Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Notes Regarding Communication
The Steering Team asked Chad to spearhead a video production effort aimed at:
1. Assisting with dwelling in the word
2. Getting out additional messaging as selected by the steering team.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Brief Steering Team Meeting Notes
In today's brief steering team meeting the tea, agreed:
1. To host Lisa Bratcher next Sunday in our steering team meeting as a guest.
2. During that meeting next Sunday with Lisa, we will set our agenda for the March 1 all hands meeting.
3. March 1 at the all hands meeting the steering team will encourage the MET, appreciate them for their efforts thus far, and guide them back towards the core emphasis of Missional: outreach to the lost.
1. To host Lisa Bratcher next Sunday in our steering team meeting as a guest.
2. During that meeting next Sunday with Lisa, we will set our agenda for the March 1 all hands meeting.
3. March 1 at the all hands meeting the steering team will encourage the MET, appreciate them for their efforts thus far, and guide them back towards the core emphasis of Missional: outreach to the lost.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Etymology of Missional
Definition: "Relating to or connected with a religious mission; missionary."
Part of Speech: Adjective. An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.
Etymology: From the word missionalism which is a noun meaning, "missionary work or activity."
First Usage: 1907 in W. G. HOLMES' Age Justinian & Theodora II. Page 687. Quote: "Several prelates, whose missional activities brought over whole districts and even nationalities to their creed" (emphasis added). (Reference: Oxford English Dictionary)
It should be noted that Andrew Jones has found it used as early as 1883.
Modern Usage: The first missiologist using the term "missional" in its modern understanding was Francis DuBose in his book, "God Who Sends" (Broadman Press, 1983). By the 1990's the term began to appear more and more in such books as "Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America" (Edited by Darrell L. Guder) and the works of Lesslie Newbigin.
Part of Speech: Adjective. An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.
Etymology: From the word missionalism which is a noun meaning, "missionary work or activity."
First Usage: 1907 in W. G. HOLMES' Age Justinian & Theodora II. Page 687. Quote: "Several prelates, whose missional activities brought over whole districts and even nationalities to their creed" (emphasis added). (Reference: Oxford English Dictionary)
It should be noted that Andrew Jones has found it used as early as 1883.
Modern Usage: The first missiologist using the term "missional" in its modern understanding was Francis DuBose in his book, "God Who Sends" (Broadman Press, 1983). By the 1990's the term began to appear more and more in such books as "Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America" (Edited by Darrell L. Guder) and the works of Lesslie Newbigin.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
"Missional" -A Brief Description
So what is "missional" anyways? It is a good question which deserves a good answer. Although the word "missional" has been around since the late 1800's, it is defined differently by many people. I suppose a single definition universally accepted across the country would be hard to come by at this time. After all "missional" is still not even recognized by most computers as a real word. So a better question might simply be, "What is 'missional' to you/me?"
Our introduction to missional here at the Port Orchard Church came from Church Innovations via Abilene Christian University. It was 3-4 years ago at Cascade College's annual Elder Link conference in Portland, OR when Mark Love of Abilene initially spoke to over 100 church leaders from around the Northwest. He talked about reviving the evangelistic vibrancy of the early church. He talked passionately about theories of atonement and deep wanderings of a critical thinker wrestling to know the mind of God. He explored worlds of theological depth that were new to many, reminding everyone of the vastness of God which we have yet to comprehend.
Then God began challenging our assumptions. Could it be that in order to please God in today's world, His church might end up looking different from what we are used to, even as different as today's church differs from the church of 2000 years ago? Indeed, the Church of Christ in America developed to fit a modern culture very different than the time of Christ. Likewise, most other modern churches are equally contrasting in comparison with the cultural backdrop of the ancient church. Sadly, many still struggle for credibility in today's cultural milieu. Although few modern churches truly strive to duplicate the outward appearances of the early church, today's Messianic Jewish Christians might come the closest. While their Passover Seder meal is historically very "first century" it seems almost otherworldly to the rest of us. It is clear then that, over the centuries, culture has played and continues to play a big role in the outward appearance of God's church. Could it be that this is by design? Could it be that from the beginning God intended to use the outward adaptations of His church to engage culture (in the world) without being absorbed by the culture (not of the world)? It was Paul the apostle who said, "I became all things to all men in order to win some." [Seeds were planted.]
