A Word on Missional Ministry...

A new book and small group curriculum is forthcoming from Phillip Nation and Ed Stetzer called "Compelled by Love: A Journey to Missional Living." Most people that know me know that I am a pretty big fan of Stetzer. His book on planting churches among post-moderns was formative early-on in my church planting work in New York. His book on Breaking the Missional Code is the best single volume on church planting/growth philosophy that I know of.

I found some excerpts of an interview he and Nations did with Alan Hirsch (a respected missional thinker) on his blog. I respect Hirsch, but disagree with some of his conclusions in other areas of ecclesiology. That's ok. His book sales aren't suffering (Grin), and I am, adimittedly, not the de facto authority on missional thinking.

You can see the original post on Hirsch's site below, or just check out the excerpt that caught my attention...and why.

Hirsch: Ed, you have written extensively about contextualization issues. Why
write a book about “love” which seems to be a heart issue?

Ed: So much of what is written has only been the objective “How-to” of
contextualization. The danger to which many have fallen prey is to do the right
thing in ministry without any heart. God reaches out to us because it glorifies
himself. His reaching, we are taught in scripture, is done through love.

Hirsch: How does love relate to Missiology?

Ed: Without love, churches will not release people to go to the mission
field. You have to love God enough to be obedient to him. You must love the
world as Christ does in order to die for sin. You must love your neighbor enough
to tell them the truth of their sin, aid in their time of need, and walk them
(even ploddingly) toward the cross.

Hirsch: Is this book a break from traditional ministry, contemporary
ministry, etc.? I guess what I’m asking is: are you proposing a new paradigm for
ministry?

Ed: The easiest answer is that we are proposing a shift back to the original
paradigm Christ gave the church. It is the “as you are going” mentality of
making disciples rather than the “go over there” and make disciples. Missional
living is not specific to a form of worship or liturgy. But it is specific to
the attitude an individual Christian or church takes.

The last comment is what struck me the most. For many...being missional is equated to being "mission-minded." For them...it is thinking about, talking about, and promoting missions.

"The MISSION" and being missional in our lives is different. It is living intentionally everyday in such a way as to connect the lost with the heart of God and His purpose for them. Missional living is never divorced from sharing the gospel. It is not a lifestyle witness only. It is a lifestyle of communicating the gospel in culturally relevant ways everyday.

The demonstration of love in being missional means placing yourself (and the gospel) in proximity (physical, social, and emotional) of unbelievers with the expressed purpose of seeing them come to faith in Christ. The mission is to MAKE disciples...not MODEL discipleship. We model discipleship so that our efforts to MAKE Disciples are unimpeded.

We would think a missionary in a foreign culture was foolish if he never communicated the gospel in the language of his audience. Being missional means learning the "heart language" of our audience and communicating the gospel with them.

That often means engaging in acts of kindness to show our heart, so that our heart will be understood and our motives will be unquestioned. Missional living is not acts of kindness for "kindness" sake. That is "social" ministry. As biblical Christians...we are called to "make disciples." Everything we do "missionally" will accelerate us toward realizing the accomplishment of this mission.

Hirsch's Blog post in its entirety: http://www.theforgottenways.org/blog/2008/06/04/440/