Comments on: Missional Leaders: Right There All Along? http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/missional-leaders-right-there-all-along ...dispatches from the post-evangelical wilderness Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:48:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Debra http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/missional-leaders-right-there-all-along/comment-page-1#comment-56889 Debra Thu, 15 Mar 2007 18:09:27 +0000 http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/missional-leaders-right-there-all-along#comment-56889 For several years I attended a church like the one described here (minus a leader like Don). It was one of two very tiny white frame churches in the middle of a rural "inner city" (small town but big problems) I saw the potential for a mission like Don's, but nobody was interested--certainly not the church leadership. They were all very good people but they were waiting for something else--an influx of middle class folks that would come when a proposed housing development finally arrived (it's been 5 years since I first heard talk of this and it's always just 2 years away from happening). They did knock on a few doors inviting the locals to church but the church had long ago developed a reputation for 'fussiness' as one man put it-and no one saw any reason to come. Finally our pastor left for greener pastures. The choice for a replacement came down to a young former youth minister from a big church who would bring a bunch of people with him from the big church---nice, middle class church folk from a nearby developed town. The other was a guy who sounded alot like Don--only this was an energetic octagenarian. He was a friendly, country guy (good match for the locals) and loved visiting in the community and in nursing homes. Guess who was picked? Yes, the church has now finally started growing in numbers. They've added a steeple and nice lit up sign out front. But no sign of mission. Maybe they are waiting until they have the resources from all these new 'healthy' people to start 'programs' to reach the drug addicts, alchoholics, abused people in the local neighborhood. They have one member sitting in jail, one of the few locals to join, a young hispanic man who tried to commit suicide last year. His mom told me that since he started sinking back into drinking and drugs--and now jail, no one from the church has come asking about him. They did baptize him and they did bring his family some food at Thanksgiving. My current church (medium sized, evangelical)seems much more missions minded but just as clueless about 'going forth'--they are mainly into trying to get people to <i>come</i> to them. (Unless you count one week mission trips to foreign countries as 'going forth'.) Maybe I need to stop searching for a truly missional church, complaining about my church, and waiting for things to change. Maybe I need to just start 'going forth', on my own--like Don. <i>Thank you for your post on this, Michael. Reading this and thinking about it helped me work through a problem that has been bothering me for some time.</i> For several years I attended a church like the one described here (minus a leader like Don). It was one of two very tiny white frame churches in the middle of a rural “inner city” (small town but big problems) I saw the potential for a mission like Don’s, but nobody was interested–certainly not the church leadership. They were all very good people but they were waiting for something else–an influx of middle class folks that would come when a proposed housing development finally arrived (it’s been 5 years since I first heard talk of this and it’s always just 2 years away from happening). They did knock on a few doors inviting the locals to church but the church had long ago developed a reputation for ‘fussiness’ as one man put it-and no one saw any reason to come. Finally our pastor left for greener pastures. The choice for a replacement came down to a young former youth minister from a big church who would bring a bunch of people with him from the big church—nice, middle class church folk from a nearby developed town. The other was a guy who sounded alot like Don–only this was an energetic octagenarian. He was a friendly, country guy (good match for the locals) and loved visiting in the community and in nursing homes. Guess who was picked?

Yes, the church has now finally started growing in numbers. They’ve added a steeple and nice lit up sign out front. But no sign of mission. Maybe they are waiting until they have the resources from all these new ‘healthy’ people to start ‘programs’ to reach the drug addicts, alchoholics, abused people in the local neighborhood. They have one member sitting in jail, one of the few locals to join, a young hispanic man who tried to commit suicide last year. His mom told me that since he started sinking back into drinking and drugs–and now jail, no one from the church has come asking about him. They did baptize him and they did bring his family some food at Thanksgiving.

My current church (medium sized, evangelical)seems much more missions minded but just as clueless about ‘going forth’–they are mainly into trying to get people to come to them. (Unless you count one week mission trips to foreign countries as ‘going forth’.)

Maybe I need to stop searching for a truly missional church, complaining about my church, and waiting for things to change. Maybe I need to just start ‘going forth’, on my own–like Don.

Thank you for your post on this, Michael. Reading this and thinking about it helped me work through a problem that has been bothering me for some time.

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