Reflections from Songkran

As I get a few days away from Songkran, the Thai New Year, I wanted to give some observations of the Thai customs.
Songkran, once a polite and formal holiday in which young people splashed water and went to their families to show honor to their elders. Blessing, cleansing, and honor mark the holiday as people from all corners of the nation of Thailand come together to celebrate with their family. However, I realized through conversations with some of our Thai friends, we come to understand the chaotic water fights have existed always, but the bawdy and wildness has emerged stronger and stronger over the past generation. Last year, teenage girls were taking their tops off; drunkards were making things more edgy, young men look for opportunities to grope the female Songkran participants.
What happened?
People lose their moorings when celebration trumps meaning. When people begin to lose their cultural heritage when they start to forget why they do certain customs. When we decouple the meaning of a tradition, we lose the purpose for doing something.
I have loved watching the church, often seen as a foreign entity, come alongside of Thai culture and help the Thai people hold onto their customs. In some ways, they reinterpret what some of the meaning are or where the blessings come from. However, in Songkran, we do not see the future blessings coming from God.
One example comes from the water pouring blessing, or rot nam dam hua. The young people use this ceremony to show honor to their elders as they go on their knees before their family’s elders. They ask for forgiveness for the things they did in the previous year. They then pour scented water over their elders hands, who in turn pray a blessing over the youth.
The Christians can still participate in this without looking to the spirits of Thailand to bring blessings or curses, but to God. They can see forgiveness coming from Jesus and blessings poured out by their Father in heaven.
We enjoyed watching the church partake in this ceremony, culturally appropriate to Thailand and yet sensitive to Jesus teachings. Thailand has become a party place led by their tourist centers of Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket and others as they jubilantly celebrate their New Year. Others want to fight back against this and hold onto the traditions and the meaning of their deep culture that the New Year starts with a cleansing of the past and openness to the future year. Perhaps the church will play a pivotal role in helping reinfuse cultural meaning into the festivals of Thailand.

 

The Sheep Know His Voice

I was having a conversation recently that sparked a thought in my mind as I am transitioning into a new pastoral role. I love the picture of the pastor as a shepherd and have always chafed against the idea of the pastor as CEO. The shepherd gives an understanding of caring for the people in the church. When Jesus restored Peter, he asked him to take care of his sheep and Paul left behind shepherds in Acts 20.

As a shepherd, I find my calling to nurture the people and help them grow in the way of God. I come alongside of them and guide them in the way of Jesus to see them reach their full potential. As I transition now, I am pouring my energy into relationships. How will they know we care for them, if they do not know us? Vision casting is happening, but primarily in this season, I am being led to invest into the lives of the people God has entrusted to me.

As we transition and seek God for direction, we are listening to the heart of the people. My friend and mentor told me the shepherd needs to listen to his sheep to get direction. That may seem counterintuitive at first glance, but there is a genius here. Jesus said his sheep know his voice in John 10, and so often we leave it there. But how often did Jesus stop to listen to his people? The amazing thing about Jesus is how often he asked the people what they wanted. I am thinking, the blind guy is yelling out for you to show mercy to him, and the king of the universe is asking what the blind man wants. Ummm, as one blind person reading the story, I think he wants to see. But Jesus used opportunities like this to allow us to speak.

As a pastor, when we listen to our sheep, we can get direction for the church. I am not talking about listening to their complaints or asking them as a directionless leader where should we go. I am suggesting that if we listen to their hearts, we will gain a perspective as to where they need to be led. When we hear their hurts, pains and concerns, we can find a way to bring Jesus into those spaces.

In Thai culture, this doesn’t come easy. The power distance in a culture like this is extremely high. This means that that people are shy to speak their true feelings to the leaders. They avoid contradiction or asking questions. The leadership sets the direction and the followers get the worked done. In the West, it is completely the opposite. We are allowed to question our leadership and even ask why? This goes against the way of the Thai people. This means I need to foster the space to speak and for me to listen in a way that is appropriate in Thailand.

