What's a missional?

"We haven't really been interested or involved in missions before, Pastor." I've been around the church long enough to have heard this a few times from a few faitfhul parishioners. Missions has characteristically been viewed as a subset or a committee in a congregation. Tihs committee oversaw some projects or some designated funds for mission work. Mission work was done by others somewhere else for some other people. Missionaries were rare breeds, willing and courageous enough (read crazy) to go in the name of the LORD to a distant land and a heathen people. This was the heart of foreign missions in the 19th and 20th century and retained a kind of late-medieval colonial dominance culture. Most church people were not involved in missions. Many congregations were not involved in missions, save the occasional project; the food or clothing drive, the charity-of-the month "mission giving" opportunity, etc...for the most part mission was left to the broader church as an enterprise disassociated with local congregational life. The local congregation was a house of worship, Sunday School, and fellowship among a relatively homogeneous group of members.
This has changed as the culture of North America has changed. Evangelists are coming from Tanzania to share the gospel here! And churches are beginning to reimagine their identity and purpose vis a vis the language and activity of mission. Missional churches are arising with a newfound energy for gospel-driven action in the world; especially in local context.
The gist is, many people are moved today by a desire or passion to live the compassionate justice of Jesus in and for neighbors. churches are beginning to seek ways of expressing their faith in GOD through intentional interaction within thier communities. not only are congregations sending people on short-term mission trips to Haiti and Biloxi and Appalachia, but congregations are beginning to see thier neighborhoods as the context for mission.
What is the mission or a missional life? It is to interpret the message and ministry of the gospel in terms of a present day, incarnational way of living a more just and compassionate life. It is practicing the sermon on the Mount and the Good Samaritan and the feeding of the multitudes as signs of the promised Kingdom that is somehow present in and through the gathered and sent communinty of believers. Mission is a way of seeing GOD---the GOD whose will, hopes, dreams, desires, and purposes for creation are made known to us in Scripture. God is on a mission to love humanity with a holy and perfect love that transforms us into divine children, whose own purposes and wills are shaped and formed by the one who embodies a perfect humanity---Jesus. To be missional is to conform ones life to the life of Jesus and to submit ones will to the will of GOD.
A missional church lives to love the neighbor i all the ways we are able to do so. A missional church love sthe neighbor because we have recognized God's eternal love for us. We have received grace upon grace; so we respond in worship and in serving others.
A Missional church has an outward focus, an apostolic character, and Jesus at the center of everything. A missional church boldly asks, "What is God calling us to do and be in this place for our neighbors?" A missional church knows its context, is in relationship with neighbors, non-members, and the secular resources that are already doing God's work in the world. The church in Acts announced the resurrection of Jesus and the Kingdom of GOD in words and actions. They cared for the widows and the poor. They welcomed outcasts, gentiles, and marginalized households. They served the needs of the least in their communities. They were actively engaged in an economy of sharing and giving that benefitted all kinds of people. They were willing to stand before powers and authorities as witnesses of injustice, cruelty, and sin. They were advocates who accompanied the voiceless and the oppressed.
Are we a missional church? is the focus of our message and ministry the other?

ELCA Bishop Hansen's remarks on the Gaza conflict

January 7, 2009

ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Gaza Situation at Amman News Conference
09-004-JB

