A Living Alternative

I have always enjoyed hearing other people's ideas and thoughts at this blog, so I wanted to be more intentional about it. Below is a poll about relocation and missional community. Obviously, with a question this big, five options may not be enough.  Therefore, make the best choice you have, then comment below with more details.  I am really eager to hear what people have to say on this one.  Thanks!

Recently, Kim & I have been in dialogue with a local denomination about YWAM partnering with them in planting a new church in the inner city community where we live. In many ways, we have been pastoring a small missional community here for several years already. This would would expand that to embrace others into our sphere. It is an exciting, challenging and slightly terrifying process that is pushing us deeper into our values and vision.

As a result of this whole process, I have been spending a great deal of time thinking and praying about what such a missional community would look like. On a side note, I am encouraged that many of the values we intentionally articulated and embraced when we started the ministry here still play a significant role in shaping us. Here are a few of the ideas that I have been wrestling with:

We Must Be A Part Of The Neighbourhood: While this may seem like a no-brainer, it is not uncommon for the location of a church building to be either incidental or chosen for reasons such as cost. It is our deep conviction that in order to truly missionally engage people, you must enter into the pattern of their lives, which means proximity.

Our neighbourhood is wonderfully diverse, yet facing serious systemic challenges like extreme poverty, gang violence, racism, crippled educational system, etc. No matter approach you take, these issue are difficult. However, to see the transformational work of the Holy Spirit in people's lives, it is critical that there is a relational trust and understanding that comes through a commonality of experience. Few things can help create this more than intentionally rooting our lives in the community. Therefore, I would even go so far as to discourage people from commuting to our gathering.

We need to acknowledge that we are facing a long history (and remaining expressions) of paternalism in our missionary engagement, both locally and globally. Even the best intentions will not overcome the inevitable sense of a hierarchy of values when our ministry and service to people comes as outsiders coming with answers. As much as we seek to be missional IN and FOR the community, we must also commit to being missional WITH the community. This naturally leads to my next point.

We All Have Something To Give & Receive: While I do believe that some are called and gifted into roles of leadership, I genuinely believe that these are positions of service, not power. To create genuine missional community, we must be committed to the conviction (and resulting intentionality) that every person has both much to "teach" and much to learn. I put "teach" in quotations, because I don't want us to get caught in the narrow approach to discipleship based on the teacher-student-classroom model (though it has a place), but rather see that there are many ways in which people can teach us.

Regardless of age, gender, race or any other number of factors, everybody brings something to the community. Henri Nouwen acknowledged that a young man named Adam taught him most of all. This brilliant scholar and thinker spent his last years caring for a physically and mentally handicapped man who could never acknowledge either the service or brilliance of Henri. Living in a community for the mentally and physically challenged, Henri could in no way "earn" the love he received. It was humbling and life changing, altering the nature and content of Nouwen's writing until his death. In the same way, we must be intensely intentional about recognizing, affirming and embracing these lessons that everyone will teach us.

When Christ identified with the hungry, thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the imprisioned, He was not referring to moments where He hid amongst us in disguise to test us. Nor was he referring to those people who were simply victims of these circumstances. He was identifying with people in their brokenness, even through their own sin and failure, because He knew that as we love and serve them selflessly, the intense difficulty of these tasks would draw us deeper into the heart and person of Jesus Christ. This demands that we lay down our (often subtle) superiority, approaching our neighbours with the humility we would extend to Christ Himself.

Finally, by acknowledging that we all have much to learn, we must be willing to examine those things we hold most dear, be they programs or assumptions or positions, even abandoning them if necessary. This inevitably means that we will need to learn to live with change as a companion on our journey. In this way, failure becomes our friend insofar as it refines our hearts and vision. It is in the celebration of our weakness and foolishness that we discover God's strength.

We Must Incarnational In Our Presence: This statement always sounds impressive, but can sometimes be lost in the theoretical and theological. It means a lot of things, so I will focus on a few aspects where it is important to us. Being created in the image of God is significantly a reflection of His Trinitarian nature. Therefore, one of the central ways in which our missional community will reflect God's nature is through living our lives together in the context of the wider community.

This flies in the face of "having it all together" on Sunday mornings, dressed in our Sunday best. I firmly believe that faith communities should look far more like Alcoholics Anonymous groups than they do. By this I mean that our relationships, both within the share times of worship and in the "mundane" activities of our lives, should demonstrate that we are all broken individuals, equally in need of God and each other. Authenticity, honesty and tangible love and support characterize us more than worship songs, powerful sermons or great youth programs.