Mark invited us to consider a partnership that would provide a framework for congregational growth in exchange for our collaborative engagement in God's evangelistic calling. [Sounds good so far.] In short, it would amount to redefining church. [Uh oh. Here's where the heresy part comes in, right? After all, who are we to redefine the church?] It turns out we need to move away from defining church as merely God's people that are "Called" but rather God's people that are "Called and Sent."
Hmmm... Well that's rather harmless. In fact it sounds familiar. It sounds a lot like the very way Port Orchard has historically viewed the gospel; something to be shared. If it isn't worth sharing then what good is it, only to be thrown out and trampled by men? Yet there is something eerily thought provoking about "Called and Sent." What have I done lately to fulfill my calling to be sent? Where have I gone? Who have I gone to? Some answers from the past come to mind but recent answers prove more elusive. The local church has not grown numerically in a number of years, not to mention other downward spiralling church statistics across the country. What is happening? Is it possible that a subtle shift has so gradually taken place in our collective minds that without us really knowing it, Satan has rationalized the church away from the great commission?
Think about it. If you haven't said it yourself, then you've likely heard someone else say something like, "Sharing the gospel is important but it isn't my job. We hired someone for that." or "Sharing the gospel is important but I'm not comforatble doing anything like that." or "...but right now we must focus on loving each other first," or "...we must maintain our facilities better first," or "...we must improve our Sunday Bible school program first," or "...(fill in the blank)." Satan has us convinced that other things can and should supplant the great commission in our journey of faith, and we don't even realize it. (The deceiver is a sly dog.)
During that weekend at Cascade College and over the next few months many of us began learning that "Missional" at its core, is a quest to reinvigorate the evangelistic calling of God's people through passionate discipleship. Missional is an intentional effort made by each believer to be a missionary in this age, to this culture, in this setting.
So how does the missional mind think? Ed Stetzer and David Putman help by suggesting:
Sent to whom? As Christ said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick." The missional thinker understands that it is the lost we are sent to, not existing Christians in other churches as a broad ranging unity movement. Though unity of believers is still an important part of God's word, it is just not the core emphasis of Missional.
May God grow us in relation to His mission as His Called and Sent.
Our introduction to missional here at the Port Orchard Church came from Church Innovations via Abilene Christian University. It was 3-4 years ago at Cascade College's annual Elder Link conference in Portland, OR when Mark Love of Abilene initially spoke to over 100 church leaders from around the Northwest. He talked about reviving the evangelistic vibrancy of the early church. He talked passionately about theories of atonement and deep wanderings of a critical thinker wrestling to know the mind of God. He explored worlds of theological depth that were new to many, reminding everyone of the vastness of God which we have yet to comprehend.
Then God began challenging our assumptions. Could it be that in order to please God in today's world, His church might end up looking different from what we are used to, even as different as today's church differs from the church of 2000 years ago? Indeed, the Church of Christ in America developed to fit a modern culture very different than the time of Christ. Likewise, most other modern churches are equally contrasting in comparison with the cultural backdrop of the ancient church. Sadly, many still struggle for credibility in today's cultural milieu. Although few modern churches truly strive to duplicate the outward appearances of the early church, today's Messianic Jewish Christians might come the closest. While their Passover Seder meal is historically very "first century" it seems almost otherworldly to the rest of us. It is clear then that, over the centuries, culture has played and continues to play a big role in the outward appearance of God's church. Could it be that this is by design? Could it be that from the beginning God intended to use the outward adaptations of His church to engage culture (in the world) without being absorbed by the culture (not of the world)? It was Paul the apostle who said, "I became all things to all men in order to win some." [Seeds were planted.]
Mark invited us to consider a partnership that would provide a framework for congregational growth in exchange for our collaborative engagement in God's evangelistic calling. [Sounds good so far.] In short, it would amount to redefining church. [Uh oh. Here's where the heresy part comes in, right? After all, who are we to redefine the church?] It turns out we need to move away from defining church as merely God's people that are "Called" but rather God's people that are "Called and Sent."
Hmmm... Well that's rather harmless. In fact it sounds familiar. It sounds a lot like the very way Port Orchard has historically viewed the gospel; something to be shared. If it isn't worth sharing then what good is it, only to be thrown out and trampled by men? Yet there is something eerily thought provoking about "Called and Sent." What have I done lately to fulfill my calling to be sent? Where have I gone? Who have I gone to? Some answers from the past come to mind but recent answers prove more elusive. The local church has not grown numerically in a number of years, not to mention other downward spiralling church statistics across the country. What is happening? Is it possible that a subtle shift has so gradually taken place in our collective minds that without us really knowing it, Satan has rationalized the church away from the great commission?
