Sully Notes Special | 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church – Mark 13 of 13

Mark 13 – A Church That Seeks and Expresses the Unity of the Body of Christ – of 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church in the 21st Century American West  

Sully Notes are meant to provide you with direct quotes from some books I've read in the last year, so you can get a taste of the overall theme of the book and then begin to chew on what your life might look like if you applied what you read.

This series of special Notes are touching on a subject growing in recognition and discussion within the 21st century American church. What is the missional church? Is it something we do or who we are? What does a church look like that is living out the mission of God in their cultural context? How does a church remain faithful to the good news of Jesus, the Spirit of God, the Scriptures, the church throughout human history and around the world, and the mission of God that the church is called to join, while also meeting the questions, needs, and desires of the people God is sending us to in the cultures and contexts we live in today? I have found no better book to answer these questions than in Michael Goheen's A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story. 

For these 13 posts, my goal is to share the final chapter of the book – Chapter 9: What Might This Look Like Today – with you. In this chapter, Goheen shares from his pastoral and professional experience in answering the question, "Ten Things I'd Do Differently if I Pastored Again." The list grew from ten to a lucky thirteen. I think all thirteen are essential for considering how Emmaus City will be a faithful church for our city – Worcester, MA. 

Each blog post will feature one mark that will take about 5 minutes to read. Here is the full list featuring links to the previous posts:

• Mark 1: A Church with Worship That Nurtures Our Missional Identity
• Mark 2: A Church Empowered by the Preaching of the Gospel
• Mark 3: A Church Devoted to Communal Prayer
• Mark 4: A Church Striving to Live as a Contrast Community
• Mark 5: A Church That Understands Its Cultural Context
• Mark 6: A Church Trained for a Missionary Encounter in Its Callings in the World
• Mark 7: A Church Trained to Evangelism in an Organic Way
• Mark 8: A Church Deeply Involved in the Needs of Its Neighborhood and World
• Mark 9: A Church Committed to Missions
• Mark 10: A Church with Well-Trained Leaders
• Mark 11: A Church with Parents Trained to Take Up the Task of Nurturing Children in Faith
• Mark 12: A Church with Missional Communities That Nurture for Mission in the World
• Mark 13: A Church That Seeks and Expresses the Unity of the Body of Christ

Mark 13: A Church That Seeks and Expresses the Unity of the Body of Christ

"Paul says that God has made known to us his will, which he purposed in Christ 'to be put into effect when the times will reach their fulfillment – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ' (Ephesians 1:10). If the church is to be a preview of where God is taking history, it will exhibit that kind of reconciliation and unity. This stress on unity is in harmony with Jesus' prayer that his followers might be one 'so that the world may believe you have sent me' (John 17:21). Thus disunity is a scandal not because it is unfortunate but because it contradicts the very gospel we proclaim. A missional church cannot help but be concerned with an expression of the unity of the church. But where does one begin at this point in history with close to thirty thousand denominations?

Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony beautifully expresses a faithful response to our disunity:

 'We grieve that the church which shares one Spirit, one faith, one hope, and spans all time, place, race, and language has become a broken communion in a broken world. 

When we struggle for the truth of the gospel and for the righteousness God demands, we pray for wisdom and courage. 

When our pride or blindness hinders the unity of God's household, we seek forgiveness. 

We marvel that the Lord gathers the broken pieces to do his work, and that he blesses us still with joy, new members, and surprising evidences of unity. 

We commit ourselves to seeking and expressing the oneness of all who follow Jesus.'

It begins with grief over the brokenness of the church along with the sober acknowledgement that sometimes disunity comes from the courage of standing for the truth of the gospel. Yet it takes a posture of repentance for the many divisions within the church that arise from pride and blindness. It expresses marvel and wonder that God uses broken pieces for his mission and still blesses us with the gift of new life and surprising evidences of unity. It ends with a commitment to seek and express the unity of the church.

Where can a local congregation even begin such an enormous task? Earlier I described the way that our minister of outreach in Hamilton identified two areas of ministry within walking distance from the church: mental health and refugees. This involvement in the neighborhood eventually turned into an ecumenical endeavor that brought churches together out of concern for the needs of the city. Six churches from different denominations pioneered the ecumenical effort, and the involvement of new congregations has grown.

Here is how this movement is described at its website: 'TrueCity is a movement of churches in the Hamilton area committed to living out the good news of peace, justice, mercy, and reconciliation we have in Jesus. We believe that as we do, we will see our neighborhoods and our city transformed.' They are committed to a threefold vision:

1) congregations that have embraced their missional identity;

2) congregations that understand themselves to be integrally and essentially connected with one another as part of God's mission; and

3) a growing number of congregations that are committed to the public good of the city.

