Learning to be Missional
Written by Mark Van Steenwyk : October 4, 2004
There is a lot of talk about being and doing church “missionally”–but there is precious little resources for learning how to be and do church “missionally.” SUre, there are how-to books, but these don’t get at the heart of things. For the Church to be missional requires a new stance. We need to be prepared to adapt to changing contexts and situations. Using a static model misses the point, since to be missional is inherently dynamic.
I’ve run accross a few resources that I think lay a good groundwork for missional training–specifically for training missional leaders. They don’t give a how-to (which I don’t think would be helpful anyway), but they do provide some tools for you to develop something yourself.
I think a missional model of training should include both in-church training, as well as working with seminaries or other formal institutions. I think the ideal would be to have a group of churches share the burden of training together–each community could take a specific sphere of training–a person who wanted to develop as a missional leader could go different “centers” for missional learning. This is an approach I’d like Missio Dei to consider in the future.
Reenvisioning Theological Education by Robert Banks lays a solid groundwork for thinking about missional education. Anyone interested in training missional leaders needs to start with this book.
Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota offers both a D.Min AND a PhD in congregational mission and leadership. The PhD program is lead by Craig Van Gelder, a leading missional thinker. Definitely worth checking out for those interested in academic work.
There are tons of conferences out there. I think a healthy trend would be for metropolitan areas to have their own missional conferences for people in their area–as a way to increase networking, resourcing, and city-wide strategies.
Mark Van Steenwyk is the editor of JesusManifesto.com. He is a Mennonite pastor (Missio Dei in Minneapolis), writer, speaker, and grassroots educator. He and his wife Amy have been married since 1997. They are expecting their first child in April.
Anchored in the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis, Missio Dei is committed to following Jesus' way of peace, simplicity, prayer, and hospitality.
The Missio Dei Breviary includes morning and evening prayers for one month. Edited (and freely shared) by Missio Dei, it draws primarily upon the Gospels, reflects Anabaptist convictions, and emphasizes missional commitment.
Christarchy! is a growing network of small groups for people who want to put the ethical teachings of Jesus into practice.
Hey we’ve had a fantastic day today on Missional Church. I’ve put some of the stuff on the blog and there’s some links there. Alan Hirsch who spoke is working with the seminaries in Australia to provide training and give students placements …. the kind of stuff your talking about.
Great blog by the way!
Youthblog, UK
Sounds really cool. You guys have Robert Banks too (whose book I mentioned above). It would be great if seminaries in the US were more in tune with missional thinking. My seminary (Bethel) is in bed with Willow Creek. The seeker sensitive model is pervasive at Bethel.
Interesting thought and I guess the creative tension that comes from diversity would be a great plus.
I’m fast coming to the conclusion that people have such a wide concept of mission - that might pose a problem or two. Missional is fast becoming a throw away cliche - that worries me!
I agree, Gordon. I think that could be counter-balanced a bit by local networks of churches that know one another and share a common missiology. The “freedom” that has resulted from the new climate that encourages new ways of doing church has a dark side–people are developing a consumer-mindset where they feel that they can make a church of their very own. The solution in my mind is for leaders to dig deeper into Tradition and Scripture, so that they can stay anchored in the past.
Networking with local churches is also helpful, because it keeps things from being isolated–as well as adding a tension that keeps the church open to other voices. I know alot of pastors that send people to national conferences, but very few churches in my neck of the woods, especially “newfangled” churches, work with each other much. If we are going to start looking at our metro area (Minneapolis/St. Paul) as a mission-field, we need to network and share resources. Ultimately, this could serve to reduce the consumerist church “sampling” that goes on, since open-handed churches that work with others, and that are theologically intentional tend to be more incarnational and less attractional (to use the words of Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch).