GlocalNet

Sunday our family had a blast with Ti, our Vietnamese exchange student, and his sister. She just graduated from NYU Law School--not bad! We ate good food and laughed our guts out at Ricky Bobby. When we’re together as a family, we have good debates and discussion on politics, religion--whatever. We came home and were talking about corruption in all governments and the answer to it. Here’s part of the conversation:

Bob: Well Ti, you know the answer to government corruption?
Ti: I know what you would say?
Bob: What?
Ti: Christianity.
Bob: Yeah. And you know why, all you have to do is look at Christian history--redemption and lift is what one guy calls it . Weber also acknowledges wherever Protestants go, things develop.
Ti: Yeah. But it’s not true.
Bob: It’s history. How can you not say that?
Ti: Because it’s still corruption. When you have colonialist coming into other countries to take their resources, even if it’s by Christians, it was wrong.
Bob: But the whole of the story is Christians aren’t all perfect but the overall result is better than it would have been.

The more I thought about it the more I felt like I missed the point of the discussion. The reality is the church has not always been on the right side of issues. I don’t know that we can honestly and always say the church or Christianity is the answer to corruption. BUT, without debate I can say following the example of Christ and living the truth that he taught--that is the answer. I focused on Christianity as a history, instead of Christ as a person. I missed the point.

Because of the ministries in which NorthWood is involved, I often have the privilege of interacting with pastors, missiologists, agencies, and other practitioners where we discuss missional and engagement and what that looks like.

It has become apparent to me, over time, the difference in the approach I was traditionally tied to and the one by which I now live. The more traditional approach is to start with the preacher-missionary-denomination-religious-whatever and then focus on planting the church and get some converts and one day, when you have time, engage the society, because, after all, why send a man to hell with his stomach full--so focus on the sinners prayer.

That’s really not how I approach it. First, I start with the seed of the Gospel and how it is being lived in my life. Second, through relationships, I plant the seed by starting first with society--the ills and issues and challenges and opportunities that are there. Third, from the Gospel to the Society, individual conversions take place and, finally, the church emerges. Now, you have a church that isn’t born to do evangelism and transformation, but it’s born out of evangelism and transformation--a new DNA--an Acts 11 DNA.

I was in meetings at Disney World while Nikki and Jill went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and several other things. I wanted to be there with them, but just couldn’t. I got finished with my meetings Friday night and high-tailed it to the Magic Kingdom. I got there and met them as they got of the ride called Space Mountain. We walked over to the castle and from there waited for the parade and fire works. It was awesome! As it began, little kids would say, “I can’t see daddy, I can’t see!” Like a great wave, I watched Dad’s put their sons and daughters on their shoulders. I asked my 17-year-old daughter, “Jill, can you?” Her reply, “No Daddy.” My reply, “Move over a little!”

In that instant, I realized this is the true job of a parent--to get their kids up on their shoulders so they can see farther and more than they have or ever will--that’s good parenting. If you have little kids, and I’m sure most of you reading this do, put them on your shoulder tonight and tell them, “You’re taller than me now--tell me everything you see.” Then slowly move in a circle. Think about it.

Bill Fowler sent this to me, hope you enjoy it--The following is Brennan Manning’s, The Relentless Love of Jesus, pp. 27-30.

There are two visions of life, two kinds of people. The first see life as a possession to be carefully guarded. They are called settlers. The second see life as a wild, fantastic, explosive gift. They are called pioneers.

These two types give rise to two kinds of theology: Settler Theology and Pioneer Theology. According to Wes Seeligerin, in his book Western Theology, the first kind, Settler Theology, is an attempt to answer all the questions, define and housebreak some sort of Supreme Being, establish the status quo on golden tablets in CinemaScope. Pioneer Theology is an attempt to talk about what it means to receive the strange gift of life. The Wild West is the setting for both theologies.

In Settler Theology, the church is the courthouse. It is the center of town life. The old stone structure dominates the town square. Its windows are small and this makes things dark inside. Within the courthouse walls records are kept, taxes collected, trials held for bad guys. The courthouse is the settler’s symbol of law, order, stability, and--most important--security. The mayor’s office is on the top floor. His eagle eye ferrets out the smallest detail of town life.

