The Missional Church

Today I'm asking those of you who are connected with Grandview (past and present) to consider posting a response in the "comment" portion of this entry of my blog. I know that some of you just don't like to do it. Feel free to send it to my private email.

Your help will be appreciated because I'm brainstorming in anticipation of our Elders' retreat in January. The more raw data we have, the better.I've always liked Grandview's vision statement. I respect the massive amount of energy that it must have taken to get together a vision statement for a crew like us; however, if I could unilaterally change anything in the statement it would be:

1. The verb "extending" is a bit too ambitious for human effort. Extending the kingdom is, essentially, the work of the Holy Spirit and remains a mystery to the church. I would be pleased to consider changing the wording to "Inviting all people into the kingdom of God."
2. Also, if we tinkered with the order of the five elements (which I've done in the above picture) we could begin to view the statement as a process of disciple-making. A person would enter the kingdom of God (whether or not they enter Grandview) at the reaching out level and then progress through the various elements with the goal of whole-life worship as a life of praise to God.
   

Those are some of the things I'll be working with when I get cracking on my dissertation. The dissertation itself will focus on finding identifiable strategies for reaching out in relationships.

Things I won't be addressing? I won't be looking for ways to determine God's favorite hymn, chorus, instrument, or worship style. I won't be looking for ways to make Grandview a bigger church. And I won't be looking for which style of toupee I should wear to bring more visitors to Grandview (I've been saving for the Black Mohawk Model #2333a).

I want to be a part of leading the church toward being more intentional about making relationships that matter (with Christians and nonChristians). Deep relationships are built on important, not superficial issues. The best question being asked by the books we're reading for our leadership classes is the one brought to the table by the missional church project. It's the question I would love to hear more about from people who call the Tri-Cities home:

What is God doing to transform Johnson City? How can we (the church) join in that work?

You don't need to answer right away. Instead, drive around, talk to people (yes, even strangers), keep your eyes open, pray about it, ask for the gift of discernment. Then let me know what you believe God is doing. If you believe the Holy Spirit is at work in Johnson City, then this is a question worth pursuing.

The work doesn't have to be an explicitly religious activity (in fact, it's probably better if it's not). One task I want to tackle when I return is as simple as calling the city leaders to require a sidewalk along South Roan leading to the Food City. I don't know how many times I've seen the elderly trying to navigate that street in their battery-powered wheelchairs, or women pushing strollers in the street while cars speed past. I've been meaning to do something about this for over a year . . . hold me accountable, please.

When we answer the above question--with the intention of asking God to use us to grow the kingdom of God--we are coming very near the purpose of the church.

So . . . how about it? I would love to sample from your wisdom.

PS: Because I'm writing this too close to Christmas, you'll see this question posted again!