AMMAN, Jordan (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said
the United States government needs to take a more active role in
stopping the conflict in Gaza. Stopping the conflict needs to be
a top priority, and it must be accomplished as soon as possible,
he said.
Hanson, who also serves as president of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), said Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza,
Hamas must stop rocket attacks on civilians in Israel, and
negotiations must be restarted for "a permanent peace with
justice and a two-state solution." The LWF is a global communion
of 141 churches in 79 countries, representing 68.3 million of the
world's Lutherans.
Humanitarian conditions for the people of Gaza must be
improved immediately, Hanson said. "We are deeply concerned that
food, medicine and other basic necessities are not getting to the
people in Gaza. We ask that borders be opened for humanitarian
aid to reach Gaza. This must be a long-term, sustained effort,"
he said.
Hanson, the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, national bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), and the Rev. Munib
A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), addressed a news conference here
Jan. 5.
In response to a reporter's question, Hanson said he was
disappointed that the Bush administration vetoed a cease-fire
resolution in the U.N. Security Council and hoped that new
proposals would succeed. Israel needs to comply with U.N.
actions, he added.
Hanson, Johnson and Younan are leading more than 40 bishops
from the ELCA and ELCIC who arrived Jan. 6 in Jerusalem for a
week-long series of meetings with religious, political and
community leaders in Israel and the West Bank. A smaller group
of bishops from both churches arrived here Jan. 3 for similar
meetings in Jordan.
The Canadian government is deeply concerned about the
violence and loss of life in Gaza, and it wants humanitarian aid
to be available to people living there, Johnson said. "The
Canadian churches have stated that all attacks on civilians,
whether in pursuit of political ends or as a part of military
operations are unacceptable and must be deplored," she said.
Months ago the North American bishops made plans to travel
together to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank to demonstrate
support and encouragement for the ELCJHL, to learn about the
political and social situation in the region, and to advocate for
peace. The visit is the 2009 Bishops' Academy, an annual event
for study and reflection.
It is significant that the bishops are arriving at a time of
serious conflict in Gaza, Younan said. "It makes their visit more
significant and more important as they ... dare to come to stand
with the peoples of this (region), to stand with Arab
Christianity, and to tell the world that the voice of the manger
in Bethlehem is much stronger than the voices of cannons and
F-16s and bombs wherever they are in the world," he said.
Lutheran bishops met Jan. 5 with Zeid Al Rifai, president of
the Jordanian Senate, who said Israel's incursion into Gaza is
"mind boggling" and "inexcusable." He said "indiscriminate
killing ... will achieve absolutely nothing." The Gaza conflict
must serve as an incentive to revive the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process, Al Rifai added.
The bishops also met with leaders of the Jordanian
Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, and Jordan's Minister of
Islamic Affairs, Abdul Fatah Salah. The Lutheran bishops added
their signatures to a document addressing "Islamic-Christian
Interfaith Coexistence," which calls on both faith traditions to
cooperate, continue dialogue, and promote peace and justice in
the world. The bishops concluded activities Jan. 5 with an
evening reception for religious, political and community leaders.
Hanson, Johnson and Younan said they would meet Jan. 6 with
Jordan's King Abdullah II to talk about Gaza and other concerns
before traveling to Jerusalem.

Peace in Gaza

I invite my readers to respond to the situation in Gaza by going to the Churches for Middle East Peace website, learning all you can about the issues surrounding the ongoing fighting, and advocating with our government to broker a cease fire. The Bush administration offered an international summit in 2007 in Anapolis, MD to move closer to a two-state solution. They never reached agreement.
Today, civillian Palestinian casualties in Gaza have overloaded the medical community's ability to assist. A an attack near a UN school left 40 dead and many more wounded.
I wonder how the excessive nature of Israel's vengeful assault on Gaza can go unchecked by the U.S. The random act of terror that disrupts Israeli community and kills, injures, and maims Israelis is often met with excessive military retaliation. Rather than a police action that punishes the people groups responsible for terrorist attacks, a general war offensive is launched that impacts civillians and essental infrastructure. This, I believe, only fuels the malcontented extremists.
This is a religious matter. it cannot be separated form politics and economics. Christians, Jews and Muslims must find a way to live peaceably without comprising core beliefs. I see no core belief within Christianity that calls us to exclude, hate, villify, demonize, or destroy the other. They are created in the image of God. Jews are God's chosen people, from whom and for whom Jesus came. Islam cannot exist to become the only religion on the planet. Extremists in all three camps must now be marginalized and silenced by thoughtful and faithful moderates, who might see an alternative that is neither secular/pluralist, nor fundamentalist/extremist. Brian McLaren's blog and some articles on Sojourners offer some compelling thoughts.
I have always believed that moderate Christians, perhaps even Lutherans and anabaptists together, are essential to the brokering of a truce because we are called by Jesus to a radical turning away from vengeance and retaliation to a willful act of submission as a servant of the neighbor. When a people group surrenders their will to power and claims of authority, while also providing for the needs of the enemy, then we might begin to see a way forward.
Today, we cannot resolve the entrenched conflict expressed by Arabs and Israeli's toward the other. But we can be people of peace, offering in some way to create the capacity for peace among neighbors and we can support those with power to seek a peaceful solution. So, write to President-Elect Obama and compel him to get in the game in order to broker a lasting truce through real conversation.
Also, please pray for the 90 + Lutheran Bishops and their spouses who are travelling to the region this week. May the Prince of Peace guide their steps and give them words of hope to share.

