The Church Worker and His/Her Missional Life ALBERTA-BRITISH COLUMBIA DISTRICT DISTRICT – WIDE CHURCH WORKERS CONFERENCE Wednesday, October 20, 2010 Rev. Mark G. Press, PhD Director, Oswald Hoffmann Institute for Christian Outreach
Transcript
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The Church Worker and His/Her Missional Life ALBERTA-BRITISH
COLUMBIA DISTRICT DISTRICT WIDE CHURCH WORKERS CONFERENCE
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 Rev. Mark G. Press, PhD Director,
Oswald Hoffmann Institute for Christian Outreach
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Personal Introductions Who am I? Some of my growth points in
missional living and understanding Why this gathering is
encouraging to me
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Locating Our Piece of the Topic Stewardship life Spiritual life
Family life to follow
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SO... What is missional?
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Definition of missional My understanding of missional living
Life that flows from the wellspring of Gods life-giving grace and
that intentionally seeks to engage others with the life of the
risen Savior
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Some Assumptions (Mine) The mission of God overrules all the
universe Missional vision lies at the root of productive Christian
living (stewardship)
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Some Assumptions (Mine) Our missional life IS our life All of
life is to be lived missionally Spirit or attitude (rather than set
of activities)
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Some Assumptions Apostolic means sent When we confess that we
believe in one, holy, Christian and apostolic church, what are we
confessing?
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Salminens Picture of Mans Search Wizard of Oz as a paradigm
Scarecrow wanted brains Lion wanted courage Tin Man wanted a heart
The Wizard promised them their hearts desires How do we find our
identity as real people?
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Biblical Foundations for the Church Workers Missional Life
Genesis 11:27 12:3 Key points God called Abram, not vice versa The
call came to the father and then to the son Abram had to leave a
lot behind Gods blessing of Abram was intended to be a blessing to
the world
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Biblical Foundations of Outreach
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Biblical Foundations for the Church Workers Missional Life
Jonah Key points Ethnocentrism leads to reluctance God sought out
Jonah Reluctant preaching was a SUCCESS! Watch out for displeasure
with the LORD!
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Biblical Foundations for the Church Workers Missional Life 2
Corinthians 5:17-21 Key points Anyone New creation Reconciled
reconcilers (forgiven forgivers) Ambassadors The righteousness of
God
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Biblical Foundations for the Church Workers Missional Life 1
Peter 5:1-4 Key points Sharers in suffering (and, ultimately, in
glory) Shepherd/overseers (leadership is an issue) Willing (nothing
worse than forced love) Eager servants (seeing others ahead of
ourselves) Examples to the flock (in serving and sacrificing)
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Biblical Foundations for the Church Workers Missional Life
Matthew 28:19-20 [Jesus said,] All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of
the age."
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Jesus has all Authority Finger 1 Jesus will be with us always
Finger 5 The Great Commission Hand designed by Eugene Bunkowske
Disciple People Finger 3 While you are going about Finger 2 By
Baptizing and Teaching Finger 4
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Biblical Foundations: Table Talk What biblical verse (or
verses, books, sections, themes of Scripture) have been especially
significant to you in your understanding and practice of missional
living?
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The Personal Perspective Beyond my own thinking Contacts with
16 missional colleagues Here are some of their thoughts!
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The Personal Perspective: Part I Meaningful areas of life in
terms of missional understanding and practice I take risks Seeing a
person coming to the font for baptism Experiencing the elderly
embracing death with hope Building intentional relationship with
someone who does not yet know the joy of Gods grace The politically
incorrect notion of hell for non-believers motivates me
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The Personal Perspective Meaningful areas of life in terms of
missional understanding and practice Association with people who
are not normal (people who really get it) Reading/digesting the
Word through the lens of Gods Mission Regular contacts with fellow
missional leaders Everyday noticing of peoples needs open doors to
spiritual conversations
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The Personal Perspective Meaningful areas of life in terms of
missional understanding and practice My everyday life, Wal-Mart and
getting gas, sporting events,... I just ask people how are you
really doing, listening is key I look at every encounter with a
person as a possible divine appointment, and I try to avoid being
pushy while keeping my ears open for an opening to bring up faith
in Jesus Love for God leads to love for people Recognizing what
Christ has done for me
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The Personal Perspective Meaningful areas of life in terms of
missional understanding and practice Doing it canvassing, visiting,
listening to, reading about experiences of those in mission Solid
worship life, prayer and study of Word Missional became part of my
identity! I keep meeting people who dont know the joy of the Gospel
Times when I am faced with my own weaknesses and impossibilities,
and God intervenes
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The Personal Perspective: Part II What experiences/people have
helped you to develop a missional life and mindset? The pastor who
confirmed me had a very missional heart Advising student outreach
program Life as a parish pastor didnt really develop this missional
life. It took time for the Lord to work in me an awareness of those
who are lost and do not have hope in Jesus. Brother pastors, class
discussions, advanced study
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The Personal Perspective What experiences/people have helped
you to develop a missional life and mindset? Slowing down my busy
lifestyle in church work to rub shoulders with those people right
under my nose who are not connected to Christ. Growing up in a home
that supported missionaries with family finances and had them as
guests at church and at home Having a sister as a missionary, and
having another sibling reject the church for a time
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The Personal Perspective What experiences/people have helped
you to develop a missional life and mindset? I didnt develop a
thing myself... It was HIS plan Working with people and their most
dangerous enemy, the draw and attraction of wealth I met a man who
had given his life to the mission effort in... And I stayed with
him and traveled 4000 miles to visit 52 mission stations, and saw
