I’ve read these books, all either written or co-written by Michael Frost – The Shaping of Things to Come; Exiles; ReJesus. So, it was fun to be able to hear him speak at our recent leadership conference with Christian Associates. (Hey, all these are good books to get by the way)
The major point I walked away with – it is a good thing for the church to reorganize itself around mission, but the odds are against us really doing it. What I mean by that, is that we share the language but not necessarily the willingness to just go out and do it.
There were some frustrated men and women at the conference, who wanted to go further out into culture, but they didn’t want to leave their churches behind. I understand that, because I am still working to partner with the existing church in my city, because I believe in the transforming power of Jesus and His people (even in the midst of a slightly drowsy stupor). That is why we must begin in mission together, because it is hard to move out after we have created an overall culture of security for us and our children.
There are two reasons I can see for beginning with mission and then seeing what comes out of it, and basing what comes out on the sub-culture we are in. #1 – God is a missional God (and very interested in justice I might add!) Yes, I am still interested in theology, so if we go there we have to embrace the God of mission, who is clearly in our big book. Consider the Exodus, where God hears the cries of His people and orchestrates a historically incredible movement in and movement out, of Hebrews and non-Hebrews, who will constitute His people of faith. But the whole deal is about blessing the whole earth (remember Abraham). And one real long wide eyed look at the remarkable Jesus and His foolishness with hanging out with the fringes will remind us of this as well. Was He really a friend of sinners and partiers, or did he just wear the name tag?
I have to tell you a few times I just had to tell my CAI friends that we just plain have to go, and not worry about the ramifications.
How about reason #2? Well, you may say I am a humanist (remember Jesus was 100% human too!), but I believe the second reason to just go baby is for the sake of the forgotten, ncglected, missed folks who don’t know the fullness that Jesus offers. I still believe that Jesus is good news, when He is not reduced to a slogan or a single promise. The news that He is with us, in the midst of our local history, is good news for people I know, even if they don’t fully embrace Him. I know He is near them – that is enough to keep me going no matter what the result. How many friends live on the edge tonight?
I happen to know 3-5 friends every week, whether on the West Side or on the streets of our city who could use both our real friendship and the practical reminder of the presence of God. We are talking thousands in our city – we will all know this to be true when we are with them. We will hear it straight out.
So thank you to all of you who have lead the way for me – from my local friends to people like the Frosts and Hirsch duo. But books alone won’t do it, some of us have to be dumb enough to try in our own local contexts.
This next week there will be 50 or so Westmont students spending a week on the West Side, serving the local community in prayer, kids clubs, service projects, putting in a playground… The number of foolish practitioners is growing! A Missional God is calling again, and there is a growing response. I will try to get some info out on this site as we go along.
Thanks for all the prayers, love, and support. I can’t let myself off the hook, and I can’t let you off the hook either. God is Spirit, and Love, and Mission. Let’s look like Him before we go be with Him.