Now, Jesus walked and ministered in a culture that had a high power distance as well, and he found a way to foster open relationships. How many times was Peter getting in trouble for asking odd questions, like how many times is sufficient for forgiving your friend? The disciples also asked who is the greatest. Even James and John asked for the right to sit at Jesus right hand when he entered his kingdom. Jesus found a way with sensitivity to the culture to create an atmosphere where everyone had a voice. I want to do the same.

How often do you stop to listen to those you lead?

When you listen, how do you create space for them to have a voice?

 

Small Parts

Recently, I have been reflecting on how even the small parts can make a huge impact. With the seemingly never-ending flood in Thailand, some of the most unexpected collateral damage is affecting global manufacturing. Two primary industries have had more than a little disruption in manufacturing, the auto and pc worlds.

Apparently, Thailand is the world’s second largest exporter of hard drives with a huge factory for Western Digital. With that factory out of commission, hard drive production in the world has slowed by ¼, and prices have gone up 20-40% . Also, auto manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota, Chevy and others produce a lot of cars sent around the world just south of Bangkok. Yet many of the big production has been slowed drastically as small car parts produced by flooded out factories in central Thailand have halted work.

In life, so many things that we participate in are interrelated. In the church we often talk about this with a picture of a body. I Cor. 12 gives us a great picture of how we are meant to live as a church with each member contributed to the common good of the whole. No part should feel less worthy or inferior to the others. Yet, we often lose that ideal as personal egos get in the way. Certain arenas of the church start to gain a higher quality while others seem to get pressed down into the lower regions of glory, or even shame. Take for instance the nursery workers. There are not a few churches if you look around who are not desperate for more nursery workers, while the worship teams create new and improved ways of staying a select group of talented singers and musicians. Don’t get me wrong, gifting matters. You don’t want me singing or playing guitar on the worship team. I am simply pointing out how some ministries gain all the notoriety. Getting people to work in the benevolence side of things or compassion ministries may not always come as easy either.

Yet if we neglect to empower and strengthen all areas of the church body, we can become one-sided or limit our full potential. If I am reading Paul right, he is exhorting the church to be well rounded and holistic in how they approach the ministry. Let’s not become the church that is known for one thing. You know the church that really nails it in one area and just puts all their eggs in that basket…an incredible worship leader, or the killer youth ministry, or the most amazing and creative kid’s ministry…

As with many arenas of life, the small things matter in a big way. Let’s not neglect the little things as we work to build the kingdom of God together.

What small thing in your world has turned out to make a big difference?

 

Thailand Foursquare Convention 1

Today concluded the three-day Thailand Foursquare Convention in Chiang Mai Thailand. We had people gather from the villages, hill-tribes and cities in Thailand to worship God, hear from God and fellowship together. In the next few posts, I want to share some of the overarching themes from speaker Mike Kai, pastor of Hope Chapel West Oahu.

One topic Mike covered came out of his experience in pastoring and thoughts from Philippians on how to have a healthy church. He gave several principles to what it means to have a strong church no matter one’s size or location. Whether the church is in a village or a city, these principles are easily applied to how to be a strong church. Underneath it all or before we even get into the principles, you have to love your church. No matter who you are in the church, you have to love your church. Loving your church will change everything.

Creating an environment for a great church (greatness has nothing to do with size).

1. Loving the harvest: Phil. 1:5 calls the Philippians partners in the harvest. You have to constantly be reaching out to people in your neighborhoods, villages, and everywhere. The church that stops having new people grows stagnant. The fruit of a Christian is another believer. This is the most important reason the church was left on the earth. If God did not want new people, he would have taken us all a long time ago. We are fisher’s of men and not caretakers of the aquarium. Sometimes in the church, we spend our time discipling the same people over and over again. The truest sign of a disciple is making another disciple.
2. Honor: Today, honor is a lost art. The church that is being perfected is an honoring church. Paul commended the Philippians to show Epaphroditus the honor he was due. We need to honor upwards, side-to-side and downwards. Jesus talked about honor in Mark 6, saying a prophet is shown honor everywhere except his hometown. When we become an honoring environment, God will do amazing things. When there is not honor in our church, we need to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Mike gave a great example of a pastor who left to start a church that left in a less than honorable way. It took him four years before he realized his mistake, but when he did he worked hard to make it right and it made the difference in his relationships with the other churches in his church as well.
3. Unity: In Philippians 2, Paul exhorts the believers to be unified and of one heart. Unity is so important to God. Everyone in the church and churches should work hard to be in unity with one another. Mike talked about the story of Hawaii and the unspoken competition among two groups of churches within Foursquare. God still worked within the fractured church, but how much more would have worked if the churches worked together for the same purpose. Today, the churches work in a greater deal of harmony, but that came as the disciples of the founding pastors planted churches and began working together and bringing unity. The devil loves to stir disunity, and we need to fight against that. We need to sow seeds of unity within our churches by allowing people to speak and to be heard. On the smaller scale, we must follow the principles of Matthew 18:15 and work for restoration and forgiveness when unity begins to be broken. Disunity comes from hell. We need to protect unity with everything we have. Healthy confrontation can bring about peace.
4. Generosity: Mike wanted to pastor a church that was generous. Don’t wait until you are big or have the means to be generous. They began looking for ways to be generous from the very beginning. The heard about a need and prayed for a way to meet the need. They began to be generous to the churches in their area, missionaries and in every way possible. They determined to be a river and not a reservoir. They wanted to be a conduit of God’s blessing. They were not only generous with money but with praises and complements to others. The world of the generous gets larger and larger while the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller, according to the Message translation of Proverbs.
5. Tenacious: Don’t give up but persevere. Be people who say what if. One of my favorite people, Mike said, is Caleb. Remember Caleb, one of the 12 spies who went into the Promised Land. He came out saying we can do this with God. Later when he and Joshua along with the new generation went into the Promised Land, Caleb at 85 years old went to Joshua. He found him while Joshua was divvying out the land and asked for his portion saying remember how we spied out the land. Remember, God said we had a different spirit. Caleb was fine with a plot in the hills, in less than desirable land. He said, I can teach these young bucks something. Dream big, and don’t give up. Ask what if, what if we purchase this plot of land, what if we feed these children, what if we serve in this country, and what if…
6. Life giving: Be a life giving church. Look for ways to speak life into people. Remove stumbling blocks from one another. If I am the cause for my brother to stumble, I need to go and make things right. We can have discipline in the church, but do so in such a way that brings life and restoration. Discipline in love.
7. Releasing. Be a church that sends people out. The church in Philippi sent Epaphroditus. We need to send out our best. The real test comes when our greatest disciples are called to plant a church or go overseas. It is easy to send out our good people, but what about our great people. We need to have a heart to let them go do what God has called them to do. Mike talked about this test in his church when two of his top people went to plant a church in Manila, Philippines. He needed to release them to go even though it was difficult.

We could have stayed for days talking about important principles for an environment within the church, but we left with these seven. We did not talk about being Spirit-filled, or preaching the word as these are non-negotiables.

What point stands out to you as one often overlooked by the church today? What further principle would we need to add to make this list more complete?

 

Name Change

Count me as one of the few excited people in a sea of NFL fans getting excited that October is here. Yep, that means hockey starts this week, and with the new season comes an old team renewed in their original home…err not original to the team moving, but original to their name.

It is like the Jets resurrected from the dead. As a non-Canadian, I admit, I never in my wildest imaginations conceived of a team moving back to Canada. I blame the Federal Reserve as our weak dollar has finally led to Canada having a competitive advantage again. I guess we wanted stronger exports and now exported a team out of the US.