Think about it. If you haven't said it yourself, then you've likely heard someone else say something like, "Sharing the gospel is important but it isn't my job. We hired someone for that." or "Sharing the gospel is important but I'm not comforatble doing anything like that." or "...but right now we must focus on loving each other first," or "...we must maintain our facilities better first," or "...we must improve our Sunday Bible school program first," or "...(fill in the blank)." Satan has us convinced that other things can and should supplant the great commission in our journey of faith, and we don't even realize it. (The deceiver is a sly dog.)
During that weekend at Cascade College and over the next few months many of us began learning that "Missional" at its core, is a quest to reinvigorate the evangelistic calling of God's people through passionate discipleship. Missional is an intentional effort made by each believer to be a missionary in this age, to this culture, in this setting.
So how does the missional mind think? Ed Stetzer and David Putman help by suggesting:
- From programs to processes
- From demographics to discernment
- From models to missions
- From attractional to incarnational
- From uniformity to diversity
- From professional to passionate
- From seating to sending
- From decisions to disciples
- From additional to exponential
- From services to service
- From ordained to the ordinary
- From organizations to organisms
Sent to whom? As Christ said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick." The missional thinker understands that it is the lost we are sent to, not existing Christians in other churches as a broad ranging unity movement. Though unity of believers is still an important part of God's word, it is just not the core emphasis of Missional.
What is Missional - A Short Answer
"Jesus told us to go into all the world and be his ambassadors, but many churches today have inadvertently changed the "go and be" command to a "come and see" appeal. We have grown attached to buildings, programs, staff and a wide variety of goods and services designed to attract and entertain people.
"Missional is a helpful term used to describe what happens when you and I replace the "come to us" invitations with a "go to them" life. A life where "the way of Jesus" informs and radically transforms our existence to one wholly focused on sacrificially living for him and others and where we adopt a missionary stance in relation to our culture. It speaks of the very nature of the Jesus follower."
---Rick Meigs
May God grow us in relation to His mission as His Called and Sent.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Hospitality Training Begins!
Connie proposed hospitality training to her small group this evening. Her email reads like this:
The Byrd/Switzer small group will begin "Learning about Hospitality" at our meeting next Sunday evening, February 15th.
Thank You Connie!
The Byrd/Switzer small group will begin "Learning about Hospitality" at our meeting next Sunday evening, February 15th.
Thank You Connie!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Steering Team Meeting Notes - 8 February 2009
Mike’s rough notes from the Steering Team Meeting on 8 February 2009
1. METS / ELDERS / STEERING meeting debrief - discussion
2. Communication Plan:
a.Discussion around asking Chad to go forward with his passion to grow a video communication process. Specifically focusing on dwelling in the word.
b. Some discussion around revisiting our long range plan and re-implementation of it.
c. Mike will test a PMC Blog in the next 24 hours.
3. Becky will begin building a team for worship planning. We need to refocus so Melvin or the pulpit minister is not the point person for PMC.
4. Plunges are experiments that are considered small risk.
a. Plunging experiments are small risk experiments to develop the Bridging Community in preparation for the big risk or “Missional Experiment” to be conducted in phase 3.
5. We are currently approaching Phase 2.
6. Jon will talk to Lisa about delivering to the steering team a plunging exercise; who they are targeting, what information will be collected and how it will be done. The steering team can use this data to strategically recruit and train plungers. 3 Considerations for building a plunging exercise:
a. SWOT (Strength / Weaknesses / Opportunities / Threats) of the POCOC
b. Capacity of the plungers (Even though they have not yet been identified)
c. Full ramifications of the Adaptive Challenge. (i.e. what group(s) to target, what activity to plunge with, what information we seek, etc)
7. Hospitality Groups are part of the “Bridge Community”. They build relationships
Training hospitality groups:
Discussion around using small groups and adult classes to teach hospitality.
a. Connie will talk to her small group about hospitality training.
b. Becky will talk to Tully’s group about hospitably training.
c. Mike will approach other small groups about using the Hospitality Training tools provided in the PMC phase 2 manual.
8. Missional Action Plan (MAP)
The MAP is a culmination of phase 2 and sets the ground work or direction for phase 3. It is developed by the METS team and approved by the Governance Board.
We have an ELDERS/METS/STEERING meeting on 1st March at about 12:30 in the fellowship hall.
The next Steering team meeting is February 22nd from 12:30 to 4:00pm in the POCOC library.
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