Ultimately it means that the quality of our expression as the Body of Christ must be measured more by how we live our lives together day to day, beyond our Sunday gatherings. In addition to learn how to be Christ-like as individuals, we must put greater effort into learning what it means to be like Christ as a community, both in our relationship to one another and to our neighbours. More than canvasing or advertizing, when the community sees how we love each other and love them, they will be drawn to God through us- perhaps not in droves, but with genuine seeds planted.

In closing I would highly recommend taking 15 minutes to watch this excellent video at Allelon by David Fitch as he talks about similar focuses.

This week has been a whirlwind.  I have had several topics I have been working on, but a few things have happened this week.  So I am writing to ask you all to pray with us.

One of the neighbourhood teens was shot and killed recently in what appears to be a gang related killing.  We know the family, having a great relationship with the victims younger brother, who visits the bookstore daily and stops by our house regularly.  This is a devastating blow to the family as you can imagine.  Please be holding them and the community in prayer.

Yesterday we received word that our friend, Renee Dueck, a 23 year old young woman who served with YWAM, died after a long battle with cancer.  She lived her life with an honesty and a vibrancy that will impact many lives for years to come.  Please pray for her family as they grieve her loss.

Thanks.

In the town I grew up in, Rainy River, ON, the local Evangelical Covenant Church is looking for a new pastor. The timing is excellent, as they are working towards finishing up a brand new building, designed to be a place to serve the community. They are excited about what God has for them and are eager to find a new pastor to join the community.

As a rural congregation, it is perhaps typical of what you might expect to find, both in it's strengths and weaknesses. However, it distinguishes itself in several ways. There is a very active core of passionate Christians who are willing to learn what it means to missionally engage their community. I owe so much of my own spiritual formation to this group (which may or may not be a selling point to you - wink!).

The town is located less than 3 hours from Winnipeg on the Ontario/Minnesota border, in prime sportmans paradise. In a glacial valley, the region is a unique blend of natural beauty, renown for it's unusually diverse bird and wildlife population. It is the quintessential small town in all the best ways.

If you are interested or know anyone who might be, feel free to contact me in the comment section, via email or contact the church directly (see website). I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

Thanks!

Today I am going to tackle the next two missional disabilities- "Illusion of Control" and "Program Addiction". The first is very much a variation of "The Enemy Is Out There". However, instead of manifesting in retreat, it finds expression in the guise of "proactivity". There comes a great sense of purpose and faitfulness that comes when you are aggressively fighting the enemy. However, more often than not, that means attacking people, both those outside the church and those within it.

Rather than owning our own failures and weakness, we target the perceived cause of all our woes. Of course, people respond against these vicious attacks, which in turn is interpretted as "persecution" that proves that they are indeed righteous. We need to be careful not to look for the obvious examples of this disability, as it can take subtle form in our own judgments of those we are sure are wrong or to blame. Whether the target of our blame deserves it or not isn't even the point. Our primary focus must remain at home where it belongs, with us. All else will only distract us from what is important.

The next missional disability, "Program Addiction", is a monster to overcome. Let me start by saying that I am not against programs. I am not anti-event or opposed to organizations and institutions. Rather, the concern here is that we allow them to become the recipients of our time, money and service. They are and will always be tools for the service of God and others. When that direction of purpose changes, that is when you have a problem. When this is not the case, we risk falling for the illusion of impact through the immediate and missing the reality that true change takes time and effort.

In an article I wrote called "Being Missional In An Age Of Liminality", I borrow a concept from Peter Drucker called "systematic planned abandonment". Basically, the concept requires a consistant and even ruthless assessment of our programs. If they are failing to serve God and His purposes, it must be abandon. We can become so emotionally invested in these programs and events, that this can be a painful process. Further, we are so engrained in this way of thinking, our creative processes can be limited. It will take time to unlearn and relearn.

The more subtle and dangerous expression of this missional disability is in how it teaches us to see and respond to the reality around us. When we rely on events and programs, we lock outselves into a reactive stance. Then, when faced with challenge, we tend to react to the immediate without considering the systemic, big picture reality behind it.

For example, in our community, we see an increasing number of boys getting in trouble with the law. A reactive response (not entirely wrong in and of itself) would be to increase discipline and consequence to their actions. However, when we step back and look for patterns in their behaviour, and even further to the systemic causes, we begin to see that the issue is far less about discipline than we might have thought, but made up of many differing factors. In the same way, when faced with immediate problems we need to take the time respond with consideration and care, not react on the surface perspective.

Being missional means being engaged in our world on an intimate, relational level. We cannot do this if we view our neighbours, our culture or even other Christians as the enemy. Neither can we do it if we won't take the time to go beyond the surface issues and see te heart of the challenges we face. We must overcome these disabilities, not merely for our own improvement, but because the quality and success of our missional engagement depends on it.


