 |
| The Tangible Kingdom Primer |
Apprenticeship:
moving beyond
knowledge-based discipleship
to action-oriented followership,
with the goal of living like Jesus lived;
comes through regular practice,
faith-oriented action, and
personal devotion to know
the ways of Christ
As Emmaus City Church steps into 2025 with a focus on prayer, holiness, courage, and faith (i.e. good risk and trust), we're revisiting a map for a 2-month journey that helped shape us for our first decade as the first congregation of missional communities (MCs) in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The Tangible Kingdom Primer: An Eight-Week Guide to Incarnational Community helped our first City Group (MC) lean into apprenticeship with Jesus together. And the memories, lessons, and formative experiences have continued to shape people among Emmaus City in fruitful ways to this day. You can read more here:
TKP: Apprenticeship in Jesus' Way
TKP: Apprenticeship in Jesus' Way
While one brief post can never replace the day-by-day meditations, practices, steps of faith, and reflections provide, this adapted excerpt from Week 1 (Tuesday, March 4 — Monday, March 10, 2025) of The TK Primer is provided as a review of content to come back to and to provide food for thought when City Groups enjoy a family meal together on the 5th day (Saturday, March 8 in this case).
What Is Missional?
Day 1: Exploration
In simple language, "missional" means that we are passing through this life with a sense of purpose, duty, passion, and responsibility for the "mission of God." We are a "sent" people because of the work of the Gospel and the trajectory it produces in our lives.
The foundation of a missional life
is the decision to offer to God
our plans in exchange for His plans.
It is to allow the truth about
who God is,
what He has done, and
The foundation of a missional life
is the decision to offer to God
our plans in exchange for His plans.
It is to allow the truth about
who God is,
what He has done, and
our new identity in Jesus
inform all of life.
It requires that we are willing to leave our world so He can send us to extend His Kingdom. Whether we choose to engage the call is up to us.
Key Exploration Question
Right now, is there anything hindering you from making the decision to live a missional life?
Day 2: Meditation
Throughout the Scriptures, we see God calling His followers to live a life of "sentness." Stability, social comfort, relational control, safety, success, respect, or clarity were not expected. People had to go purely out of obedience, a personal sense of calling, in faith, and simply because they loved God. Outcome didn't matter; faithfulness did.
Read
There's no easy way to say it gently: spreading God's blessing to the world does not come easy. Christian people are a people on the move, constantly sent by God to the world. To be missional is the call of every local congregation. It's the call of every Christian. Jesus said to His followers, to us:
"As the Father has sent Me,
"As the Father has sent Me,
I am sending You."
Key Meditation Question
What challenges get in the way of you going?
Day 3: Change
As Abraham and Sarah are sent, as the early Christian communities were sent, we notice 4 Immersions they experienced:
(1)
(1)
They were immersed
in a new culture.
The great missionary movements throughout our history have been called to cross ethnic, social, religious, and philosophical barriers to extend God's blessing.
(2)
They were immersed
in community.
They never lived out their sentness alone. Abraham and Sarah took a small band with them. Jesus gathered a small band to Himself and whenever He sent them out, it was at least two by two. The stories of our early monastic or denominational movements almost always had small communities at their core.
(3)
They were immersed
in God.
God told His people to bless the world with the blessing God gave them. Blessing means "the tangible touch of God." To give the blessing of God to people you must be immersed in Him. Jesus said it this way: "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
(4)
They were immersed
in tension.
Being sent sometimes includes living with some internal and social tension. The early communities had to get used to walking by faith as they sought God's guidance on a daily basis. Every day was a new journey.
Key Meditation Question
Write down examples in your life of each of the 4 Immersions; what are your hopes as you apply the 4 Immersions.
Day 4: Action
This week we'd like you to practice "sentness" by crossing 3 barriers of normal life:
(1)
cross your fence
Do something to bless or simply converse with one neighbor on your street (at your school, at your workplace, etc.).
(2)
cross your street
Do something to connect with someone who is close to your home, but with whom you haven't built a relationship yet.
(3)
cross social, political or ethnic barrier
Consider these ideas: eat at an authentically ethnic restaurant in a part of town that is unfamiliar to you, attend a lecture or event that represents a different part of culture, visit a local congregation or other religious location with different beliefs than your own.
Day 5: Community
Enjoy group discussion together over a meal. What's something about yourself that the people in the group don't know? What are two lifelong dreams you have? Name one you've accomplished and one you haven't. Pray together for sojourners (spiritually curious God-seeking travelers who have intersected the missional community).
Day 6: Calibration
One word stands as a clarion call to God's work of transformation in the world. The word is "Go." Nothing of God's Kingdom happens unless someone is willing to GO.
We are
a family of missionary servants
sent to serve the world and
make disciples of Jesus.
Whatever the case, the word GO will cost you something. It will require that you creatively look for the opportunities that God provides you to leave what's natural and self-serving in order to extend His love to others.
Saying, "Yes."
Our family has committed
to do our best to
never turn down an invite
to spend time with
either our community,
neighbors, or
sojourning friends.
We've found this makes
a dramatic difference
in the way people perceive
our commitment to
being in relationship with them.
It only takes a few times
of saying "no" before
people will stop inviting you
because they think
you're not interested.
Key Calibration Question
How much time per week are you willing to give to building deeper relationships with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and sojourners?
Day 7: ReCreate
Rest and consider:
Our reoccurring hunger for food
was built into us as a
daily reminder of God
as our perfect, loving provider.
We never have to "work"
for our provision
of grace and forgiveness.
Key Week 1 Concepts
Gospel:
the good news of Jesus,
capable of transforming everything
about a person,
their community, and
their world
Missional People:
individuals actively committed
to living a "sent" life
in the context of community
Next Post
TKP Wk 2: What Is Incarnational?
A (local) church which
pitches its tents
without constantly looking out
for new horizons,
which does not continually strike camp,
is being untrue to its calling….
We must play down
our longing for certainty,
accept what is risky,
live by improvisation
and experiment.
+ Hans Kung
pitches its tents
without constantly looking out
for new horizons,
which does not continually strike camp,
is being untrue to its calling….
We must play down
our longing for certainty,
accept what is risky,
live by improvisation
and experiment.
+ Hans Kung
May God's Kingdom come, His will be done.
Que le Royaume de Dieu vienne,
que sa volonté soit faite.
愿神的国降临，愿神的旨意成就。
Nguyện xin Nước Chúa đến, ý Ngài được nên.
Jesús nuestra Rey, venga Tu reino!
🙏💗🍞🍷👑🌅🌇
Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan
No comments:
Post a Comment