The Atlanta Thrashers moved out of the hockey rich city of Atlanta to the metropolis that is Winnipeg in Canada. In moving, they agreed to take on the name of the former franchise in Winnipeg, the Jets, who in an unrelated move in 1995 moved to Phoenix. I knew that the retirement communities blossomed in the Southwest, but hockey? Well, Phoenix stuck it out with their team, but expansion Atlanta could no longer support a team, and released the Thrashers to become the Winnipeg Jets 2.0.  They take on the history and tradition of the former Jets in all of their glory. I wonder if Teemu Selanne will return for one more year with his former team.

When I think about iconic sports franchises changing cities and even changing names such as the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore Ravens so that Cleveland could receive an expansion team to be the Browns 2.0, I think of church names and all the changes over the past years.

Almost like clock work, when a new pastor comes to town, the new pastor with his new vision for the church (perhaps a blog for another day) wants to bring a new name for the community. Branding means a lot, so I don’t want to underestimate the power of branding and rebranding in times of crisis. Sometimes, I think we put too much emphasis on the name as we spend hours and weeks praying, discussing, and consternating over a new name. The thought goes like this. If we have a catchy name, we will catch more people into this community of faith.

The name of a church goes a long way in marketing who someone is or is not. Think of some of these trendy names, Vintage Faith, Solomon’s Porch, the Bridge, Flipside, the Journey, just to mention a few. Yet some of the most iconic churches have less than iconic names, Willow Creek, named after the movie theater they began meeting in35 years ago, Saddleback Church, named after the valley they live in, and many others with similarly bland names.

Why then do so many feel a strong need to show their creativity and fresh appeal through rebranding a church they take over. I do see a value in rebranding a church that seems to be stuck or needs a breath of life. However, the value extends no further than to the handful of people left in the church. The only people that take anything positive away from a name change are those that need a change of identity as the church has likely had their struggles over the past years. A fresh name can come along with fresh attitude and renewed energy toward being church and touching the community. We also think a new name might tell people in the community at large, there is something new happening. I wonder if they might perceive something altogether different though.

I wonder if they see the church as losing their way and all the name changes illustrate a lack of focus and identity. I think of those church buildings that sit on thoroughfares with loads of traffic going by day after day, year after year. When these landmarks in the community suddenly change their name, I wonder if the paserbyers even have the first inkling as to what precipitated the change.

As I think of the NHL or NFL teams and cities that fought to keep a name, so they could hold onto their tradition, history and customs, I wonder if the communities of faith might see a lesson in that. Is there something valuable in holding onto the legacy passed down and passing that legacy onto the next generation? Perhaps there are times and places to change a name, but I see those as the exception and not the rule as it has become today.

Recently, the name issue has risen to denominational levels as people consider how they are branded with a name from generations ago. One of the largest groups in America, the Southern Baptists are considering adopting a new name to avoid being labeled as a religion of the south.

I am sure this is not the biggest issue in the world of church, nor should it be…I just wonder how our witness as the Church, capital C, can be affected by the name changes. Do people perceive us as wishy-washy? Do we get labeled as unstable, or do they see it as creative, fresh, and innovative? Do the casual commuters in our communities see us as reinventing ourselves every few years or lacking clear vision and identity as to who we are?

So let me ask you, how do you view churches that change their name?

 

Missional Vs. Attractional 7

This week, I want to wrap up my thoughts on the conversation of missional or attractional. Let’s look at the church that Jesus left behind with some broad strokes to see how they interpreted Jesus’ mission and for that matter God’s mission. As we navigated the discussion of missional vs. attractional we see a false dichotomy between the grass roots guys that purport missional is the only way to reach people and the guys who value excellence and creating a space that attracts people to experience God.

Underneath this argument of missional and attractional, I see other principles at work starting with a both/and principle of mission and attraction. Second I see an encounter with Jesus as ultimately essential to seeing ministry happening. And third, out of an encounter with Jesus the church must disciple people into authentic Christians. The encounter with Jesus and discipleship lay at the core of what God’s mission to draw all people to him is about.

