The Missional Journey Update

The Missional Journey

Being the Presence of Christ

Ircel HarrisonPinnacle Leadership Associates

Ircel Harrison Pinnacle Leadership Associates

How Things Have Changed

“We’re not in Kansas anymore!”


The Missional ContextFrom Loren Mead, The Once and Future Church

Christendom1. Unity of church, state, and society

2. Need for uniformity

3. Mission: a far off enterprise

4. Laity: obey rules, maintain order

Post-Christendom1. Church marginalized by state and society

2. Diversity of belief

3. Mission: at our door

4. Laity: do mission and ministry


The Missional ContextFirst, we live in a time of discontinuous change. Second, we are in transition, but we don’t know the destination.Third, “The Spirit of God is among the people of God; therefore, the wisdom to address the challenges of witness and mission in a discontinuous environment exists among the people and needs to be called forth within each and every community.”

--Alan Roxburgh


What is a missional church?


“The church exists by mission as fire exists

by burning”

--Emil Brunner


Missional Church: The Basics

CHURCH – The church is. Community created by the Spirit as Holy and

Human.

MINISTRY – The church does what it is. Community led and taught by the Spirit.

ORGANIZATION – The church organizes what it does.

Organization as contextual and provisional.


The Marks of a Missional Church

From The Missional Journey: Being the Presence of Christ

Missional churches make disciples.

Missional churches embrace a biblical worldview.

Missional churches engage in spiritual formation.

Missional churches maintain dependence on God.

Missional churches celebrate the presence and promises of God.

Missional churches passionately proclaim the Gospel.


The Marks of a Missional Church

Missional churches model authentic community.

Missional churches think and act locally and globally.

Missional churches develop and deploy suffering servants.

Missional churches look long term.


OK, so what are we going to do about it?

A NEW WAY TO DO CHURCHFrom a concept by Alan Roxburgh

Functional Christendom Church

Emerging Missional Church

Environment—the world in which we find ourselves.

StablePredictableDevelopmental

UnstableDiscontinuousEmergent

Organizational Culture—our response to the environment

HierarchiesBureaucraciesManagers/expertsTop-down flowAlignment around a planLinear

NetworksTeamsDialogue/conscious learningBottom-up flowCultivate varietyNon-linear dynamics

Leadership Functions—needed in the organizational culture

PerformativeOperationalManage peopleOptimize performanceControl structure

AdaptiveMaintain tension between

adaptive and operationalManage rulesCreate experimentsCultivate environment of

adaptability



The Missional Church—A Balance

High Tech – High Touch

Outreach – Inreach

Presence – Passion

Practical – Theological

Absolute Truth – Ambiguous Truth

Process -- Program


Patterns of the Missional Church

Pattern 1: Missional VocationPattern 2: Biblical Formation and DiscipleshipPattern 3: Taking Risks as a Contrast CommunityPattern 4: Practices that Demonstrate God’s Intent for the WorldPattern 5: Worship as Public Witness


Pattern 6: Dependence on the Holy Spirit

Pattern 7: Pointing Toward the Reign of God

Pattern 8: Missional Authority

(From Lois Y. Barrett et al. Treasure in Clay Jars: Patterns in Missional Faithfulness)


A Missional Church and Its Community

From Ten Paradigm Shifts Toward Community Transformation

From building walls to building bridges.

From measuring attendance to measuring impact.

From encouraging the saints to attend the service to equipping the saints for works of service.

From “serve us” to service—from inward to outward focus.

From duplication of human services and ministries to partnering with existing services and ministries.

From fellowship to functional unity.


A Missional Church and Its Community

From condemning the city to blessing the city and praying for it.

From being a minister in a congregation to being a minister in a parish.

From anecdote and speculation to valid information.

From teacher to learner.


The Missional Church

The church of today MUST know its field of possibilities and plan accordingly!

Profile FIRST then

Plan with Relevance!


The Missional Church—A Challenge

Very few churches will thrive in the 21st century because we are . . .

Too nice to sweat

Too proud to cry

Too stubborn to change

Too sophisticated to laugh

Too busy to celebrate


“A ship is safest in port, but that’s not what ships are for.”


For additional information, contact Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

www.tncbf.org or 1-888-661-8223

http://www.tncbf.org/

Spiritual

The Missional Journey Update