GlocalNet

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I got an email from a guy wanting my “two cents worth” on a statement he’s having to defend in a dissertation he is doing, “to become missional, a church does not necessarily have to become a postmodern or emerging church nor have the identity of such a church.”

Jimmy, may I call you that, James is too formal and King James oriented. Calling each other by our right names makes us real and opens up community among us. Just be glad you don’t have a name like Robert Roberts, though mine really isn’t--it is Bobby Gene Roberts, Jr. Bobby is short for Robert but my grandmother didn’t know that when they named my Dad (good East Texas names are like 3 syllable rhymes--makes for good country western music to milk cows by in the dead of summer). However, my parents knew that when they named me. I did try to clean it up some and instead of Bobby Gene Roberts, Jr., in my early twenties I went by Bobby Gene Roberts, II. But, when I decided not to place the curse on my son and not give him the 3rd, by law it had to revert back to “junior.” Oh, for just one of my names to be Tom, Ed, Jack, Butch--I’d even settle for Henry. Furthermore, my first and middle names are unisex names--that’s scary, but my nickname Buddy Boy did a lot to alleviate any confusion. It was a broken experience for me. I’ve learned to enjoy my name over time and not chuckle or grieve when I hear it. It has made me more open to everything out there. However, my grandfather didn’t like his name Clyde. I like that name. I think it’s time for a comeback--names like Zeek or Elijah. When was the last time you heard the teacher call a kid in class and say, “Clyde! Was that you?” If I ever get another dog, I think I’ll name it Clyde--even if it’s a girl. I get all warm just thinkin about it, “Here Clyde!” Anyhow, back to missional. I agree with you one hundred percent. Sometimes words get clustered together as tags and those tags are not always accurate.

Missional is not tied to filosophy or phasion. Filosophy is post-modern. You said, “I don’t believe your church is considered a postmodern church. . .” Well, what is a postmodern church? Postmodern is filosophy. Given our average and median age is 28-29, and that busters are the first “postmodern” generation. I think we probably are more postmodern that modern. I know the people in our church ask the ‘why’ questions more than the ‘how to’ questions. I’m a tweener and though not as young or having metal protruding from my head in many places (like this kid Aaron I know) I think I’m defintely in that camp “somewhat.” Postmodern is the mindset through which you process life, consciously or unconsciously. It’s not something you adopt or a person crafts. It’s the driving river in which you do life. All you can do is go with the current, fight the current, use the current for your advantage, or be swept away by the current. So, you could have a “traditional” or “liturgical” postmodern church if it is driven primarily by young people. Phashion, on the other hand is style. Some “postmodern” worship--candles, sandals, tattoos, body piercing, sermons on the Matrix and soon to be Children of Men--all are phashion. If the church that does that had people 65 or older would it be considered postmodern? I don’t think so. Why? Because you can have the “service” without truly being postmodern. Emergent, on the other hand, is phashion and filosophy converging to deconstruct existing church and then to reconstruct a church with meaning for the future. Some people automatically assume that missional goes with emergent or postmodern--not at all. There’s tons of conferences and discussion on it, but few are actually practicing it. Missional, sadly, has even come to mean relevant communication. It’s more than that. However, I would say Shane Claiborne is both postmodern, missional, and emergent. Wow? Now that’s cool.

Missional is, as Bosch would say, what the church is--not just what it does. Missions is an add-on, it’s the mission activity of a local church, one of several ministries. Missional is living incarnationally and extending outward in our natural connections both locally and globally--thus glocally. Missional is kingdom in, kingdom out. It is the kingdom of God moving and acting through a local community of people to impact every domain of life with God’s love to bring about reconciliation so intimacy with God and one another can be established. Here’s what’s fantastic about missional--it isn’t tied to filosophy or phashion. Implication--any church of any worship style or any generation is both expected to be and has been given the ability to be missional if they look at the church beyond four walls and a Sunday event. (There’s your quote!)