Let’s imagine we are taking a helicopter ride over the landscape of the early church to get a big picture perspective of how they moved in mission and attraction.  Let’s start at the thesis verse in Acts 1:8 that states they will have boldness to be his witness going out from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and onto the ends of the earth when they receive the power of the Holy Spirit. From their inception, they get a sense of journey as they move consistently outward. Yet within this paradigm exists an ability to attract a crowd or two when God moves in power. From the inception of the church on Pentecost, the crowds gather to see what strange thing is happening (Acts 2). The next narrative shows Peter and John living on mission as they reach out in the name of Jesus to heal a paralytic beggar. Yet in the same moment, the crowds gathered at the temple stop in their tracks and in amazement ask how this happened.

As the church begins to gain traction in Jerusalem and the encounters with God and his presence and power, the news spreads. Crowds flock from the region and beyond to see the apostles and the powerful ministry (Acts 5:14). When the church comes under strong persecution, Phillip goes out to Samaria bringing with him the message of the gospel and the power of God. The church crosses more boundaries when Peter follows God’s calling to go to Cornelius, the first Gentile to find Jesus. In all of this time, the church in Jerusalem maintained meetings and grew through a both/and approach to mission and attraction.

Now enter Paul. Paul the great missionary and church planter extraordinaire steps onto the scene. In his third missionary journey, he spends his longest term in once city, Ephesus. Here we see the missional/attractional approach explode. Paul set up base at the Hall of Tyrannus, a lecture hall, using it in the middays when most of the working class took their siesta in the oppressive heat. Paul woke early to work with the others and without break, taught everyday on who Jesus was. These people also encountered Jesus as the Holy Spirit fell on them; they saw incredible miracles and lives were transformed. We see in this work that all in Asia Minor heard the gospel (Acts 19:10. How? People from Colossae, Laodiciea, Hierapolis and other significant cities came to Paul. People like Epaphras journeyed to Ephesus to study under Paul. They went to something like what we might call Bible College today, but different as this ministry was hands on and practical. Epaphras and others like him they took the message of Jesus back to their people and churches started (Col 1:7).

In conclusion, we get stuck on the wrong arguments in ministry. In fact, we get stuck on arguing and calling it conversation far too often. The real focus and energy should be put into relationships with those outside the church and discipling those within the church. We need a both/and approach to mission and ministry and not to worry about how the guy down the street is doing it. Here are three basics to mission.

1. We should be about the both/and approach. We draw people in and send disciples out on mission to their friends and neighbors.

2. We help people have an encounter with the Triune God. Until people encounter God, it doesn’t matter what we say, or what we do. We can have great programs and help a lot of people, but until they meet Jesus, it doesn’t matter.

3. Discipleship. Everything the church was ever about included discipleship. Paul went on mission with the guys he wanted to invest in. These guys later became leaders in a significant way. I love the Dallas Willard essay on discipleship in which he reminds us the New Testament called followers of Jesus disciples 169 times and Christians three times. Discipleship was not an option. This is the mission and attraction to the church.

How do you see these three factors operating today?

 

Missional Vs. Attractional 6

Balance and tension are two keys in the discussion of attractional and missional ministry. Too often we get stuck defending a point of view and fight for one way at the expense of seeing the other side may have a valid point as well. Invariably we paint an extreme portrait of the other side to make our side look better. Yet, Jesus had a way about him that caused his critics, and hopefully us, to pause and moment and hold our positions loosely.

If we paint with a broad brush the missional view or the attractional view, neither looks so great, but if we hold them in tension and walk a balance of both as we in the church touch this world at all corners, we can begin to see dynamic things happen around us. Jesus, the ultimate in paradox, used missional and attractional approaches from the beginning as he called his disciples.

Let’s dive into how Jesus held in tension missional and attractional in how he called the apostles. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), but he couldn’t leave until the future of God’s people was in good hands. And if the real crux of the argument has little to do with missional or attractional but with discipleship, let’s take a gander at how Jesus connected with these disciples in which hands he left the future of God’s mission.