They have focused their work together in six areas:

1) neighborhood involvement 

2) refugees and new arrivals 

3) mental health 

4) the arts 

5) church planting 

6) environmental issues

This endeavor demonstrates one way that a missional and ecumenical vision has been fused as the people of God in this place committed themselves to seeking and expressing the oneness they share in Christ.

The '13 Marks of a Missional Church' suggest what it might mean to be a 'come and join us' people, inviting others to unite with us as we embody and journey toward God's shalom at the climax of history. It also points to what it might mean to be a 'so that' people, blessed so that we might in turn be a blessing to the world. Yet even to take baby steps in this direction will mean rooting our lives more deeply in the cross and resurrection and crying out for the empowering work of the Spirit. And as we do, perhaps with the old hymn writer we can humbly 'ponder anew what the Almighty can do as with his love he befriends you.'" – pgs. 225-226

– Sully

 
Curiosity piqued? Something inside you being stirred? Go ahead and connect. For other updates, like and follow Emmaus City on Facebook.

Sully Notes Special | 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church – Mark 12 of 13

Mark 12 – A Church with Missional Communities That Nurture for Mission in the World – of 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church in the 21st Century American West  

Sully Notes are meant to provide you with direct quotes from some books I've read in the last year, so you can get a taste of the overall theme of the book and then begin to chew on what your life might look like if you applied what you read.

This series of special Notes are touching on a subject growing in recognition and discussion within the 21st century American church. What is the missional church? Is it something we do or who we are? What does a church look like that is living out the mission of God in their cultural context? How does a church remain faithful to the good news of Jesus, the Spirit of God, the Scriptures, the church throughout human history and around the world, and the mission of God that the church is called to join, while also meeting the questions, needs, and desires of the people God is sending us to in the cultures and contexts we live in today? I have found no better book to answer these questions than in Michael Goheen's A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story. 

For these 13 posts, my goal is to share the final chapter of the book – Chapter 9: What Might This Look Like Today – with you. In this chapter, Goheen shares from his pastoral and professional experience in answering the question, "Ten Things I'd Do Differently if I Pastored Again." The list grew from ten to a lucky thirteen. I think all thirteen are essential for considering how Emmaus City will be a faithful church for our city – Worcester, MA. 

Each blog post will feature one mark that will take about 5 minutes to read. Here is the full list featuring links to the previous posts:

• Mark 1: A Church with Worship That Nurtures Our Missional Identity
• Mark 2: A Church Empowered by the Preaching of the Gospel
• Mark 3: A Church Devoted to Communal Prayer
• Mark 4: A Church Striving to Live as a Contrast Community
• Mark 5: A Church That Understands Its Cultural Context
• Mark 6: A Church Trained for a Missionary Encounter in Its Callings in the World
• Mark 7: A Church Trained to Evangelism in an Organic Way
• Mark 8: A Church Deeply Involved in the Needs of Its Neighborhood and World
• Mark 9: A Church Committed to Missions
• Mark 10: A Church with Well-Trained Leaders
• Mark 11: A Church with Parents Trained to Take Up the Task of Nurturing Children in Faith
• Mark 12: A Church with Missional Communities That Nurture for Mission in the World
• Mark 13: A Church That Seeks and Expresses the Unity of the Body of Christ

Mark 12: A Church with Missional Communities That Nurture for Mission in the World

"If we take some time to reflect on the 'one another' passages in the New Testament and the depth of commitment to one another they demand – on the importance of corporate prayer, on the difficult task of understanding our cultural context, on the need for training for our missional callings in the world or training our children, or on ways that we can be deeply involved in the needs of our neighborhoods – it will become immediately evident that these things can be accomplished only if we develop more ways for Christians to meet together in missional communities.

The challenge is for small groups to become instruments of God's mission oriented toward the world. Too often small groups become ingrown, gatherings in which the blessings of salvation are selfishly enjoyed or focused on social activity unrooted in the gospel. Two practices will help small groups orient toward their missional calling. The first is to maintain the continuing presence of four elements: prayer, Bible study, fellowship, and outreach or an orientation to the world. A focus on the first three only will leave us open to the danger of self-centeredness; an exclusive emphasis on the last carries the danger of activism. The second is to struggle toward an ecumenicity that transcends various congregations. If small groups, or missional communities, are defined by believers in particular locations rather than only those who belong to a local congregation, the danger of cozy, inward-looking groups will be reduced.

