Posts Tagged ‘Church’

I think I often am too critical of the Church (that is, the global body of Jesus’ followers). Perhaps, it is a good thing in many ways, instead of following it blindly. I have many problems with evangelicals, and I have stated those throughout my time on this blog. I am evangelical so I find that I must be most critical of what I am closest to. Like family, evangelicals drive me insane, but, like family, I do love them. Like family, the Church has made me question if I even want to be a part of this, but, like family, I love the Church so much.

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Theology

We’ve explored two specific marks of the missional church over three different posts. This leads us to the last mark of the missional church — a theologically educated laity. As one approaches the general laity in his or her congregation, he or she can quickly assess whether or not the local church has properly served its congregants by providing some type of theological education for engaging everyday life. In the trend of seeker-sensitivity, many churches have neglected theology believing that “seekers” individuals have no interest in such training. However, Tim Keller suggests that missional churches need to theologically train laity for their vocations when he explains, “In a ‘missional’ church, the laity needs theological education to ‘think Christianly’ about everything and work with Christian distinctiveness…lay people renewing and transforming the culture through distinctively Christian vocations must be lifted up as ‘real kingdom work’ and ministry along with the traditional ministry of the Word” (p. 2). As seminaries continue to close their doors and biblical illiteracy increases, theological education of laity must be of utter importance in the Church’s call to disciple-making.
The twenty-first Church continues to struggle with its identity in the current context. However, there are numerous things, which the Church should continue to focus upon, if it is to be a peculiar people. The Church has and must continue to be shaped by the Great Commission, specifically surrounding the area of discipleship. As stated, discipleship is the most important task for the twenty-first century, missional Church. In light of this, the Church must paradoxically engage culture while at the same time promoting a counter-cultural mentality. These are difficult to balance, but the Church must be able to do both. The missional Church is counter-cultural specifically by promoting multiracial communities and rejecting consumerism and nationalism. In the end, it is important that laity be theologically trained in order to participate as missional people in daily life. The Church for so long has relied on Christendom to assist its efforts for making disciples. However, Christendom overemphasized conversion and not discipleship; thus, neglecting the Great Commission. The people of Christ are to be a peculiar people. If the Church forgets this and falls into the trap of overemphasizing something like relevance, it forgets its identity. If the Church focuses strictly on conversion, it forgets its identity. If the Church becomes racially homogeneous, it forgets its identity. Thus, the Church is a peculiar people, and a peculiar people that have forgotten their identity can never fulfill Christ’s words to “make disciples of all nations.” These things must mark the missional Church in order to do ministry in a twenty-first century context.

There is not enough time to cover all the “marks” so what “marks” would you add?

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Conclusion of series on “The Marks of the Missional Church”

Read Part 1 on Discipleship here. Part 2 - (Counter)Culture 1 here. Part 3 - (Counter)Culture 2 here.

Citations for all posts:

1. DeYoung, C. P., Emerson, M. O., Yancey, G., & Kim, K. C. “All Churches Should Be Multiracial”, in Christianity Today 49 (April, 2005).
2. Emerson, M. O. & Smith, C. (2000). Divided by faith: evangelical religion and the problem of race in America. New York: Oxford.
3. Hirsh, A. (2006). The forgotten ways. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press.
4. Keller, T. (2001). “The missional church.”
5. Walsh, B. J. & Keesmaat, S. C. (2004). Colossians remixed: subverting the empire. Downers Grove: IVP.

Consumerism

Thoughts on a multiracial church lead to the second way in which the Church must be counter-cultural. The Church must be counter-cultural by standing against the overwhelming consumerism, most prevalent in American culture. Emerson and Smith suggest that evangelicals are not immune to consumerism when they state, “The organization of American religion is characterized by disestablishment, pluralism, competition, and consumer choice. This organization is partly shaped and often capitalized on by evangelicals. And as a consequence of sociological and social psychological principles at work, congregations become and remain highly racially homogeneous” (p. 151; emphasis mine). The racial homogeneity of Christian congregations is a by-product of the emphasis of the surrounding culture.

