Allen Likkel from CRHM.
Thanks Kevin for focusing the perspective on Christ's mission in the world on the calling each of us have to participate in that mission where we are. I do give thanks for sensing a significant shift in the last two decades in the understanding of many CRCNA members, congregations, and leaders to incarnational mission in their own "hoods." I also praise God for our international and domestic missionary pastors - such as yourself - who are leading the way in this mission.
Perhaps the last shift in understanding to fully occur in the CRCNA is the notion that our denominational endorsed missionaries go to international "hoods" rather than North American. I praise God Kevin that you are a "missionary."
The stereotype of mission in the CRCNA in the past has been that it is "overseas." Having an online Network system that begins with the "overseas" dimension and does not include local mission effectively reinforces the old stereotype. As one who was called to be a domestic, North American missionary this has been a long journey of trying to move beyond the stereotype. Sometimes I think we've made progress, and at other times the old DNA seems to resurface. I'd request that whenever those of us who serve in either the global (overseas) or local (domestic) dimensions of the mission speak into this and cast the vision for Christ's mission, we always respectfully include the whole "glocal" dimension of Christ's mission. This is especially true when we invite North American congregations to think about Christ's mission. We are beyond the day when we can seperate the two.
Precious little at those sites on all range of resources CRCNA's domestic mission agency has invested and gathered through the years on local evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. There are over 300 church plants and missionary pastors out there since 1988 with an incredible amount of knowledge and experience capital to be invested in Christ's mission by sharing with others.
Good question Wendy. The knowledge and experience capital gets distributed primarily through our "distributed" regional leaders and teams. Considerable energy goes into sharing best practices and learnings from one location to another. Our website has suffered in part due to "benign neglect" as we await new opportunities for the "domestic" side of our engagement in Christ's mission to be present on a denominational Gobal Mission site...:-).
Amen! However, being discipled by Jesus and following him and his incarnational mission strategy requires using all the talents and learning and wisdom God has given us. I find too many who "simply trust in the Holy Spirit" using that as an excuse to not do the hard work. And some of the results I've seen are not very helpful to the mission or kingdom.
I believe we are all called to be engaged in Christ's mission beginning in our Jerusalems and to the ends of the earth. We are called to this by Jesus in John 20:21. An important little word in this challenge of Jesus is the "as." We are sent "as" Jesus was sent - particularly in Jesusstrategic incarnational way (John 1:14). Only by "dwelling among" and entering into the particularities of the culture, sub-culture, and lives of the people where God locates us (our neighberhoods, places of work, etc.) can we "be" and "proclaim" the gospel. This is not done without prayerful and careful intentionality. A primary task of our local church community is to train, and mobilize us for this incarnational, missionary calling. When we genuinely enter the harvest field, we naturally seek out this incarnational, contextualizing training. Sit down with your unchurched neighbor and share the gospel. You will soon discover the need to find language that best communicates the gospel story in language your neighbor understands. Until we do this, we are not fully proclaiming the gospel. Following the incarnational strategy of Jesus is part of proclaiming the gospel.
So yes Steve, we are all called to be God's missionary people in all the different ways God has gifted us and given us diverse talents. However, we must take the time to do it Jesus way. And you have a right to be concerned that some would take this lightly or assume that it can be done without careful and prayerful preparation.
I joined with three colleagues from the PC USA, UCC, and RCA to do two workshops on domestic church planting. Those attending were primarily from Reformed denominations in European countries. They were passionate about starting new churches as a primary way to share the good news with people in their very secular countries. However, they voiced deep concern about not having the support of the leadership of their denominations for planting new churches. They spoke of negative responses to their promotion of domestic mission and evangelism. They pleaded with the four of us as presenters to help discover ways we could use our denominations to influence theirs to have a more positive understanding of domestic mission and church planting. It was challenging. We prayed together that the new WCRC would have a voice for domestic mission and help provide supportive networks for denominations that are or are wanting to engage in church planting.
Posted in: Mission Monday
Allen Likkel from CRHM.
