I've been thinking...
As long as we still run programmes, people will volunteer, but their mission will be to the church and not the lost?
Is this true in a lot of areas?
When we run an event or a programme, and we ask for people to volunteer to help out, are we in danger of enforcing the idea that the church leadership is responsible for the mission and the 'laity' is responsible to support them? Where-as I'm certain that all of the church is responsible for mission and the church leadership is responsible for equipping and supporting that mission. This means we should be in less of a hurry to run a training session, and more in a hurry to attend what is already happening in informal and formal groups meeting in homes and businesses and schools and workplaces. Believing that mission is already occurring and we have been called to "equip [God's] people for works of service..." therefore the role of building mission into everyday thinking falls to identifying where gifts are being used and to help build this rather than draw people away from their 'work' in order to teach them skills which may or may not even be applicable to them?
Thinking out loud...But, and there's always a but, how is it that we empower all of us as a church to take ownership of mission in our own unique contexts? In essence, how do we get people to do stuff?
"God at Work" - excellent tools for equipping us to workplace spirituality/mission
"Easter/Christmas Journeys" - Creative expressions of Easter and Christmas.
"Pentecost Festival" - Inspiring opportunities to celebrate our relationship with the Holy Spirit
"Toolbox Groups" - Growing in Parenting skills
"Mainly Music"...
You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink... We can invite people to learn about God's kingdom, but we cannot make them participate...
Faith is a strange thing.
Our prayer is that as we sow seed, God fertilizes and germinates and grows.
Anyway, enough of thinking...
Go the Black machine on Saturday Night!!!
posted by Jason @ 12:04 pm
3 Comments:
Jas, i wonder if people still think that it is up to the leadership of the church to dream, organize, and run whatever programme that comes to mind.
I heard a phrase a while ago "In a church there are 20% of the congregation doing 80% of the work."
I think people are changing their thoughts where community and church work are concerned but i think it needs a shift in the mindset as well.
Also, i think your right about the mission that is already happening around us and the importance of feeding into it and being a part of it.
The hard part of resourcing current mission is three-fold. Identification, honoring and being applicable in each unique environment and not just throwing the latest craze in Christian ministry at them. (40 Days of Purpose/Community, Network, Nooma etc. Although in the right context each of these can find an appropriate meaning.)
Warwick, I was thinking aloud with the Board this week how the opposite seems to apply at Opawa at the moment when it comes to mission: Iain McMahon kicking off international lunch, Lynne with film nites, Steve J with Koru - lay people gathering lay teams to run mission.
and how all our vision for 07 emerged from church members at the church members meeting.
steve
www.emergentkiwi.org.nz
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