Missional Missional Community Peter Senge Organizational Learning Learning Disabilities

As many of you know, Kim & I are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia. After our devastating experience with miscarriage to our consistant and unexplained inability to conceive again, we decided to pursue this course. It took us many months of prayer and consideration, but we truly believe this is God's plan for our family. Among the challenges we will face along the way, finances will be our biggest hurdle. There are significant expenses involved in this process. As missionaries, this will be exceptionally challenging to our support-based income. To that end we have launched an exciting fund raising project:


We are asking you to consider getting involved in helping us in the process. At the website there is a beautiful picture of a baby.. The pixels of this image are yours to "adopt". Simply visit the website and "adopt a pixel". Every donation, even as little as $1, will really help. As donations come in, we will keep you updated. Our goal is to raise $20,000 towards the process. Scroll over the image to see how many pixels have been adopted!

You can also help out by getting the word out. We are asking anyone who is willing to promote this on their blogs and websites, both by posting on it and/or adding the button to your site (see below). We also have a Facebook cause that you can join and invites friends to join. Every little bit helps.

Tax deductible receipts for Canadians who wish to give larger donations are available through the following process (NOT PAYPAL). Please make your cheque or money order payable to Youth With A Mission and include a separate note with our name on it and the words "For Adoption". As per Revenue Canada's wishes, do not put any name or info anywhere on the cheque except what is listed above.

Send cheques to our Project Funding office (see below info). If you are interested in giving on a monthly basis you can send in post-dated cheques or use our pre-authorized payment method. If you are interested in receiving a pre-authorized payment agreement form please email or call our donor office with your name and address. All other donations can be sent through PayPal as unreceipted gifts.

Project Funding
PO Box 57100
2480 East Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V5K 5G6 CANADA
Ph: (604) 436-4433 Fx: (604) 436-4466

Button:

The following is a short manifesto, of sorts, that I wrote some time ago (originally posted here). I am preaching from this piece this coming Sunday. Additionally, as we discuss co-leading a new church plant it has been on my mind. I thought I would post it again for those who missed it. I also wrote an extended article exploring each point in more depth which can be downloaded as a PDF here. I hope it blesses.

The Community Coming To Be Known As Missional

Let me introduce you to The Community Coming To Be Known As Missional. There are millions of us, but even very few of us will change the world around us.

We are community because it is the incarnational reflection of the Triune God in whose image we are created. We are a community that prefers walking rather than sitting, going where the Spirit has already gone before us, be it in our neighbourhood or ends of the earth. We are united by relationship and vision, not locations and buildings.

For us, generosity trumps obligation, for all that we have is Gods. We give what we have, both financial and otherwise, because we cannot help but want to see His purposes come to fruition. We offer hospitality, opening our homes and our lives to welcome the other. 10% is more likely the amount that remains than what is demanded, and in our mutual generosity, none of us goes without.

We are the Community Coming To Be Known As Missional. Our success is measured by our obedience to Gods calling on us, most evident in our love for Him, for others, for ourselves and for Creation. While we passionately work to build a Kingdom that will change the very course of history, we celebrate the transformation of even one life as though it were the greatest triumph of all, because it is.

We are ruthlessly committed to people over programs, demanding that the latter always serve the former or it will be abandoned. We cooperate, not compete, not seeking to win the praise or demand the submission of others. Neither do we serve buildings and budgets, but they must serve us as we serve others. We seek our greatness in our pursuit to becoming servants.

We are the Community Coming To Be Known As Missional. Each among us is our leader, each among us is led. We honour the diversity of our community by leading from along side or beneath, not from above. Every gifting, perspective, experience and individual is valued equally, not according to position or power. Each among us is our teacher, each among us a student. We honour the wisdom of every individual, especially those on the margins, as Christ Himself identified with their trials.

We celebrate the differences amongs, even that which we cannot reconcile, not in denial of the absolute, but in the gift of humility that those differences require of us. Without denying our differences, we no longer allow them to categorize us or divide us. It is in the diversity that the image of God is most fully reflected in and through us.

We are the Community Coming To Be Known As Missional, but we are not there yet. We acknowledge our weakness and foolishness, as it is the weakness and foolishness of God. We are flawed, broken, proud and afraid. While we are committed to becoming this community without apology, we acknowledge that our becoming is dependant on the whole Body of Christ. While we believe we have something to offer the whole Church- something critical and prophetic- we also acknowledge that we need them equally as much. Above all, we need God- Father, Son and Spirit- to complete in us what we are created to be.

