JR Woodward: What is a missional community? | PRINTABLE

• http://twitter.com/yakatack Rob Yackley

  Like you JR, we draw heavily on Jesus’ words in John 20:21 and describe our community’s identity as a people who are being sent. For us, that means a missional community is also a sending community, which has radical implications. It means when you join us, you’ll be expected to go, not stay. While the conventional church is trying to gather as many people as fast as they can, we try to release people as fast as we can.

• http://twitter.com/dreamawakener JR Woodward

  Rob,

  John 20:21 is such a powerful and meaningful verse that communicates at so many levels. That is cool to hear how your community draws on it. For as you say, it has radical implications, including that of multiplication. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Peace.

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• http://twitter.com/michaelsw michael wallenmeyer

  thanks jr, really enjoy this conversation and think it is incredibly important for the church today! i have been influenced by the book of acts, soma, gcm, crowded house, timmis and chester…here is my take on missional community: http://missionalinsuburbia.com/part-four-of-missional-community-essentials-more-than-a-meeting/2011/01

• http://twitter.com/dreamawakener JR Woodward

  Michael,

  I see we have a common friend in Todd Hiestand. I love you site and the series that you are working through on missional communities is really good. I appreciate your emphasis that missional communities are not a “meeting” but communities that minister to one another and even “play” with one another. Your questions for missional community leaders are solid and helpful. Thanks for sharing the link with us. Look forward to seeing the rest of the series. Peace.

• http://twitter.com/michaelsw michael wallenmeyer

  i am sure i will see some of you guys at the verge conference…again, thanks for the work you are doing…

• http://twitter.com/dreamawakener JR Woodward

  For sure man. Look forward to meeting you face to face. Peace.

• http://twitter.com/cridgewa Chris Ridgeway

  At the risk of sounding theologically nerdy: I’ve often felt a tension between the ontological and missional ecclesial definitions, i.e. The church is simply to BE it’s identity as the Body of Christ or the church is to GO reach the world. (Really, this is still the classic conundrum of Great Commandment v Great Commission).

  Here I think you’re doing an admirable job of trying to cut right through the center: locating the ecclesial mission of God Christologically.

  If anything, I’d suggest that this as or more difficult to _live out_ in balance as it is to write. Churches seem to fall off one cliff or the other. They either exist in their mission statement solely for “love” or “worship” or the “glory of God” (transitives that are often pretty dang stationary); or they are defined by the active fervor of the revival tent: all about “reaching” “saving” “going,” with almost no eyes on the “being.”

  I guess what I mean to say is: nicely done definition that balances the churches’ mission and identity. So why is it so hard to stay that balanced in real life?

• http://twitter.com/dreamawakener JR Woodward

  Chris,

  You bring up some great points and thanks for your affirmation on this article as well as your thoughts on how this is can be difficult to live out.

  In my years of ministry I have found that most of us are either more contemplative or active. Those who are contemplative tend to take the time to “be” but often lack the action. Those who are active, are out their serving, but often forget to “be”. So I think a large part of living balanced is to understand ourselves, and then living in community with others who have other strengths and engaging in disciplines that allow us to live more balanced lives.

  What have you found helpful in this regard?

• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OVKPU3OEYURRIDYOZITIOUNX3U Olyrude

  “Do-Be-Do-Be-Do” – Sinatra’s Theological Conundrum. As we’ve split our minds and fragmented our souls, we seem to have also mistaken Christ’s great commission for commands and tried to place them into a 21st century mindframe that replaces the emphasis on the Incarnation of Christ with robotic like steps that lead to the second coming.
  Christ’s approach was, obviously, the right approach, but as Michael W. Smith reminded us (w/a permanent sporting Jesus), “nobody knew his secret ambition.” The reason Jesus’ approach was so effective was (okay – he was was God incarnate no matter what he did, it would’ve been effective) because he came to give it away and die. He wasn’t focused on his gain. He wasn’t focused on a book deal. He wasn’t focused on the dysfunctional deficiencies his parents had left him. Nor was he focused on building this long lasting, sustainable, reproducible, perfect system that had rules, regulations and examinations to let us know who was best, most fit, and most high. He was focused on showing love. He was focused on dying. He was focused on leaving the tomb on the third day. His selfless act displays what the Apostle Paul says we have been called to in Romans 8:29 – (everybody knows vs. 28) which ends in “called according to His purpose, which is to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
  Being missional to Jesus was living the shema, and loving your neighbor as yourself. As we answer our calling to be conformed, our lives become our missional outreach.
  I love the missional communities that are springing up around the nation (that you’re describing here) i trust that this is the direction that followers of Christ continue in.

• http://twitter.com/dreamawakener JR Woodward

  Chris, Are you planning on going to exponential this year?