Thanks Kevin for focusing the perspective on Christ's mission in the world on the calling each of us have to participate in that mission where we are. I do give thanks for sensing a significant shift in the last two decades in the understanding of many CRCNA members, congregations, and leaders to incarnational mission in their own "hoods." I also praise God for our international and domestic missionary pastors - such as yourself - who are leading the way in this mission.
Perhaps the last shift in understanding to fully occur in the CRCNA is the notion that our denominational endorsed missionaries go to international "hoods" rather than North American. I praise God Kevin that you are a "missionary."
Posted in: How Is It?
The stereotype of mission in the CRCNA in the past has been that it is "overseas." Having an online Network system that begins with the "overseas" dimension and does not include local mission effectively reinforces the old stereotype. As one who was called to be a domestic, North American missionary this has been a long journey of trying to move beyond the stereotype. Sometimes I think we've made progress, and at other times the old DNA seems to resurface. I'd request that whenever those of us who serve in either the global (overseas) or local (domestic) dimensions of the mission speak into this and cast the vision for Christ's mission, we always respectfully include the whole "glocal" dimension of Christ's mission. This is especially true when we invite North American congregations to think about Christ's mission. We are beyond the day when we can seperate the two.
Posted in: How Is It?
Excellent idea...and the correct way to go. Only improvement would be a third button entitled, "Glocal."
Posted in: How Is It?
Precious little at those sites on all range of resources CRCNA's domestic mission agency has invested and gathered through the years on local evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. There are over 300 church plants and missionary pastors out there since 1988 with an incredible amount of knowledge and experience capital to be invested in Christ's mission by sharing with others.
Posted in: How Is It?
Good question Wendy. The knowledge and experience capital gets distributed primarily through our "distributed" regional leaders and teams. Considerable energy goes into sharing best practices and learnings from one location to another. Our website has suffered in part due to "benign neglect" as we await new opportunities for the "domestic" side of our engagement in Christ's mission to be present on a denominational Gobal Mission site...:-).
Posted in: Everyone a Missionary?
Amen! However, being discipled by Jesus and following him and his incarnational mission strategy requires using all the talents and learning and wisdom God has given us. I find too many who "simply trust in the Holy Spirit" using that as an excuse to not do the hard work. And some of the results I've seen are not very helpful to the mission or kingdom.
Posted in: Everyone a Missionary?
I believe we are all called to be engaged in Christ's mission beginning in our Jerusalems and to the ends of the earth. We are called to this by Jesus in John 20:21. An important little word in this challenge of Jesus is the "as." We are sent "as" Jesus was sent - particularly in Jesusstrategic incarnational way (John 1:14). Only by "dwelling among" and entering into the particularities of the culture, sub-culture, and lives of the people where God locates us (our neighberhoods, places of work, etc.) can we "be" and "proclaim" the gospel. This is not done without prayerful and careful intentionality. A primary task of our local church community is to train, and mobilize us for this incarnational, missionary calling. When we genuinely enter the harvest field, we naturally seek out this incarnational, contextualizing training. Sit down with your unchurched neighbor and share the gospel. You will soon discover the need to find language that best communicates the gospel story in language your neighbor understands. Until we do this, we are not fully proclaiming the gospel. Following the incarnational strategy of Jesus is part of proclaiming the gospel.
So yes Steve, we are all called to be God's missionary people in all the different ways God has gifted us and given us diverse talents. However, we must take the time to do it Jesus way. And you have a right to be concerned that some would take this lightly or assume that it can be done without careful and prayerful preparation.
Posted in: Both And
Wonderful! We can celebrate together the one great mission of Jesus Christ.
Posted in: WCRC Reflections
I joined with three colleagues from the PC USA, UCC, and RCA to do two workshops on domestic church planting. Those attending were primarily from Reformed denominations in European countries. They were passionate about starting new churches as a primary way to share the good news with people in their very secular countries. However, they voiced deep concern about not having the support of the leadership of their denominations for planting new churches. They spoke of negative responses to their promotion of domestic mission and evangelism. They pleaded with the four of us as presenters to help discover ways we could use our denominations to influence theirs to have a more positive understanding of domestic mission and church planting. It was challenging. We prayed together that the new WCRC would have a voice for domestic mission and help provide supportive networks for denominations that are or are wanting to engage in church planting.