imagining how the church can reorient around mission

I Corinthians 9:22b: “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some people.” I believe this verse is the crux of what we have been talking about in class over the last weeks. Paul testifies to the missional obligation that comes with following Christ.

This is a challenging verse because it addresses one major concern I have with missionality. As my classmate Tim noted, “It can be very frustrating when we work so hard and care so much and see little to no growth.” The greatest challenge for me personally is not embedding myself into cultures, or developing friendships with people unlike me, or finding Christ in places outside the church. The hardest part for me is, like Tim, investing so much and not seeing change. I have many invaluable friendships that I wouldn’t give up for the world, that aren’t simply “friendship evangelism,” but no matter what, I simply want my friends to see Christ because I know with all of my heart that it would change their lives for the better. read more

Almost twenty-two years into my life and I am restless, sixteen years of school and I am fidgety, two weeks into Janterm and I am ready. My perspective on Church, mission work, community, incarnational, and the Kingdom have all changed this past year. As I stand on the threshold between my single life as a student and a married life as a youth ministry oriented church planter I am ready to leap.

However sometimes I still feel stuck; I feel stuck in the obligations of school, work, and my relationships. None of these elements are discouraging, in fact all three of them empower and encourage me to pursue a future in ministry, but sometimes I feel the expectations of all three hold me back, hinder me from incarnating the full nature of Christ. Sometimes it feels like a juggling problem, maybe I haven’t yet figured out how to live missionally in all three fields; maybe that’s the real problem. read more

This past weekend I went on a weekend ski retreat with my old high school youth group. However, instead of being a camper I was a leader. It was really weird being on the other side of things. Not only did I feel like a giant among the tiny 10^th graders, but I felt as though I had some really important urge and call to tell them about our class discussions and the ideas of attractional and incarnational church models. But it wasn’t that simple. I realized that coming from a youth group program that was based completely upon the attractional model of church, the kids wouldn’t get it. It isn’t that they are dumb or ignorant, but they just haven’t been raised in a culture of incarnational messages and ideals. Yes they have gone on mission trips, but the idea of constantly going out and being a part of the culture instead of doing more and more “church things” isn’t something that is preached at the youth group.   Needless to say, it was a challenging weekend. At first I tried to figure out subtle ways to slip in different things I have learned throughout these few weeks. Then I tried the “hey, listen to what I’ve been learning at college” trick. Both of these methods seemed well received. Then I finally realized something. In order to get across the idea of missional and incarnational theology and ministry to the students, I needed to live it out myself. I had to put myself in their culture. I had to realize the context I was in and be an example and leader in that situation. To tell a youth group to be missional is one thing, but to be missional to that youth group is completely different. I think that is the first step in creating a youth group that will understand incarnational ministry and hopefully attempt to live it out beyond the walls of the church. Sean

The abandoned backpack found Monday along the route of Spokane’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. march contained a bomb capable of inflicting “multiple casualties,” the FBI has confirmed.

via www.spokesman.com read more

This is both ironic and hilarious.  I guess this guy took some heat for his hosting of the Golden Globes, but I found him quite even handed in his humor – he slammed everyone. 🙂

 

I find it interesting to look back on the very few experiences I have had with sharing my faith with non-believers. One of the trends that I see I have set for myself is that, in talking about Jesus, there is always this sense of “oh my goodness, I better say this right, say it clearly, say it quickly, say it NOW!” I put so much pressure on myself to engage in what seems to be an end-all conversation that will result in the deciding of someone’s eternal destination, when really, as I have begun to learn, it is a process that can take many years.

While discussing missional tactics, one of my classmates spoke up and said, “I think the most counter-cultural thing we can do is to not have a quota. There is no need to rush into things with an agenda of all that needs to be accomplished. We need to take it slow, live life, build relationships gradually, and trust the Holy Spirit to do his thing.” read more

None of us knew anything ahead of time.  The only directions were:  dress warm, bring a sleeping bag, toothbrush, $5 in ones, and $1 in quarters, and meet at the church at 3 PM.  We were in for a full 24 hours on the Spokane streets.

Our internship team, under the direction of our fearless leader, Russ (who’s also our pastor), set out over that time all across Spokane to many different urban ministries that are making a difference in the lives of the impoverished and overlooked.  We had some amazing experiences.  At Second Harvest we learned that $1 donated produces six pounds of food that can feed four people.  We found lots of crazy items in the piles of donated goods when we helped organize for the Global Neighborhood thrift store.  We fasted until lunch the second day, but bought lunches for people on the streets and served breakfast to the homeless at the House of Charity.  We stayed the night beneath all the crazy wall art that street youth had drawn on the walls of the Cup of Cool Water drop-in center.   We got a peek into the missions of Christ Kitchen and YFC.  We walked a lot.  read more

Those even slightly familiar with me know that my life is youth ministry. This whole concept of “going missional” excites me because of the possibilities available for it in youth ministry. Below I’ve included the six ways Brian Kirk (author of this blog) suggests leaders go about rethinking youth ministry and my comments on the topic. For full article click here. This rethinking doesn’t just apply to the students; it’ll first have to start with the leaders. read more

In church this morning we talked a lot about the metaphor used so often in church of the sower and he seed, planting the gospel. As I was listening I kept thinking that this planting of the seed of the gospel in others is really the missional work we’ve been talking about. That's really what we want to do when we are being missional is plant a seed that may grow to faith in someone. But the point made in the sermon was that it can be very frustrating sometimes. It takes a long time for plants to grow and other than water them we can do nothing to make the growth process faster.

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