We don’t know all of their stories, and some have more drama than others. Some Jesus found and called, like Phillip (John 1:43), while others came from a third way after John the Baptist pointed him out. One of those, Andrew, grabbed his brother Peter and connected him with Jesus (John 1:37-42). Still there are two narratives from the disciples first connecting with Jesus that can help us balance our view of missional or attractional, and these are stories of Nathanael and Matthew.

Nathanael embodies the classic seeker or attractional philosophy of ministry. This type of church builds a ministry around Phillips answer to Nate’s skepticism when he first hears that his buddy Phillip has found the one they have all been waiting for. The messiah is here, and sheepishly Phillip adds that the son of David hails from Nazareth. Raising an eyebrow, Nate asks, can anything good come from that place? The classic cynic has put his friend off and now feels that he can go about his day with no more of this messiah nonsense being talked about. That is until Phil lays on him the epic line, “come and see”. John lays out a great description

Nathanael encountered Jesus and forever was changed. In Thailand, the Thai people refer to coming to faith as literally knowing God. Before they did not know him, but now they do. At some point along their journey to faith, they encounter God either through answered prayers, miracles, or a feeling of his presence with them.

If Nathanael came to Jesus, because his friend somehow attracted him enough to check him out, another guy connected with Jesus in quite the opposite way.

Matthew, reviled in his community for his chosen profession of greed, becomes a great antihero as Jesus sees beyond his flaws and calls the tax-collector to follow him. The Jewish people despised these Cretans as the lowest of the low for selling out their countrymen as they chase the almighty dollar…oh I mean denarius. They worked for the evil empire of Rome and were characterized by their pure greed and manipulation. Now enter Jesus. Rather than avoiding the tax-collectors booth, Jesus walks boldly up to the swarthy extortioner and calls him out of his current lifestyle into a new way of life (Luke 5:27-29).

Jesus captures something that we all could practice a little better, and let me add a big thank you to our Lord for this one. Jesus has an ability to see us for whom we can become and not limited to who we have been. A reputation matters, but with Jesus, we can have a golden opportunity to start again.

As we serve in ministry, some of our best disciples will seek us out as they learn about who we are, while others must be found. We often like to look at the cream of the crop from each year’s Bible College grads to find the next person to mentor, but maybe our future reside in our community. All we need to do is start seeing them how Jesus does.

 

Missional Vs. Attractional 5

Last week, we took a look at Jesus both/and approach to mission through mapping where he went and where people came from. We saw Jesus employ whatever methodology was needed at a given time to help people cross any barrier or obstacle to getting into the kingdom of God.

Now let’s zoom in a bit.

In this post, we’ll briefly look at two narratives that tell the same story. Jesus’ primary goal in seeking and saving the lost was to connect them with God, whether he crossed cultural barriers to get to them or gave space for them to cross barriers to come to him. The two stories come from Matthew 8 in detailing Jesus, a cross cultural worker, on mission and in attraction to those who yet do not know God.

In the first narrative, we see an example of attractional force through the life and ministry of Jesus as we meet a mercenary soldier, likely hired by Herod for “peacekeeping” in the region. He is a Gentile and a ruler over 100 tough-as-nails fighters. Yet, he has a heart to know God. In Luke’s account, we see him employing great cultural sensitivity (something we have learned living in Asia) in sending an advocate to Jesus on his behalf. He sends some Jewish elders to let Jesus know that he is a good guy, and in fact the synagogue here in Capernaum exists because of his generosity. Basically, Jesus, he is worth your time.

Whew, isn’t it a good thing that we don’t need an advocate to give God reason to listen to us?

Jesus sincerely listens to the centurion’s request. The tough military man comes with concern for his sick and dying servant, likely someone he considers like family. After hearing the plea, Jesus immediately responds by desiring to go to the Gentile soldier’s house, but the military leader stops him. He explains how he understands authority and asks Jesus to just say the word, which leads to one of Jesus’ greatest attractional statements regarding the Mission of God.

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt 8:11-12)

In the same way, we should allow space for people to come to us and interrupt our routine. It is not about creating a space that attracts them, but creating a presence in who we are as a church and ministry that draws people to see what God is doing in this community of faith. I know when people in Thailand change their life, sometimes their friends and family are so curious about what took place in them, they want to come and check out this thing called church.

