he tells the Romans to offer their bodies as living sacrifices. Notice the why. Why do we offer our bodies? Because of God's mercy. Because of Jesus. Because of the Gospel. It is not because we ought to, or God is owed it. Sure, we should, and God is owed it, but beating people over the head just doesn't work.


What has worked through the ages is the constant looking to Jesus. Getting people to be missional happens the same way that we stop someone form drinking, or having sex. Has an alcoholic ever stopped because someone told him he was screwing up? No. What happens, usually, is that he resigns himself to drink more to show that other person, and pulls away from them at the same time. What does work is the Gospel. What works is the reminder that Jesus loves them anyway. That God died for them while they were unclean, and through His death, they can be made clean. What works is reminders about God's mercy.


The same solution can be offered for mobilizing missionally minded congregations. We need to point them to Jesus. We need to remind them, not just that Christ demands that we make disciples of the nations, but that Jesus did the same for them. We need to remind them of how their lives have changed, and remind ourselves how Christ has changed our life. We need to remember the Gospel, look back on God's mercy, and fall back into the arms of our First Love.

If we have truly done this, how will we be able to do anything but share the Gospel, become Missional. We need to constantly remember that Jesus saved our life, and take that wherever we go. We need to truly believe the Good News, and after that, God will do the rest.