going out, going deep

Here is a series of statements that will serve to set the agenda in what will be a series of posts on the mDNA of the missional-incarnational impulse.

The purpose in combining these words in The Forgotten Ways, is to link two practices which in essence form the one and the same action.  This is for me a progression from my writings in The Shaping of Things to Come, because there we kept them separate.  I now thing these terms are inextricably linked in describing a genuinely New Testament mode of mission.   It is my belief that unless we embrace this combination approach, we will in effect lock up the genius of the apostolic church, namely to seed and embed the gospel in different groups cultures, and societies and to thus sow the seeds of rapid multiplication.

Not only is this important for practical reasons related to movements, but because so much of the theology of mission and incarnation are focused and concentrated in this impulse.  The missional-incarnational impulse is in effect the practical outworking of the mission of God (the Missio Dei) and of the Incarnation. It is thus rooted in the very way that God has redeemed the world, and in how God revealed Himself to us.

And yet as decisive as this element of mDNA is, it one of the most easily overlooked aspects of mDNA because it is obscured by very sincere thinking that is shaped in another mode and captured by another imagination—the evangelistic-attractional.  It’s hard to critique the genuine sincerity of outreach and evangelism that aims at growing the church. In so many ways, it is right, and it feels right, and at times it has been very effective.  But I have come to believe it was not the way the early church operated, and neither is it present in other genuine expressions of Apostolic Genius.  So critique it we must, because it is the evangelistic-attractional mode that is keeping us from experiencing that authentic impulse that reverberates through authentic apostolic movements.

The upcoming series of posts will try unpack some of the implications of this statement.

January 17, 2008 | Filed Under incarnational, missional, the forgotten ways |  

Comments

7 Responses to “going out, going deep”

  1. jay hardwick on January 17th, 2008 5:42 am

    alan,

    looking forward to the unpacking you’ll do. i’m especially interested to hearing your thoughts on implanting the seeds of the gospel in a way that leads to heart and life transformation. it seems this is where potential missional movements in our area breakdown - they focus so much on deconstruction that they never get around to presenting a better idea. the impulse then is more driven by the group than the group’s role within its missional context.

    really appreciate your work…i read forgotten ways first and just started shaping last night. guess i’ll work backwards through your thinking! :-)

  2. Peggy on January 17th, 2008 5:58 am

    Looking forward to this series, Alan. I’ve been thinking about seeding and embedding a bit myself as I process the phenomenon of organic growth versus classic evangelistic growth.

    Hmmm…takes me back, again, to Jesus’ use of being born again and new life and seed planted…and how that image is so powerful when we think of how families grow.

    If the egg and sperm never meet, nothing grows.

    If the fertilized egg doesn’t make it to the uterus, nothing grows properly (and tragic events may ensue if it implants elsewhere).

    If the fertilized egg doesn’t properly embed in the lining of the uterus, the placenta doesn’t develop properly (leading to other possibly tragic events due to poor placental placement).

    If the egg doesn’t develop properly and the growing child doesn’t receive the proper kinds and amounts of crucial nutrients at the crucial moments, defects may occur…some tragically so.

    And if the mother is unable to carry to term, all sorts of other trauma ensues…including death of the child.

    Even more mysteriously are those children who, for some unexplained reason, die days or hours before they were expected to be born.

    And then there are those children who are abandoned at birth…or shortly thereafter…or who become orphans…sigh….

    Wow…didn’t mean for the biology lesson, but this is how I see things have gone so wrong in the IC, where I spent years trying to run the spiritual “nursery” and care for those who come to Christ in ways that not only do not prepare the “soil” properly, they “seed” carelessly, barely “embed” so that the new babe in Christ can be nourished and grow…they seem to have no one willing to be their spiritual nanny. Somehow, all this amazing process happens mysteriously without any effort.

    I guess you can plant your garden by widely (wildly?) sowing seed…but if you have the time, and don’t want to feed the birds while you’re at it, it is good to plow the field and space the holes properly and drop a seed in each hole and pack the dirt down firmly before you begin to water and wait for nature to take its course.

    Sow wisely, grow deeply…yes. Simple and organic does not mean simplistic or less complex. Back to that whole simplex and chaordic thing, eh?

  3. Wes Roberts on January 17th, 2008 7:51 am

    …can hardly wait for you to unpack this, Alan.

    …how’s the other writing about our leader coming?

    …leader?

    …the One we are supposed to be following.

    …you know, Jesus.

  4. Larry Chouinard on January 17th, 2008 1:08 pm

    Look forward to reading your thoughts Alan. It is difficult for churches to move beyond typical corporate measurements of success: butts, buildings and budgets. A study of the crowds in the Gospels provides some interesting insight into how Jesus viewed the crowd mentality. If preachers were forbidden to talk about numbers on Sunday — what would they talk about?

  5. don woolley on January 17th, 2008 2:00 pm

    I think the problem with the attractional model is that it fundamentally contradicts the teachings of Jesus, especially that we can’t be his disciples unless we deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow him.

    The attractional model is based on “come here and see all the stuff we can give you” and Jesus gets buried deep in the bows and ribbons. It may be well-intentioned (maybe) but it ends up as consumerism with a little Jesus sprinkled on top.

    We’ve rightly shared that life with Jesus is life to the full but in countless ways we’ve sold the notion that you can live without first dying. It may not be catchy or appeal to felt needs, but an important part of the Church’s message is “you need to die… we can help.” But until WE die to self (individually and corporately), such a message rings hollow.

    The church has too frequently preached Jesus’ “deny your self” message when what we’ve really meant is deny yourself as an individual, give to “the church”, then we can live selfishly as a group - the best Sunday morning show, the nicest gym and work out facilities, the biggest and most Disney-like indoor playground in town, etc. etc.

    We have a huge mega-church in town that has actually advertised that they have the most square footage of indoor children’s play area and they advertise on their digital sign “Check out _______’s newest place to work out.”

    How did it come to this?!

    You can see the problem throughout Christendom in the building of elaborate cathedrals, but I think the full blown attractional/consumeristic model is a fairly recent phenomenon. Or maybe its just grown to the point that we can no longer avoid wrestling with it.

    I also look forward to the unpacking of all this!

    don

  6. Gerard Kelly on January 17th, 2008 9:06 pm

    Go for it Al, these threads are working well. Someone asked me just last night - “so where DO you want your church to go?” and my answer was ‘further out and deeper in’… so we’re on some kind of parallel track here. Let’s find the elixir of life for the recovery and stimulus of apostolic genius in every body of believers on the planet….

  7. Matybigfro on January 17th, 2008 9:31 pm

    very exciting stuff
    really looking forward to the posts

    “i really must get round to getting the forgotten ways’

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