The second narrative illustrates Jesus crossing barriers to get to those that are pushed far to the edges of society. Here he is on his way to the Decapolis, a Greek haven comprised of ten small cities. When he disembarks with the disciples from their boat, they are on the fringes of this area in a place known as the Gaderenes. Here Jesus encounters two demonized men who are confined to the tombs and even the chains cannot restrict them. No one wanted to walk near them afraid of the fanatics living in the shadows among the spirits. As my imagination runs with the story, I picture a setting that could birth a super scary movie. It is in this context that Jesus crosses barriers to help the Gentiles who are far from God. He casts out the demons, giving them new life, but due to the pigs running off the farm into the sea and drowning, the town’s people demand Jesus go.

However, later when they realize who Jesus is and what he can do, they mob him wanting more of what he has the next time he travels through their area (Mark 6:53-56).

What Jesus shows in crossing barriers to get to all the people of his world, is that some may never cross the threshold of a place of worship or join a gathering where Jesus might teach and minister. Even if our churches work to peak capacity, we will never get all the people God wants us to reach to enter our world. There are times, and more than seldom times in which we have to get onto the streets of our communities or even cross over into other communities to bring God’s love and transforming power to people desperate for a touch of the divine.

How do you see the both/and principle of missional and attractional working in your life? Or where is it lacking?

 

Missional Vs. Attractional 4

In this series, I have dived into the milieu of a recent discussion among church leaders and strategists on the church being missional or attractional. In previous posts, I unpacked this is a false dichotomy. Often, the missional guys point to Jesus as our example to be on mission as he was constantly moving and going to people. So I want to look at Jesus’ ministry to further point out that it is both/and.

Jesus did come and live on mission (missional), yet he did not do that at the expense of drawing people to him (attractional). When we jump into this discussion, we often feel like both sides want to pull on the Bible to say their way is more accurate. As we look at Jesus let’s notice that Jesus uses multiple methodologies throughout his ministry.

Jesus attracted crowds…simple as that…but that’s not all he did…

People flocked to him from the cities, the rural countryside, the hills, and regions beyond Palestine. People from all backgrounds, the sick, the poor, children, women and the working class, the broken, the despised, the sinners and hurting came to be near Jesus…Something about Jesus stepping into our world with the kingdom of God sparked a move of people crossing whatever barriers they could to see Jesus. Some even broke through a stranger’s roof to get their friend a front row seat with Jesus (Mark 2). And the people who came to see Jesus were not always the people most like him. People came from all over to see Jesus: Gentiles from Syria, the Decapolis, Phoenicia, and non-Jewish soldiers, and more.

Yet, Jesus never remained satisfied that people were dogpiling over each other to get near him, as the word picture in the Greek implies in the narrative of Jesus by the shore (Luke 5:1). Jesus never contented himself or allowed for what we might see in today’s culture to set in—a sense of celebrity. That is because he always knew when to move on (Mark 1:38). The crowds began filing in from everywhere, but Jesus was up early praying. When the disciples found him, he said, I have to go; more towns need to hear the gospel. Jesus constantly was on the move going from town to town and people to people to bring the good news of the kingdom of God.

In this, Jesus was the best example of mission…and attraction. He crossed cultures and drew men, women and children unto him. In his ministry, Jesus allowed for both forms of connecting with people, because discipleship was his primary focus. Jesus was always moving out and stopping to allow people to come but moving out again at the right time. He kept a keen ear to the voice of the Spirit as he lived out mission and practiced the appropriate methods for the current task. Here is a map (Jesus’ travels and followers-maps) that gives a picture of where Jesus went (the first map) and where people came from to see Jesus (the second map).

