great quote from jordon cooper’s post on reggie mcneal’s book present future…
A
missionary church culture will need to begin keeping score on things
different from what we measure now. These may include how many ministry
initiatives we are establishing in the streets, how many conversations
we are having with pre-Christians, how many volunteers we are releasing
into local and global mission projects aimed at community
transformation, how many congregations are starting to reach different
populations, how many congregations use our facilities, how many
languages (ethnic and generational) we worship in, how many community
groups use our facilities, how many languages (ethnic and generational)
we worship in, how many community groups use our facilities, how many
church activities target people who aren’t here yet, how many hours per
week members spend in ministry where they work, go to school, and get
mail.Until we start making heroes of people who decide to be
and act like missionaries, we will fail to turn club members into
missionaries. Until we bless people who "go out" from us to reach
people who may not come to us, we will continue to have a kingdom
vision that is shrink wrapped to church programs and church real
estate. Until we start adopting school and hosting community food banks
and teaching parenting seminars for people who come to us for food, we
will keep fostering club member mentality.
This is a subject I’m very passionate about. I head up a band that spent 7 months touring 14 countries last year, (our 4th such trip) with 3 bandmembers, two wives and 6 kids (my own) playing our world-beat instrumental worship music on the street, at markets, tourist haunts, bars and street festivals, saw God do so many amazing things, risked everything we own, VJ-ing, DJ-ing, drumming and didgeridu-ing our way around the globe only to return home to a church that couldn’t give a rats if we dropped off the planet and that can’t seem to define mission as anything beyond expensive junkets to gawk at “unreached people groups” in Sumatra. We don’t want a medal, we keep doing it regardless, but i do feel that Christendom loses out big-time when people like us don’t get a chance to tell our story.
Just to say I have spent two days reading emerging church bloggers and have succumbed to buying Reggie McNeals book, the Present Future. That’ll be one more for the Lent reading pile