Breaking Out

One of the things unique about our journey here is that we are an established and modern traditional church, earnestly trying to make the shift to missional thinking. I've come into contact and read stories about many missional efforts, but most of them fall into the category of "church plants." They begin with a different premise, and the people that join the effort along the way are those who embrace that premise.

I don't have church planting experience to which I can compare it, but I do know that starting the missional shift in an existing church setting is difficult on all fronts. I encounter other church leaders who are interested in missional ideals, but more often than not they hope to apply some of these within their existing church structure. I suppose some would characterize us this way, as we retain most of our traditional elements: a church building, Sunday School, Sunday assembly, etc. Though I can say that at multiple levels we've at least been allowed to question these elements.

Hirsch and Frost, in their book The Shaping of Things to Come advocate that we ask really tough questions of ourselves, like, "If you were to start from scratch, would you build the same kind of church?" or "What would our church look like if we had to function without a building or assembly or even full time staff?"

We've been asking these kinds of questions and, to the best of our ability, allowing a safe environment to explore the possible answers. It has produced mixed results, to be honest. For some, these questions have set loose the apostolic imagination. For others, it produces great anxiety and fear. Truth be told, we still have many for whom the building and the assembly are church, though we are constantly trying to improve their definition.

The advantage we have in this process is a touch of desperation. I asked Alan Hirsch about this at a training in Denver. Alan entered into a situation in Melbourne where his hiring was a sort of last stand on the part of the church. If they couldn't turn around their decline, they knew they would have to shut the doors. I asked Alan how important that kind of desperation is to making the missional transition, and he said it was incredibly important. He challenged me to return to my congregation and carefully build the case for what the big problems are, not just in our fellowship but in the decline of modern Christianity across the board. He said that until we have accepted the problem, we will not collectively search out solutions.

So, for us, recent losses in attendance and finances have put us in a position to make changes. There is a fairly broad agreement in our congregation that we cannot continue as we have. Of course, there are a few dissenters. There are those who maintain that things are not all that bad, and that if I weren't always challenging the status quo, we wouldn't have lost the members we have, and all would be right with the world. But for the most part, our people realize you have to keep some serious blinders on to think this way. The only growing churches in our region are primarily tapping off members from other churches. There is little real growth, and very little meaningful engagement with the community. We are, as the adage goes, "preaching to the choir," because no one else is listening.

Thus, I find myself in a rather curious position. A drop in attendance and finance, which is among the greatest fears among modern church leaders, is actually the source of our opportunity. A mild desperation and a sense of urgency has opened the minds and hearts of our congregation's leaders and gatekeepers to new possibilities. These are all good people, who desire to be good disciples. But, let's face it. Few of us will make dramatic changes unless we believe we've no easier options.

As has often been pointed out to me, further losses combined with my own rhetoric about the fallacy of the institutionalized church may result in my talking myself right out of a job. And I have to admit, sometimes that fear gets the better of me. But most of the time I'm too amazed with what God seems to be doing here to spend much time agonizing about the unknowns of my professional future.

So, what exactly is happening? Well, its pretty simple, really. In fact, I'm not sure how much you would notice with a casual look. Since the missional church is an organic movement, and not an institutional approach, there are no new programs or ministries for us to refer to and highlight as "missional." Rather, there is a shift in focus. People are taking the time to build better relationships with their neighbors. They are hanging out in "third places." One of our guys started up a basketball team with a bunch of players he met at the rec center. It's all this kind of thing; people building relationships and having conversations. Not forcing Jesus into the conversation, but trying, as best we can, to represent Jesus as a community.

When we do have an organized activity, such as an upcoming Valentine's Banquet we are sponsoring, our focus is not on getting people to the church building, but on giving our members another opportunity to connect with their friends and neighbors. We encourage everyone who comes to bring a guest with them, not to sign them up for a Bible study or compel them to attend church, but just to show them a good time and to build the relationship.

It's still difficult to escape our institutional notions in defining the church, but I see us slowly opening our eyes to a whole different way of being a people of God.

Blessings,
Doug