Epiphany prayer

O God, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only begotten Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know thee by faith, to thy presence, where we may behold thy glory face to face. Amen.

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: grant that thy people, illumined by thy Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be know, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth. Amen.

Epiphany

Today the church celebrates the feast of the Epiphany. History and tradition has marked this date as the arrival of the Gentile magi to offer gifts at the feet of the new King of Judea born in Bethlehem, whose birth was astronomical, cosmically foretold by a bright star. Some believe that they saw a rare and brilliant planetary alignment. Others, a comet. Mo matter, it is told by St. Matthew that magi from the East come seeking this King. And they logically begin their search in the palace of the King of Judea--Herod of Jerusalem. They are mistaken. So they travel south to Bethlehem and find the family there. In the city of David. Beth-lehem, The "house of bread or meat", transliterated. There they worship Him, bringing gifts of incense for the gods, gold for a king, and myrrh for one who will die. Odd combination of gifts. No rattles. No baby blankets. No toys. They bring gifts symbolic of His identity and mission. A King whose life will rise like a fragrant offering before god, an offering even in death.
This day has marked Jesus' baptism by John and His first miracle at the wedding in Cana, where he turns water to wine.
For us this day means many things: We are those who have been invited supernaturally to believe in the divinely anointed Kingship of Jesus, the Savior of all people. We are invited as were all the gentiles, beginning with the Magi. Our posture toward this invitation is to be one of worship, ofering ourselves in devotion and service to Jesus. Also, we are called to the waters of baptism, whereby we are made one with Him and heirs of life. We remember our own baptisms on this day, when God reoriented our souls and broke the bonds of sin.
Finally, this is a day of joyful miracles. The mundane and ordianry is made extraordinary in the hands of the Lord Jesus. Look for the miraculous on this day. See God's hands at work in the ordinariness of your day.
May God be made manifest to you on this day in the flesh of Jesus, who died for us and gave His body for our eatiing and drinking.

Winterfest, Lutheranhands and church

The annual event! Whether its a cool mission trip to Biloxi or a revivalistic, high octane weekend youth event, the annual event has been the hallmark of youth ministry. Now there are regular experiences with youth groups in congregations and maybe even conferences. But they are usually stop gaps between the big events. The events are powerful, transformative experiences. Kids are shaped by the faith of their peers and generational elders. I know, because I grew up in a congregation where the annual event was the thing that kept me engaged in the mundane experiences of the rest of the year. The rest of the year was, well, unspectacular. And if your congregation is one that is not too enaged in youth culture and youth ministry, then you might feel like you've gone from the mountaintop to the cemetery. The natural high of the experience itself gives people an event hangover which can last awhile. Often a few weeks. But the enthusiasm often wanes and the ordinary, mundane reality of life settles us. There is a spiritual deflation that occurs post-event in our church's culture. ELCA national gatherings can have this feel too. They happen only once every three years, so a lot of preparation goes into that one experience. Then it happens. Its awesome. And then we go home. Not so awesome. Sometimes lame. Church for my parents or grandparents, but not me. God was encountered at the event. Not in the weekly gathering or the monthly youth group meeting.
Some youth workers will take offense. I know there is a lot of good youth ministry happening in weekly and monthly experiences too. But what if there are aspects of the annual event that we ought to replicate in more regular ways? What if some aspects of "Winterfest" or the national gathering became part of our dna as church; in worship, learning, and mission? These events are so well done. Like so many continuing ed. events I have attended over the years. Then we leave these best practices behind to return to an untransformed, unspectacular church. What if we began to interpret these annual practices as a way of life? What if we lived like everything post-Easter is an event? What if we lived like this is the new age of the kingdom? What if we lived like the eucharist was the big event? Like the neighborhood meal, the clothing distribution, the after school club, the prisoner-release ministry, and the bowling fellowship was an event? What if we were a non-event, non-prgram church---whom simply lived like everything matters, like evrything counts, like everything is new?
I'd like to gather a team of people who might be ready to be the church offering the best of itself to our world evrey time we gather. I think daily life is the event! Every moment is an event. Every hour is an opportunity to experience the wonder of God, creation, and the gifts found in our relatioships. Let's become a non-event fovcused, non-program driven church. Lets be the church that is driven by the story of Jesus. Lets be the church that is oriented to a way of life, situated in a 21st century context that is ahaped by a first century, biblical worldview. Lts do it now.