We are the Community Coming To Be Known As Missional.

After yesterdays post on the first missional learning disability, "I Am Not My Title", today I want to explore the second, "The Enemy Is Out There". As I mentioned in the original post, this one particularly bothers me. It is especially prevelant with the passing of Christendom. In the face of our loss of influence and centrality in the wider culture, we face the temptation to ignore our own failure to be truly engaged in our world, shifting blame instead to something outside ourselves. Invariably the "fault" lies with something in "the world".

My recent post on Dr. Alber Mohler's statements in respect to Christians needing an "escape strategy" from the public school system is, in my opinion, a clear example of this missional disability. Am I saying that all Christians should have their children in public schools? Of course not! In fact, it is this kind of generalized sweeping recommendation (on either extreme of the issue) that expose a fear-based reaction, not a considered response out of love and missional engagement.

Of course, it is not just "the world" that gets to take the blame, but other Christians as well. Those involved in the emerging church conversation have had their own fair share of accusations leveled at them in this respect. (A point of caution: it is also easy for the opposite to be true- for emerging Christians to blame "Evangelicals" for our woes). Of course, there are legitimate critiques that must be addressed, but it is when we place greater emphasis on looking outside ourselves to justify our own failures that we risk falling prey to this disability. One of the challenges is that it can be a very self-affirming failure. How many times have we seen Christians denounce "the world" with contempt, then call it proof of their righteousness when the world rejects or criticizes them as a result? It is too easy to see this "persecution" as further proof that the world is out to get us.

One of the natural causes of this missional disabilities is, in fact, the "I Am My Title" disability. When we define our value through our position, whether as individuals or as communities, acknowledging our own failures is to call our very worth into question, thus we look outside ourselves. To be sure, there are enemies out there to which we must respond. However, our "weapons" are utilize as we move in the opposite spirit, responding not with accusations and blame, but grace, humility and love.

Last Thursday I presented a brief overview of seven Missional Learning Disabilities (inspired by Peter Senge) that most communities of faith face in their journey towards genuine missional community. While the comment section was quiet, others have suggested exploring each point in more detail. Today I am going to look at the "I Am My Title" disability.

The "I Am My Title" disability is a challenge to missionality on several levels. First, let's look at leadership. Most leaders are aware of the risk of looking to titles for identity. More subtle and dangerous than this is using our positions to get our way. I am not referring to the sulky and stubborn abuse of power we all despise, but the tendency fueled by genuinely good intentions and probably good reasons. Faced with a community that is making what we see as foolish choices, it is far too easy to pull the authority card. Whether it is through blatant use of power or subtle manipulation- and no matter how right we may be- our role of leadership must never be abused.

Of course, this issue raises the question of leadership in general. Should we have people in leadership at all or rather lead together as a whole community? While I am a strong advocate for communities to lead together, I believe it is an issue of power, not leadership. What I mean by this is that I do believe that some are called and gifted into roles within community that require them to exercise authority and direction. It should never be a tool of power, but one of influence, working constantly to serve and empower the community to better lead together. However, this kind of community does not just happen. From my own experience of serving alongside wonderful, but deeply wounded brothers & sisters here in the inner city, it would be negligent and ultimately unloving for us not to provide the leadership we are called to.

This disability, however, is not simply for those with title or position. In fact, the greatest challenge in overcoming this hurdle to being missional will come from others who will speak, think and act a varient form of this disability - the "You Are Your Title" disability.  As leaders attempt to define and form their place in the community in healthy ways, there will be those who will unconsciously work against them. As we pursue missional formation as a community, it will be in resisting the old, trusted model of top-down leadership- so familiar and engrained into our worldviews- where we will the constant and complex challenges to overcome.

Further, as leaders attempt to become vulnerable equals who can be real with their own weaknesses and flaws, some will see this as failure or even betrayal. When correcting this perception, it would be too easy to dismiss or reprove these critics quickly and move on. Rather, we must acknowledge that, despite how unfair their judgment might be, the Church played a significant role in "nurturing" them into this way of thinking. We must be patient, firm and long suffering. It is a long painful process which can quickly become very personal- further demonstrating how dangerous it is to find identity in our titles.

By identifying with our positions, we ultimately dehumanize ourselves, resulting in the same treatment of others. We may have prettied up the language to be more palitable, but concept of "human resources" found it's earliest expression in the practice of slavery. If we treat ourselves and our communities based upon this premise, we not only cut the heart out true community, but also out of Christ Himself. Our place in our missional communities can and should help define our identity, but not it terms of power, position or place. Rather in terms of familial love and steadfast commitment.

I am not my title, but by His grace, We Are His Body.