In Pioneer Theology, the church is the covered wagon. It’s a house on wheels, always on the move. The covered wagon is where the pioneers eat, sleep, fight, love, and die. It bears the marks of life and movement--it creaks, is scarred with arrows, bandaged with baling wire. The covered wagon is always where the action is. It moves toward the future and doesn’t bother to glorify its own ruts. The old wagon isn’t comfortable, but the pioneers don’t mind. They are more into adventure than comfort.

In Settler Theology, God is the mayor. He is a sight to behold. Dressed like a dude from back East, he lounges in an over-stuffed chair in his courthouse office. He keeps the blinds drawn. No one sees him or knows him directly, but since there is order in the town, who can deny that he is there? The mayor is predictable and always on schedule. The settlers fear the mayor, but look to him to clear the payroll and keep things going. Peace …

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I was reading some blogging on missional stuff and someone was discussing my book and made the comment to the effect that I believe that if it’s not overseas then it’s not missional. In their mind I had equated missional with geographical thereby making those who go overseas more spiritual.

Missional is first relational. Missions is activity, projects, and work. Missional is the life of the follower of Christ. It flows out of who God is. Missional is obedience to the moment when God speaks. Missional is discipleship. This is the great gap between the mystics and the missionaries. The two must be merged to be missional and when that happens you wind up with pilgrims.

Missional is incarnational. This means living out the life of Christ as best you can in your neighborhood, your work, your family, wherever you live and wherever Christ has placed you. Incarnational living always goes beyond your ability, be it local or global. It stretches you--or as I say--causes you to span your ability. This requires grace and the Holy Spirit--it’s beyond our ability.

Missional is living out the Sermon on the Mount--connecting this life, here and now, with the Kingdom of God, here and now, but, also, later and there. There is no missional without the Kingdom of God. It is the ethos, the ethic, the standard, the way God works. It is the “Christian Manifesto.”

Missional living takes in the whole counsel of God. This means theology and ministry. It is, as I refer to, seeing things as the whole. God’s totality will never be seen by us or mastered by us. Yet, when He tells us to do something, He does it not just because He needs something done (He can do things with or without us) but He has us do it because it is lining us up with His character and putting us in line with His will so we get to be a part of His divine plan.

If God gave the Great Commission to the whole church, then the whole church, of necessity, must be global--not just local. No doubt, finances, opportunity, etc., all play into what level someone can be involved. The point is we should be involved in it as much as we can because, just like giving, witnessing, praying, the goal for most of …

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We are redefining missional--like churches did being “contemporary"--just throw in a chorus and you’re there! Everybody wants the title--few get what it’s really about. The most missional models we have of churches today in the West runs something like this:

Cletus started a church and communicated in understandable ways.
The church grew and was built around his preachin’ and Earl’s singin’.
Now the church does some community projects.
The church started a church with plans of starting more--one day.
They now take an annual mission trip to a different nation each year.

The best stories we have of missional churches still come back to the preacher and the Sunday event.

What would it be like if the stories were beyond that Sunday event? What if our stories were how we had transformed society and communities that extended beyond our pulpits? What if the church was not a holding tank with scheduled release valves, but what if it was a traffic light only managing the flow of traffic that passed through it for people to go and get things done for the kingdom of God.

We know who we are by the stories we tell. What churches and pastors are telling stories of radical transformation?

Missional stories run something like this:

Joe Bob worked at Tyler Pipe and found Jesus after a divorce.
It changed him so much others saw it and wanted what he had.
They started a Bible study and accountability group.
It grew so much they started several of them.
They decided to gather on Sundays and rent a hall--which they did.
They served in the community where they worked and suffered.
Ed had been in Iraq and knew the water needs, so they met with people who knew how to get in and began to dig water wells.
This led to many other projects.
Their church grew so much that they had to start another for all
the people driving in from 30 miles away.
Joe Bob had just moved to the new area, so he began a Bible study that grew so fast that they started several studies . . . .