• kevinmace

  I love the organic nature that God seems to be calling His people back to. Though I think this has always been his message, so maybe the reality is that more and more people are beginning to listen. Institutions are safe, secure, require little investment (other than $), and in many cases draw us away from our dependence on Christ others. Whether that institution is organized religion (I refuse to use the word “church” here), political systems, government programs, etc. God calls us to something more. Something missional. True ekklesia.

• http://twitter.com/dreamawakener JR Woodward

  Kevin,

  I appreciate your words here, in that some “forms” of church seem to be less oriented toward full discipleship. I think you are right on here. Missional communities by their nature, require a high level of teachability. And teachability is the willingness to change and the willingness to learn. With that said, I don’t think that institutions are the problem, for according to Peter Berger, a sociologist and theologian, an institution is defined as “the stable structures of social interaction” that develop when at least two people do the same things together repeatedly. If this is a good definition of institution, which I believe it is, then our problem isn’t institutions, but institutionalism. For I don’t think that we can exist in harmony without institutions. They provide a good sense of stability. But along side the institutions, whether they be institutions of learning, or churches, we must embrace the Spirit’s work along side Christ’s work in the church, for the Spirit bring a dynamic and spontaneous element to the church. When the Spirit is quenched, we become institutionalized and less organic. There is my two cents on the topic.

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• http://twitter.com/nathansojourner nathansojourner

  As a practitioner and leader of an intentional community I often see a struggle with this sense of being sent. I appreciate your definition of mission communities as “… a sent people who connect with God, do life together and receive power from the Holy Spirit to partner with God to accomplish his purposes in our neighborhoods and in the world.” But in my experience of missional communities in socially, economically and racially diverse contexts I find that many such self-identified communities often stop short at simply moving to under-resourced neighborhoods. Sometimes I fear that even my own community sets an example that would have people believe living together and sharing weekly meals and perhaps a Bible study is all that is necessary for a community to be “missional”.

  In an article I read recently Walter Brueggemann uses this same language of us being “sent” by a God who is both a “calling” God and a “sending” God. In describing God’s sending Abraham and Sarah he writes:

  “The sending of Abraham (and Sarah) is perhaps the overarching missional dispatch in all of Scripture. God issues to Abraham an initial imperative: ‘Go.’ Then God makes extravagant promises to Abraham concerning land, name, and blessing. But the sending culminates with this responsibility entrusted to Abraham: ‘By you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:3).

  “Israel exists to cause a blessing that is to be widely shared. ‘Blessing’ is not a religious or moral phenomenon in the world of Israel, but is a characteristic feature of creation that is fruitful and productive. Blessing means that the world should be generous, abundant, and fruitful, effecting generative fertility, material abundance, and this-worldly prosperity–shalom in the broadest scope. Israel’s life is to make the world work better according to the intention of the creator.”

  My concern I think is that it is far too easy for us who practice a missional approach to communities to get lost inside ourselves and forget that our identity as a “sent people” means being present in our neighborhoods, sitting with people who are broken and who are far from God. Are we making the world work better according to the intention of the creator?

  Do you have any recommendations for leaders and participants in missional communities on how to avoid these pitfalls? Do you find many communities in your experience who have withdrawn into themselves–increasingly isolated from the context in which they sit?

• http://twitter.com/dreamawakener JR Woodward

  Nathan,

  Sorry for the delay in getting back with you. First of all, thank you so much for your rich post. I love Brueggemann and totally believe that we need to focus on our neighborhoods in concrete ways. I think the question that each missional community needs to ask and then answer through actions is: If God’s reign were to be fully realized in this neighborhood, what would be different? And that becomes the mission of the group. Of course there are likely many things, so a group needs to access where the need of the neighborhood coincides with their gifts, passions and calling. I will talk more about this in future posts on different questions about missional communities. Thank again for you thoughtful post.

• http://twitter.com/toodus Todd Engstrom

  JR,
  Thanks for your thoughtfulness, and I really appreciate the definition of missional community that affirms our identity. It certainly is critical to remind ourselves of the indicatives before the imperatives!

  I would, however, love some clarification on your concept that would help extend the conversation a little. It seems to me that the major discussion around missional community is not simply about identity, but is also about a form that embodies that identity faithfully in the context of a particular time, location, and group of people. One could easily contend that many of the forms of church (mega to micro) all embody a distinct sentness as a people and meet the criteria you list in different ways, but isn’t there some level to which we must begin helping individuals, small communities, and large communities continue to more faithfully obey Jesus, and realize their identity?

  Toward that end, what would be some practices and forms that you see that are distinctives of missional communities?

  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

• http://twitter.com/dreamawakener JR Woodward

  Todd,

  Thank you for your post and question. Sorry for the delay in getting back with you. Life has been full. You are right in that hopefully ever form of church helps people to realize their sentness. I will be answering your question in an upcoming post more thoroughly, in What do MC’s do? I had a list of a number of different questions that focused on missional communities, so stay tune, the post will go up sometime in the next month.

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