the heart, the zeal and the urgency of this man
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The Personal Perspective What experiences/people have helped
you to develop a missional life and mindset? Personal contact with
missionaries over the years, and learning to see myself as a
missionary. The missionary way of thinking and acting is the normal
that God wants Books and blogs by current big name Christian
writers Ongoing learning and growing is a key to missional
living
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The Personal Perspective What experiences/people have helped
you to develop a missional life and mindset? A prof challenged us
to found a society dedicated to missions... For decades the Mission
Society was the largest and most dynamic group in the school My
pastor-father had a heart for mission and had set a good example,
which laid the foundation Experience as a vicar in Latin America My
father... was a church planter and outreach specialist
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The Personal Perspective What experiences/people have helped
you to develop a missional life and mindset? Being raised... with
lay parents who took it for granted that they should open a Sunday
School in our house because children in the neighborhood didnt go
to Sunday School Six years in Nigeria discovering that God could
run Church and world in ways that I never thought of Several girls
staying at a group home and going through the AA program... people
with intense questions and spiritual hunger
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The Personal Perspective What experiences/people have helped
you to develop a missional life and mindset? A fellow student
introduced me to SALT [Somali Adult Literacy Training] and got me
started taking a bus to Minneapolis to tutor... a Somali woman who
I still think of as the strongest woman I have ever known I have a
few mentors that do missional ministry My time on Taiwan helped me
to be less judgmental against myself when a conversation does not
lead to a positive response
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The Personal Perspective What experiences/people have helped
you to develop a missional life and mindset? Seeing God absolutely
change lives Influential people were church worker parents, early
Lutheran school teachers and Sunday School teachers as well as
seminary professors During seminary summers I made a lot of
evangelism calls with evangelism committee members
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The Personal Perspective: Part III How do you help other people
catch a missional spirit from you? I am not convinced that teaching
people the right theology of mission accomplishes much by way of
changing behaviors. Missional actions are learned skills that
require practice, coaching, emotional support and evaluation of
performance. Most of these aspects are never included in course
work at seminaries and colleges of the LCMS. It takes persistence
and patience.
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The Personal Perspective How do you help other people catch a
missional spirit from you? Many times it is simply listening to the
hearts of the people around you, to detect the spark of mission
within them and then to build a fire of outreach passion through
Gods Word and Spirit. Sharing my passion and personal need for the
Gospel, then giving concrete examples of missional opportunities
around me, then sharing my fears and failures in those
opportunities
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The Personal Perspective How do you help other people catch a
missional spirit from you? I model conversations, share love for
them and others, pray for the lost and missionaries, and boldly ask
for prayers and money for mission work. When Jesus walked on this
earth He was a man of stories. I believe that people are so eager
and hungry to hear stories... USE GOOD PICTURES TO TELL THE
STORY.
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The Personal Perspective How do you help other people catch a
missional spirit from you? Be very, very, very, very personal with
people... and truly love people. The Holy Spirit will take care of
the rest! My conversations..., Facebook is a big one too my posts
share that spirit Recruiting for and participating in missional
activities here and abroad Praying with people
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Personal Perspective: Table Talk What are one or two foundation
stones for your own understanding of your life as a missional
expression of Gods work? Whom would you identify as one person who
serves as a model of missional living for you?
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Leadership Perspective Leadership is not an issue of power or
position Leadership is an issue of influence From this standpoint,
church workers bear a vital role as leaders Modeling and teaching
missional living does make a difference (just think about your own
life, as you have discussed)
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Joseph and a Missional Reading of the Word Go, Go, Go, Joseph
Go, go, go Joseph you know what they say Hang on now Joseph you'll
make it some day Sha la la Joseph you're doing fine You and your
dreamcoat ahead of your time Go, go, go Joseph you know what they
say Hang on now Joseph you'll make it some day Sha la la Joseph
you're doing fine You and your dreamcoat ahead of your time
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A Church Leader Reads and Proclaims the Word Missionally
Mission-oriented: Genesis 3 Cross-centered: Exodus 12
Counter-cultural: John 4
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Leadership Perspective In this post-modern world, people are
not moved so much by vision as they are by values Modern people
(many of us Baby Boomers would fit that category) are motivated by
vision and the desire to reach it Post-moderns are skeptical of
this they wonder where these visions have originated
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A Paradigm Shift of Our Time MODERN VISION VALUES
POSTMODERN
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Leadership Perspective What does this mean for a missional
leader? Proof of our values is in our living Mentoring, discipling
others is critical investment Lifestyle changes demonstrate
change
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Leadership Perspective: Table Talk How would you describe
missional leadership from your vantage point? How has your life
today been missional in nature? How do you see the mission of God
as part and parcel of how you act as a church worker? What would
change if your life were to be missional from beginning to
end?
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Summary If missional living is Life that flows from the
wellspring of Gods life-giving grace and that intentionally seeks
to engage others with the life of the risen Savior Then...
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Some Resources Schulz, Klaus D.Mission from the Cross Salminen,
BryanNo Ordinary Men Luther, MartinSmall Catechism Bunkowske,
E.Gods Communicators in Mission Bunkowske, E.The Christian Family:
Nurture and Outreach Bunkowske, E.A Hand of Life-Giving Love
(Lutheran Witness, Jan 2008) (access at http://www.lcms.org/pages/
wPage.asp?ContentID=230&IssueID=18)http://www.lcms.org/pages/
wPage.asp?ContentID=230&IssueID=18