JUST THINKING MISSIONAL some more...

Staying with the Missional theme:

Ed Stetzer quotes Steffen on the list of question that we need to ask when entering a culture:

• What is the worldview of the target audience?
• What is the culture’s decision-making pattern?
• What does it cost a person in this culture to become a Christian?
• What redemptive analogy is best for this culture?
• How does the culture view Christianity?
• What does the culture understand about the basic components of the gospel story?
• Is this culture based on shame or guilt?
• How will culture understand Christian rituals?
• What is the best delivery system for exposing the people of this culture to the gospel?[1]

My evolving thoughts... on being "missional"

· The Gospel centrality has to be the hub around which every thing spins – that means:

o Understanding the full width the

§ Creation,

§ Rebellion,

§ Redemption,

§ Consummation,

o Land all our preaching in the gospel – to provide meaning, clarity, liberty,

o The key to our discipleship,

· The Priesthood Priority - of all believers must find expression both inside and outside the community,

· The Family Model – this mindset requires us to see healthy kingdom minded families as the foundation for all missional activities,

· The Missionary Mindset - Every believer should see themselves as being both incarnational [to serve their community] as well as missional [to save their community]

· The Zip code Ownership - Missional believers see that God has ‘ordained the time and places where they should live’ – this means that the perfect storm in their lives take place where talents, giftings, relationships, vocation, the gospel and context come together,

· The Cobbler Connection - Every person’s spiritual journey is valid and essential. The attractional model empowers the superstars to great acts of faith. The missional revelation empowers all believers to do ‘good works God has prepared in advance for us to do’ Eph 2,

· The Cultural Conversation - Exegeting culture is the second language of this missionary – there is an understanding that I must adjust to impact my world but never at the expense of scripture,

· The Contextual Evolution - A missional mind is never stagnant. By its very foundation it is adjusting as the people, context and situation requires… the wineskin changes to accommodate the wine,

· The Poor Partnership - They never forget the poor…it is a matter of continual kingdom focus,

· The Prayer Passion – It is impossible to enter the world of missional impact without a weighty theology of prayer, matched with a sustained lifestyle of prayer and fasting with appropriate spiritual warfare,

· The Ant Trail – we need both observer sharpness matched with revelatory edginess to discern where the flow trails of city life is,

Hope this is helpful

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[1] Ed Stetzer: Planting Missional Churches; pg 34