1 Cor 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (NIV)

So, Rick Warren is headed to North Korea and the pundits, the preacher-politicians, and diplomats are all concerned about him being “used” or being a “pawn.” Wow, I’m so glad they’re concerned--not that journalists, government cuddling preachers, and diplomats have ever been used! Let’s be clear about one thing, Rick has stated on numerous occasions, and backed it up by his life and ministry, that he is a pastor trying to do God’s work and help people and churches find their purpose. His message and his practice is, and has been, consistent.

Rick’s more than a mega-church pastor.  And, man, how we need that! He doesn’t look at his local church as his primary theatre of operation, but as his base of operation to bring hope to the world--this is as it should be. Would to God every church in America got that--if they did, this world would be a radically different place.

We live in a global world where faith is only getting stronger and growing faster. With the seas of change in globalization, people are looking for roots and anchors. Faith has a bright future.

The worse that could happen is Rick would be “used” like the countless other people who have been there and in the process share the good news that might impact some lives with hope. Or, perhaps he would be arrested as an agent of the West and write a powerful book in prison that would radically impact the world--maybe on his favorite topic of purpose! Or, perhaps get martyred (he once took that spiritual gifts test that said he had that gift which can be used only once!) and the …

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As with anything in the Western church, after something has died we prop it up for a long time, stuff it if it’s dead and even try to ride it a while longer. We even try to get other people to get on our horse with us, even though its beautiful, glassy eyes don’t seem to move! We put lipstick on our dead horses, give them mechanical nahyyy’s, and even have someone vacuum their coats daily--no real horse was ever that clean! It’s the idea--that’s what we love. It’s the nostalgia of a past day when something really was good and worked.

It’s not about missions--it’s about the kingdom. Missions focused on us getting them converted and churched. It was the industrial model that Cary pioneered. Cary, however, was far more concerned about the Kingdom and society than most missionaries that followed him. It is the model on which most denominations and mission agencies still focus. It builds the apparatus to get the converts, and them get them in church. That isn’t bad, just a super short runway for people getting on their feet spiritually.

It’s not about missions--it’s about globalization. My tribe, a couple of decades ago, had this focus to get everyone engaging the world and all the goals fell way short, except the one to mobilize volunteers. That one went way over the top. It continues to go way over the top. Some in the “missions industry” think the church has become more “missions” minded. Not true. The world has become smaller and we are thinking more global, more from business and economics than anything. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are proof of this, and dozens of other philanthropist. We are going to see more of this and it’s good. The question is going to become what differentiates a Christian’s philanthropy and work?

It’s not about missions--and it’s beyond missional. Ed Stetzer has rightly concluded there is probably going to be another word. I agree. Everyone is using that word missional, but it’s defined too, too, too western. It’s also being redefined because everyone wants to be considered “missional” so, to be so, it’s redefined in their image. It must be beyond itself, outside itself, and, yet, incarnated within itself. It has to go beyond relevant communication and church planting. It, of necessity, must emerge out of a deep walk with …

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God is sufficient in and of Himself. He lacks nothing. Therefore, He is complete and not needy. He creates man for His glory and He has fellowship with man. Does God create man because He’s lonely? If He’s lonely, then doesn’t that mean He’s not sufficient in and of Himself? The Bible says God is love. Love has no power if it’s not shared. Love is an action focused toward someone else. Therefore, if God is love and He is complete and love is an active entity--what if man is the response to God’s nature--namely love? Just thinking and musing on this . . .

It is good to be with you here today. I love Vietnam. I sometimes think I am Vietnamese. I am one of the minority tribes--you just have never seen me before. You are God’s special people. You care for those that are least.

A society is characterized by how it cares for its least. A society’s future is determined by its vision. Your motto is “Vision with action changes the world.” All of us have the same goal--to get farther down the road than where we started.

As a Christian, I believe we have been given the responsibility for life on earth to be as it is in heaven. The method by which we do that is the life of Christ living in us. Vision is always about things being better.

For a vision to work, there must be a sense of call to do something. There must be an attitude of determination that won’t give up. There must be a lifestyle of discipline. A vision is more than a dream--it will require a life and a life-time.

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