From engagement to missionary

We have just been going through what promises to be the last parish review and accountability process known as the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. In my reflections I am aware that as a church over the last couple of years we have become engaged once more with the world around us, much more outward looking, with many more relationships that we are able to engage with. This is good. But it is not great. What is great is to be a missionary church, making disciples and seeing transformed lives, environments and workplaces. Engagement can be done through the activity of casting vision, energy put into relationships IN the church, and the taking advantage of certain opportunities in the local area. Engagement can be developed from the energy and gifting of one or two people. Missionary church comes when discipleship is engaged with, when there is a growth in the numbers of leaders, and where people work together to do the fishing that Jesus says he will teach us to do.
Last Central Gathering I talked about the way we see something really crucial in John 21. Peter DECIDES to go fishing, the others AGREE to go with him and Jesus DIRECTS them to the right side where they then find a very big catch of fish. It seems to me that this is the process of leadership & becoming missional - somebody needs to DECIDE to go fishing, others need to AGREE to go with them and then they need to be dependent upon Jesus DIRECTING them to the right side to fish. It is certainly proving to be the way in which we are developing and releasing MSCs.There has to be this act of faith in becoming missionary that places reliance on hearing and following the direction of the Lord. There have to be disciples making the decision to get in a boat and go. There have to be people who agree to go with the person who has made the decision.
Have I/we got the faith to believe that after we have fished all night without any success that the Lord will direct us to the right side?

MSCs - households of faith

I've been spending quite a lot of time with leaders of missional communities in the past couple of weeks. There is lots to be thankful for - two MSCs are preparing to do ALPHA courses with people who are interested in exploring faith further. The great thing is that these ALPHA's are emanating from a community of people who are willing to take the call seriously to 'go and make disciples' - in other words they aren't expecting some 'others' to do it... they are doing it themselves. This confirms that as a church a key part of our vision is to seek to transfer responsibility... the ability to respond.... to those who have been commanded by Jesus to go and make disciples. Communities of disciples are well positioned to respond positively and strongly to our society - an MSC is small enough to care and big enough to engage as a spiritual household, an extended family in a western world that is thirsty for community. The 'oikos' was the household of extended family and friendships formed around common purpose that was  the primary 'unit' of early church. MSCs as oikos are about committing our lives together to a common purpose and re-ordering our lives bringing faith, family & mission focus together. It means that we also need to have to adjust our faith expectations. Where perhaps we have expected people to come to faith through something centrally organised like ALPHA or our services instead we are expecting MSCs as 'oikos' to be life-transforming environments that multiply and this requires that we have faith for people coming to Christ as we go.I'm praying that faith will be released for multiplication of MSCs throughout the surrounding area.

Blogs well worth following

There are many blogs being written - I follow a few but the following ones are well worth spending some time on...

My friend Mike Breen has recently started a blog facilitated by 'Aidan' - which is like a conversation and a Q&A all rolled into one. The first three entries alone are brill and cover Lifeshapes, some small things that we can do that could make a big difference and family life. I would especially encourage attention to the Lifeshapes one if you are not completely sure what to think of my regular use of and reference to them.

http://mikebreen.wordpress.com/

Another friend of mine, Andrew Dowsett, has been blogging for a long time now and is well worth following. His most recent thoughts especially in regard to Oikos have been really thought provoking as this is an area that I beginning to do further observe, reflect, discuss.

http://dowsetts.blogspot.com/

What is the Church Doctor saying?

Have a look at this from Kent Hunter who is one of the 'Visitors' (exterior accountability partner & advisor) for The Order of Mission. He heads up Church Doctor Ministries which is a way of helping church leaders in North America become missional in the face of the cultural upheavals of these times.
http://ow.ly/15hTB
I like the bit about overcoming pride - in other words being open to learn from those who are ahead of you... something I try to do through some key relationships. 
The 5.0 strategies are pretty good also.
Nothing we look at like this should be received uncritically.... but Kent's article should make us all observe, reflect & discuss a bit more. What do you think?

www.churchdoctor.org 

The first Bishops Mission Order

Well - the first BMO was created last November - a network church in Exeter. See the link....
http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/stories/exeternetwork/

I guess we are going to see quite a lot of variety in the different BMOs.... ENC have been going for 5 years and have started from scratch.... we are not starting from scratch but rather transitioning from one model to another (something that many people are saying is the hardest thing to do!) Currently we are about 17 months into our transition having first de-cluttered ourselves from having services every Sunday thus enabling us to focus on being church as communities of followers and weaning ourselves off the 'Sunday-only' mentality. 
I'm intrigued to see similar language between us and ENC - as they begin to use a church building in the middle of Exeter Jon Soper says this: "Where we go next will be our third place, but we are going to call it a base or a tent – not a home." We need to continue to develop the base/tent mentality in relation to the place we do central gatherings in and where we have our offices.

Do you know how beautiful you are?

I have just been listening to a song on No Line on the Horizon by U2 called Get On Your Boots. A few lines especially struck me:

Here’s where we gotta be

Love and community

Laughter is eternity

If joy is real

You don’t know how beautiful

You don’t know how beautiful you are

You don’t know, and you don’t get it, do you?

You don’t know how beautiful you are

Truth is... we don't realize how beautiful we are - where there is real joy, where there is love and community there is beauty. As Bono puts it... these boots are sexy..... or as Isaiah 52 says "Awake, awake!" & "Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned O Jerusalem" - when we sit up & stand up in our authority as the people of God we get to have beautiful feet - "how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news." 
I think the vision of missional community for us is to release many different communities of people to walk confidently in the boots that are beautiful.... or even sexy and to have the self-perception to realise that because we are 'in Christ' then his presence in us makes us inherently beautiful & sexy. 

Missional Community..... significant?

I picked this up from an Alan Hirsch status update on Facebook:

Missional community might be the concept that this generation is remembered for ~       Matt Carter

I'd certainly like to be part of a generation that is remembered for something that is significant.... could missional community be that significant? I think so....