"Gracie and me": the book and film that will never be

I'm not usually a fan of oversentimentalized biopics, but Cherie insisted that we go see "Marley and me". Its the film adaptation of the book by the same name authored by journalist John Groghan. My wife read the book. I didn't. We have our own yellow labrador with her own idosyncresies. I don't feel the need to read about someone else's. But the book was well received and I had heard good things about his writing. Witty. Charming. Like a columnist for a major newspaper. He is a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
So we went on New Years day. Left the boys at Grammie and PapPap's, headed off to MoviE town for the matinee. Very few people there. Thought that more people would be out on New Year's day catching one of the many decent new releases in the theatres right now. I want to see "Frost/Nixon" about the 1978 interview of former President Nixon by UK reporter David Frost. Nixon was seeking vindication and redemption for Watergate. Frost was seeking a confession of criminality. I also would like to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," adapted from an F. Scot Fitzgerald short story, about a man who lives life in reverse. Born elderly he grows younger every year. I'd like to see Seven Pounds starring Will Smith, though I know very little about the film. I've rarely disliked a film in which he has acted. Clint Eastwood has an oscar worthy film out, as does Tom Cruise. Sometimes I'd like to be a film critic for a local paper because I enjoy many different kinds of stories told on screen.
But now to "Marley and Me." I laughed through most of the film. I cried for the last twenty minutes. The story is actually good. Young journalist couple get a dog to try out the nurturing genes. Marley is a male lab. He eats everything. He runs everywhere. He breaks things. He's untrainable. Marley trains them. Interestingly, Marley's behavior is not the center of the plot, like some Disney farce. This is not "Turner and Hooch"or "Beethoven: The Big pain in the neck". This is the story of a man and his wife, his career, his family, and his dog. And it is true. Not so much in its historical truth, although the film follows the book closer than many films based on books do. It is true because it is the story of life as a man with a wife and a career and three kids and a yellow lab. It is the story of his own failures, his own unfulfilled longings, and the surprising ways in which life gives more than we deserve.
I found myself drawn in, because so much of that story is my story too. (Jen Aniston, who plays his wife Jenny in the film, has nothing on my Cherie...smarter, sexier, real-er--is that a word?). I have felt his angst. I have sat in the car in my driveway wondering what the hell I'm doing. I've wondered if I've made the right choices. I have regretted the way I have handled relationships, my career.
And then there is the dog. I could write a book about Gracie May, the lab we love. I could write a chapter on staring. And a chapter on eating things. And a chapter on sleeping. I could write a book about the messes she's made and I've cleaned up. And I could write about her eagerness to be near us.
Gracie has an inoperable lump on her right shoulder that is beginning to impede her ability to walk comfortably. Inevitably we will have a choice about Gracie. As the Groghan's do in their story. Watching the kids and his wife say goodbye to Marley is a forecast of our future with Gracie,a future we typically deny and certainly despise. The death of a beloved pet is no small thing. And "marley and me" tells the tale with a simple beauty and affection that is honest and infectious.
But I am no movie reviewer or film critic. I am no journalist. But I am a storyteller. I write to share a little of the beauty and affection of life with my family,especially with my dog. She is a great dog, despite her often grouchy parents. I am only a husband, a father, and the lover of my own yellow lab. I love takng her for walks. I love watching her sleep. I love the way her fur smells. These are the unforgettable things about your dog. But more than anything else is the truth of the kind of love and affection we receive from her. She is devoted to us like no human can ever be. Its an undeserved devotion. I wonder if God sees our worship of Him as a kind of devotion likened to that of a pet yellow lab.
By the way, John Groghan and his wife and three kids live in eastern PA with their dog Gracie!