“There’s so much good that we can do to help … there’s so many people who just need somebody to listen to their story and listen to their pain and listen to their dreams…And there’s so many people who have really basic needs, like food and clothing and shelter and medicine and we have the resources to help them….how we love others is how we love God.”
Great stuff here. We’re big fans of “getting specific.”
UUs like to say “Deeds not creeds.” Can we prove it? Here’s some great ways. Thank you, Chalice Chick.
“Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God.” – Lenny Bruce
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“The rise of the missional church is the single biggest development in Christianity since the Reformation.”
“Going missional will require that you make three shifts, both in your thinking and in your behavior: From internal to external in terms of ministry focus; from program development to people development in terms of core activity; from church-based to kingdom-based in terms of leadership agenda.”
“These three shifts call for a new scorecard for the missional church. The typical church scorecard (how many, how often, how much) doesn’t mesh with a missional view of wwhat the church should be monitoring in light of its mission in the world. The current scorecard rewards church activity and can be filled in without any reference to the church’s impact beyond itself.”
“A church in Ohio passes up the option to purchase a prime piece of real estate that would allow it to build a facility to house its multisite congregation. Instead, it votes not to spend $50 million on church facilities but to invest the money in community projects…New expressions of church are emerging. One pastor has left a tall=steepled church to organize a simple neighborhood gathering of spiritual pilgrims. He is working at secular employment so that he doesn’t have to collect monies to support a salary; rather, he and his colleagues are investing in people on their own street….Another entrepeneurial spiritual leader has opened up a community center with a church tucked inside of it. He has a dozen other ministries opeerating in the shared space.” [Hmm. that last sentence sounds familiar to what we are doing.]
“The missional church renaissance is not occurring in a vacuum. Just as in the fifteenth century, larger social forces are at work that conspire to create conditions ripe for this kind of development. The confluence of three significant cultural phenomena is fueling the current collaboration and creativity: 1. the emergence of the altruism economy; 2. the search for personal growth; 3. the hunger for spiritual vitality.”
Reggie McNeal
To borrow from Christian writer, Bill Kinnon, missional is incarnational, positional, and relational.
However we understand The Divine Mystery, we know that we are its hands and feet. It is up to us to incarnate the values we want to see in the world.
We are to position ourselves out in the world, meeting people where they are – in their neighborhoods, workplaces, bars, etc.
We are to have relationship with others – not just “like-minded” people or people who might want to join our churches. Many of the people we minister to will never walk into a Unitarian Universalist church, will never sign the membership book. But we are called to extend kindness and love our neighbor.
I have a friend who is a missional minister who plays poker once a week. One day, one of the guys at his table introduced him to another as “This is my spiritual advisor.” My friend looked confused. “Bob, you’ve never once set foot in my church." "Yeah,” said the guy. “But what do you think you’re doing when you’re here?”
We try to “go to church” wherever we are. Letting our lives speak. Looking for ways to help others. Using our individual, unique gifts to minister to others – whether we are called Reverend, Candidate, Board Member, or just Joe. We are all ministering.
And being wholly transformed ourselves, in the process.
Such excellent questions! An answer will appear momentarily.
Answer is forthcoming, honored guest.
Red Pill Brethren 