People crossed cultural barriers to meet with the one believed to be the Messiah, a great man among the Jews who also could affect their lives. Let me illustrate this point with a look at Mark 3:7-8. Imagine people descended from Esau, and the Edomites, now living in Idumea, nearly 500 km south of Galilee down by the Dead Sea. These people were overlooked in the time of Jesus due to their background and status. Yet some from there came to find Jesus. Why?? How? Perhaps a neighbor or relative saw him while north on business. When they returned home, they likely grabbed their friend or cousin and got them on the next bus north. Well, not a bus, but a long walk to see this teacher who taught with authority unlike any they ever heard. The crowds we picture on the mount where Jesus preached his famous story likely comprised a multi-ethnic crowd, some drawn in to Jesus and others that Jesus found.

As we seek to do mission in Bangkok, we want to first listen to God’s voice, and in everything pour our life into the people we work with to make disciples as we walk together with Jesus. We won’t be here forever, but we want to leave people behind that are lifelong disciples of God. I am less concerned with how we connect with them than I am with having meaningful connections with the people we serve.

 

Missional Vs. Attractional 3

My thoughts continue rolling out like a slinking rolling down the stairs about the great debate of missional vs. attractional. If you didn’t read the previous posts, can do here and here. Now I want to look at what Jesus did, the most superb model.

Jesus was the greatest example of the both/and principle, confounding the intellectuals and practitioners of his day as well as embracing everyone with the slightest amount of interest in his message, repent, the kingdom of God is at hand. (Side note: Maybe we have moved to far away from his core message in trying to be more like U2, the most beloved figure in the world rather than like Jesus who stirred things up.) It wasn’t just the Pharisees who didn’t like him…unrepentant sinners didn’t give him much time, nor did a handful of other segments of society. Maybe, Jesus was the best contrarian as well.

Jesus knew the culture and at times moved seamlessly within the culture, but where the cultural norms and customs either played such a small part in people’s thinking or contradicted the way of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus flaunted the cultural rules such as no one could. In this greatest story of mission, Jesus crossed barriers and stepped right into a situation in Samaria that allowed him to be missional and attractional.

Rather than walking around the region of Samaria, pungent to any upstanding Jew, Jesus ventured right through the area with his disciples. I can only picture them murmuring among themselves, doesn’t Jesus know where he is going. We can’t stay here. Let’s just keep our head down and we’ll get through this land of half-breeds quick enough.

Now, to make matters worse, Jesus stopped right there at a well to rest in the middle of the day. At this point, the hungry disciples took their order to go to town and pick up food. Oh, that had to be a cross-cultural episode of epic proportion that I wish the writer and participant of the story would have shared. Meanwhile, as the twelve ran to In&Out, Jesus waited patiently at the well for a woman who also hoped no one would be around. She hoped to sneak out while no one was looking and avoid the gossip.

With her head down and keeping to her business she kept clear of the Jewish man who surprisingly entered her neck of the woods. Yet, Jesus did not ignore her. He initiated conversation with her that led to him sharing about the living water of the Holy Spirit and salvation. He led her through a conversation that piqued her interest, and then looked directly into her soul…the heart of who she was and called her out. He said, I know who you are and what you have done, and yet I am willing to still be with you and call you into relationship. This blew her away.

This woman who had five husbands and now lives with another man not her life completely transformed in that moment from shy to inquisitive, from bashful to bold. She found Jesus and wanted to be with him…and share this story with others. This is where the great story of mission turns into mission and attraction.

She goes into town, so fired up that she met Jesus that she leaves the jug of water by the well, and tells the town folks that loved gossiping about her to come see a man that told me everything I ever did. I am not sure how attractive that is…come see this guy who knows the deep, dark secrets of your life. He is amazing…but it worked and the whole town came out and saw Jesus.

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” John 4:39-42

Yet, her mission to the people in town was not enough. She could not just tell them she found the messiah. That initiated the interest in the townspeople, but they still wanted to meet Jesus for themselves.

As we are on mission, let’s not discount the ways that we can attract others to meet Jesus. Let us also turn loose these people with their lives changed to be on mission to the places we don’t go, but not discount the ways that we can create space for them to attract people to meet Jesus with us.