a church for the world

Bringing Shalom to Happy People

It is relatively easy for me to see the need for shalom in communities where poverty and crime rule, where the people are longing and searching for a way out, a better life. The answer is easily said, “Jesus.” But what about the people who are happy, who see no reason to commit their “pretty good” lives to God? The people who claim to have no problems in the sake of looking put together. How is the Gospel good news for them? Where is shalom needed in their lives? How do we communicate the beauty of shalom? I find myself, ironically, getting frustrated at the thought of bringing shalom to a person who thinks they have no need for it, especially if that means rearranging their lives around this Jesus dude. My group and I came up with an answer that wasn’t exactly pleasing to think about. Shalom is communicated through display. We show shalom and the power God’s peace can hold. We pursue shalom in our own hearts, praying to and seeking Yahweh. Shalom is a multifaceted concept, with widespread implications. We are commanded to live amongst our culture, bringing aspects of shalom such as love, mercy, forgiveness, justice and grace. We get involved in social gatherings, we send our children to their schools, we care for the community we are now a part of. Shalom cannot be taught with words, but rather learned through experience. We are called to be on mission to the world, striving to uplift and dignify creation.

-Emilie

God stocking

When looking into fairly recent technological innovations, facebook has become a great social networking tool. How does this apply to mission and God’s Kingdom? Well, I am glad you asked! The term “Facebook stocking” can become all too familiar concerning people’s relationship with God. This term usually relates to a person searching for a love interest’s profile, or trying to figure out who just friend requested them. The bottom line, their goal is to see the person, read about them, and decide if they are worthy of being sought after or accepted. Sadly, there is nothing personal about this relationship and therefore has no real meaning. We have, in a way, been found guilty of “God stocking.” You can obtain a lot of knowledge about him, but until you truly seek his will in your life and act on what he has called you to, your relationship will never become mutual or personal. God loves you no matter what; don’t get me wrong about the mutual part. What I am trying to say there is that you may think the relationship is more than it really is or you may not know the full truth about God, making your so called, “relationship,” with him naïve. In the sense of perusing through God’s profile (the Bible) we can come to a realization of who he is and decide to accept his “friend request.” The problem is: have you invested the right amount of time in getting to know God as a person? John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Taking this into consideration, it is obvious that Jesus was sent to give a real life understanding to all that was known about God, through his Word prior to his coming. So, to build a solid relationship with God you have to know Jesus on a personal level and allow God to work through you to further his Kingdom. God is accessible and knowable through his Word as the book and his Word in the flesh; you just have to take the time to invest in the relationship beyond the comfort of your own knowledge base. Are you a facebook friend of God or are you totally (totes) a friend of God?

C. Davenport

Shalom: a church thing with profound social implications

Ever since high school, I’ve been interested in the idea that I’ve come to understand as “incarnation ministry.” From personal study about “God became flesh and lived among us,” I became interested in the idea of doing mission from the “inside,” and felt a call to live as part of a poverty/violence saturated neighborhood in a way that the distinctive lines between “me” and “them” are removed so that together we can bring about much needed change to the neighborhood. With this goal in mind, I took classes in college and participated in opportunities outside of the classroom that gave me what I considered “training” to live and work among the poor in order to bring about transformation to both the neighborhood and lives within it (my own life included).

And then I took a class called Missional Church and got all confused. I had always seen this “incarnational ministry” thing as being directed towards social improvement of a neighborhood. In Missional Church, I was hearing that it was something that the church does in order to fulfill God’s sending mission for the church to “go and make disciples.” The discussion had me confused about what I thought was my calling. In my mind I couldn’t understand the connection between incarnational ministry as a church thing and of incarnational ministry as a thing for social improvement.

In class today the gap in my mind was bridged. We spent the day talking about “Practical Missionary Engagement for the City.” We talked about Jeremiah 29:7. When we got to the part where God says to exiled Israel, “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile,” the curtain was removed. The distinction in my mind between the “church” part and the action part of incarnational ministry was unnecessary as they naturally flow with each other. We are called by God to bring Shalom to the place we dwell. This involves both discipleship (restoring relationships between people and God) and improving the neighborhood (shalom amongst people and between people and their environment). This means that, while incarnational ministry is something the church does, it has profound social implications. I have permission to pursue tangible change for the neighborhood God calls me to, in fact, it’s a God-ordained mission as part of bringing shalom.

Tradition: Good or Bad?

A lot of our class discussions seem to bring up a consistent theme. The traditions of some current churches are seemingly creating stagnant congregations. Because of this, church plants are trying to be innovative with the ways they gather, serve, worship, or any other part of a traditional ‘church’ you can think of. My question is this…is that tradition really all that bad?

I know that not all people like tradition. Not everyone is in to sitting, then standing, then sitting, then singing a hymn, then standing, then…you get the point. Not everyone is in to getting together, have a cup of coffee, opening with a fast song, praying, greeting, singing a contemplative song, watching a video…again, you get the point.

However, my stance is this. Tradition is great. Church plants can and should embrace some of these traditions. I’m not saying that all church plants need to keep some or even all of these traditions though. I’m just saying that there are a lot of great things about hymns. There are wonderful things about modern worship songs. There are people with amazing gifts on the drums, guitar, and other instruments. Just because some people have grown tired of these practices does not mean the Spirit doesn’t work through them or that people aren’t listening to what God has to say in this day in age.

