These last couple of days we have been in class I have thought a great deal about attractionallism, the traditional approach to reach out to one's community. This topic brings me back to my youth group days. My youth pastor lead a student led ministry where we were constantly figuring out new ways to attract students and how to keep them attending our youth group. I remember having a conversation with my youth pastor where he told me it is a constant battle to attract students in a world that offers so much more than a church could ever offer.
This is where I first decided that the traditional approach (the attractional approach) simply wasn’t working, believe me, I practically lived at the church. It has been enlightening to see that there are other methods to living as the body of Christ. I think it is liberating to know that there is a much more effective method to living within the body and living incarnationally. I am excited to live incarnationally, to love the people within my context and to let God do the work in people rather than trying to do the work myself. I have tried to do the attracting myself through trying to persuade people into belief or inviting people to church in hopes that they will accept Christ. These methods never made a dent and I remember feeling discontent and useless to the Kingdom. In Short, I feel as if my eyes have been opened and a weight has been lifted in learning more about living missionally and incarnationally. The church needs to change if we want to truly live as the body of Christ but that cannot happen without each Christian's commitment to live incarnationally every day.
Jeremy
My heart broke when I read the line “I remember having a conversation with my youth pastor where he told me it is a constant battle to attract students in a world that offers so much more than a church could ever offer.” I cannot imagine how discouraging it must feel to believe that the culture is more powerful and offers more than the church. Especially when in reality the opposite is true. Missional theology works so well because it encourages us to constantly reach deeper into the lives of our neighbors than culture ever could.
Jesus was accused of be a glutton and wine-bibber (a drunk) and a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Not sure how much he ate or what he drank, but he was close enough to be considered guilty..at least by association. A friend of sinners…when was the last time we were called that. I wanna be like Jesus.
Great post, it is releasing to realize that we can embark into hanging out with people where they normally are and not feel weird or guilty about it. And it seems very much like the type of ministry we see in Jesus and the Apostles in the New Testament.