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Culture

For the people of God to “make disciples of all nations,” they must be not run from culture but engage it. Keller suggests that Christians engage the stories of the culture in order that they might restate the stories in light of the gospel. Christians will be faced with a strong temptation to fall into sectarianism, but they must never yield to this. Engaging the culture marks the missional Church, as Keller states that “to ‘enter’ [the culture’s stories] means to show sympathy toward and deep acquaintance with the literature, music, theater, etc. of the existing culture’s hopes, dreams, ‘heroic’ narratives, fears” (p. 2). The missional Church must familiarize itself with its surrounding culture.

The Church has always been tempted to over-engaged culture that it becomes the culture’s bedfellow. Paradoxically, the missional Church must engage culture and be counter-cultural at the same time. If the Church is not counter-cultural, it ceases to be a peculiar people and abandons its calling. The Church has often neglected its calling by overemphasizing the desire to be relevant in order to reach the culture for Christ. However, in many situations, the Church fails to look different from culture since the people of God were so concerned with looking like society.

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The Marks of the Missional Church

Over approximately two millennia, the Church has continually struggled with its mission to be the people of Jesus Christ to an ever-changing culture and society. The task has not always been an easy one. As the Church has entered the twenty-first century, the question of what makes the Church the people of Jesus Christ still lingers. The Church seeks to be ekklesia, a “called out” people, and becomes a peculiar people. This peculiar people must live in the twenty-first century seeking to fulfill the mission of Christ and dialog about what specifically marks the Church in its current context. These people are sent to the world as agents of Christ’s kingdom and should continually self-evaluate to see if it is living out its mission.

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Multiracial church?

There are multiple problems that attribute to evangelicalism’s position on race issues. Firstly, premillennialism became the dominant eschatological view during these sad years. Such a view sees the world as evil and in rapid decay until Christ returns (p. 47). Thus, social reform has been seen as unimportant, and evangelicalism’s sole purpose has become “saving souls” for heaven. Often, from an evangelical standpoint, social reform is left to the misguided, mainline churches. American evangelicalism finds itself as a far from innocent bystander on the issues surrounding race and a promoter of the status quo. The dichotomy of evangelism and social action is a false one, and, unfortunately, premillennialism encourages it. Thus, premillennialism must change or cease to exist.

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Race and the Church in America

Christian congregations, when possible, should be multiracial. It is unlikely that any Christian would disagree with such a proposition outright. However, the overwhelming majority of Christian congregations in America do not reflect racial diversity, and this is even truer within the evangelical tradition. Evangelical congregations, holding to a firm belief that the entire world must hear about the salvation offered by Jesus, should be at the forefront of making the above proposition a reality, but, unfortunately, this is not the case. Thus, evangelicals must take to task the proposition that all churches, when possible, should be multicultural.

When authors Curtiss Paul DeYoung, Michael O. Emerson, George Yancey, and Karen Chai Kim were writing the book United by Faith: the Multiracial Congregation as an Answer to the Problem of Race, the magazine Christianity Today summed up much of what the authors have proposed. The authors define a multiracial congregation as that which 80 percent or more of the church’s membership is made up of one race. The lack of multiracial congregations is simply unacceptable since the racial landscape of America has changed dramatically even over the last few decades. As the article states, “In absolute numbers, the United States had well over 35 million more people of color in 2000 than it did in 1980” (par. 5; emphasis original).

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Church Marketing

From the experience of many in the American church, Kenneson and Street’s words are comforting. It is difficult to argue with much of what the authors are stating. It is discomforting to hear church marketers speak of people in terms of cost and effectiveness, and it is equally saddening to see that many great church leaders have fallen into the marketing trap. There is little to contend with and much to praise in the work of Kenneson and Street. Three specific points are worth noting.

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Selling Out the Church

Much of the American church has emphasized the need to be heard by the culture around it so that society will listen to what the church has to say. However, these churches often do not think about the consequences of emphasizing this thought. Philip Kenneson and James Street have found an unnerving trend in American churches that shows many yielding to marketing strategies, and the authors have dedicated their book Selling Out the Church: the Dangers of Church Marketing to reveal this. Many churches have become obsessed with marketing techniques in order to bring more people through the doors and have neglected their call to be a peculiar people, diluting the gospel in the process. Although Kenneson and Street at times overemphasize the dangers of church marketing, the American church, as well as, the international church should heed their overall message.

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