Innovation and creativity are great. God wants us to use them in order to add life and excitement to our services and churches. BUT…look around. There is liturgy being used in some of today’s churches that has been used for years! There are people who love to sing “Awesome God” or “God of Wonders” and still get out of those songs more than they get out of any part of the service. Just because those things don’t impact and encourage everyone does not mean that they are not beautiful and life giving.

Embrace tradition and innovation. This will allow new churches to remain faithful to what has worked in the past and also be open to the ever-changing and dynamic Spirit of God.

Sean

Unity through Diversity

It’s easy for a Christian whose heart is on fire for God to think that they’re going break from the institutional church and charge out by themselves, setting a trajectory to change the world and make disciples in the name of Christ. Even I find myself caught up in prolific daydreams about uprooting myself and starting a grand movement in some socio-economically impoverished neighborhood on my own. read more

The Gathered and the Scattered church

In The Gathered And Scattered Church, Hugh Halter talks about the differences between modalic and sodalic ministry. Modalic ministries would be classic evangelical or mainline churches. Sodalic ministries would be parachurches or other missional agencies. I began wondering as I started this chapter as to why we even need modalic churches. It seems as if today’s churches just are not working. They are not successfully pursuing mission and scattering people from the church to go out and spread the good news. Halter even refers to this type of ministry as nothing more than a “hospital, social/spiritual club, or a teaching center.” read more

To go or not to go?

This is my struggle, I love European culture, I want to do missions over seas but I am worried that I am romanticizing it in my mind. Maybe I should be content to stay in the states and be used by God here. This class has really messed with my mind. I have been put into a context that I understand well in America and I am sure that God could use me here. The United States is one of the most desperate parts of the world in terms of lacking a working view of the church, besides we as a nation are very un-churched and need devoted followers of Christ right here. I guess my struggle is; how do I really know if I am called to stay right here or to move to Denmark or Germany? I suppose I need to open my heart, to allow the Holy Spirit to inhabit my life and direct me. Discernment will be vital and I guess I have to prepare myself for whatever God has for me whether that means I move to Europe and do missions there or start a para-church organization here in Spokane. God will call me wherever he wants; I think my job for now is to live incarnationally in my own context, as an RA here at Whitworth, to extend Shalom into the lives of the people around me, to settle down and do life with the people within my immediate context.

Jeremy

The Worship Drug

Lesslie Newbigin was very aware of how we can keep the Gospel to ourselves. He wrote that Jesus is not Lord of the Christians, but Lord of All. It’s easy to avoid doing mission work when we see faith as just a part of our lives. It’s our culture, and so we sometimes give up seeking out unbelievers because they just wouldn’t like it in our churches. I have thought that way many times.

One of the ways that we can keep our faith to ourselves is through worship. The Christian way of worship that frequently replaces creativity with convenience. Having been on a few worship teams myself, I know how it goes. Oftentimes the leader will throw together a few songs that tie in with the message, practice it a few times through so transitions are smooth, and then perform. It becomes routine, and it becomes an expected part of Sunday morning. Like coffee, it can be a friendly drug that gets us on our feet, maybe wakes us up a little, but can actually numb our senses. read more

Finding Shalom in Today’s World

In the Bible, the word shalom is usually translated into English as “peace.” So when I think of shalom, peace is the first idea that comes to mind. Although there are some rather bloody moments in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, I do believe that God wants His people to be peaceful, and he wants peace for them. So when I think of God’s shalom, I usually tend to branch the idea out of peace. In Jeremiah 29:1-7, God instructs His people to live among the people of Babylon. He doesn’t want them to become like them; but he does ask them to live peacefully amongst them. He tells them to plant gardens, build houses, and marry their sons and daughters. These are not things people tend to do when they are in a state of war; on the contrary, these are things people do after the war, when peace reigns in the land and they are free to go about their lives once more. I’m beginning to realize that tension is a major theme with God. He wants us to live peacefully in the culture He places us in, but He also wants us to be separate and not actually be part of the culture. That creates a major tension, and I really think it will look different in each individual life It would be so much easier to just make a choice between living completely separate from culture or completely immersing in culture and ignoring God. But that is not what we are called to do. And now we have to figure out, each person for him or herself, what that will mean in their individual lives. – Diana C.

Christ Like Discipleship

Shouldn’t we strive to live as Christ lived? For me I believe that if we teach disciples anything other than this it would be an injustice. Discipleship can take many forms. There is no one way to disciple people for Christ. There definitely are things to avoid, but there is no set of instructions. I believe Christ’s life is the perfect example of discipleship. Jesus proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God. I believe that discipleship is a powerful tool when used properly can transform people into Christ seekers. Throughout our class we have been discussing the true meaning of missional. If the Church’s design is to be Christ like, then the sent people of the Church should likewise be Christ like. There are three main things that I believe need to happen in making disciples. The first aspect of discipleship is a real faith. By this I mean someone who is willing to live their life for Christ. Real faith is necessary in discipleship because Jesus called us to leave everything behind and be in an active relationship with him. This call is for people who take their faith serious. A real faith is the foundation for any disciple of Christ. The second aspect of discipleship is a full understanding of the Gospel. A full understanding of Christ’s life and the Good News is essential to becoming a disciple. I believe that an understanding of the Gospel will give meaning to discipleship. Christ’s call to live missionally is the reason why discipleship is important in following Christ. The third aspect of discipleship is fellowship. I believe that fellowship is a vital part in discipleship. Christ taught his disciples by actually going out into the community and showing his disciples what the kingdom of God really is. Discipleship is designed to have people step into the kingdom of God. The obedience of these elements is what ultimately makes a disciple of Christ.

-Cory

imagining how the church can reorient around mission