Various kinds of groups can enable the church to be more faithful in its missional calling. The first is the neighborhood group. It can bring together believers in the same neighborhood to study Scripture, pray together, fellowship, and look for ways to reach out together. It is essential that the horizon or orientation to the world infuses the group's ethos. For example, a missional community might canvas the neighborhood to ask if there are things that its members might pray for or needs with which they might assist. Even more radically, a neighborhood group might begin to share much more of its members' own lives together – eating, shopping, entertainment, and so on – with the intent of inviting unbelievers in the neighborhood into this common life that they share in Christ.

A second type of group is the action group, which will be organized around a particular outreach, either evangelistic or mercy and justice. These groups will be much more intentionally organized for mission, but they must not neglect prayer and Scripture. A third type are professional groups. These groups gather together people in various fields and professions to study Scripture, pray together, and discuss what it means to be faithful to one's calling to live out the gospel in that sector of life. A fourth type is the interest group. Formed on an ad hoc basis, this kind of group may spend a year together with the specific focus on how to become better parents, how to understand one's culture, how to pray, and so on. A final type is the work group. This small group consists of believers who work in a particular location, for example, a lawyer's office, a particular factory, or a bank. These believers gather in that workplace to pray for their colleagues and the work environment and to discuss ways to be a light in that context. Care needs to be taken with these groups that they are seen as blessings to the workplace, not as sectarian meetings that disrupt it." – pgs. 223-225

Final post: 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church – Mark 13 of 13: A Church That Seeks and Expresses the Unity of the Body of Christ

– Sully

 
Curiosity piqued? Something inside you being stirred? Go ahead and connect. For other updates, like and follow Emmaus City on Facebook.

Sully Notes Special | 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church – Mark 11 of 13

 

Mark 11 – A Church with Parents Trained to Take Up the Task of Nurturing Children in Faith – of 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church in the 21st Century American West  

Sully Notes are meant to provide you with direct quotes from some books I've read in the last year, so you can get a taste of the overall theme of the book and then begin to chew on what your life might look like if you applied what you read.

This series of special Notes are touching on a subject growing in recognition and discussion within the 21st century American church. What is the missional church? Is it something we do or who we are? What does a church look like that is living out the mission of God in their cultural context? How does a church remain faithful to the good news of Jesus, the Spirit of God, the Scriptures, the church throughout human history and around the world, and the mission of God that the church is called to join, while also meeting the questions, needs, and desires of the people God is sending us to in the cultures and contexts we live in today? I have found no better book to answer these questions than in Michael Goheen's A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story. 

For these 13 posts, my goal is to share the final chapter of the book – Chapter 9: What Might This Look Like Today – with you. In this chapter, Goheen shares from his pastoral and professional experience in answering the question, "Ten Things I'd Do Differently if I Pastored Again." The list grew from ten to a lucky thirteen. I think all thirteen are essential for considering how Emmaus City will be a faithful church for our city – Worcester, MA. 

Each blog post will feature one mark that will take about 5 minutes to read. Here is the full list featuring links to the previous posts:

• Mark 1: A Church with Worship That Nurtures Our Missional Identity
• Mark 2: A Church Empowered by the Preaching of the Gospel
• Mark 3: A Church Devoted to Communal Prayer
• Mark 4: A Church Striving to Live as a Contrast Community
• Mark 5: A Church That Understands Its Cultural Context
• Mark 6: A Church Trained for a Missionary Encounter in Its Callings in the World
• Mark 7: A Church Trained to Evangelism in an Organic Way
• Mark 8: A Church Deeply Involved in the Needs of Its Neighborhood and World
• Mark 9: A Church Committed to Missions
• Mark 10: A Church with Well-Trained Leaders
• Mark 11: A Church with Parents Trained to Take Up the Task of Nurturing Children in Faith
• Mark 12: A Church with Missional Communities That Nurture for Mission in the World
• Mark 13: A Church That Seeks and Expresses the Unity of the Body of Christ

Mark 11: A Church with Parents Trained to Take Up the Task of Nurturing Children in Faith

"Deuteronomy warns against two threats to the people of God that would prohibit them from becoming a light to the nations:

1) idolatry and

2) failure to pass along the faith to the next generation.

The alarming statistics that indicate the rapid exodus of the younger generation from the Western church highlights these warnings. The remarkable power of technology to shape worldview along with the enormous amount of time young people spend with its many forms makes the small amount of time they spend in Christian nurture seem almost negligible by comparison. The best preaching, worship, and education programs of a church simply cannot compete with television, movies, the internet, cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, and the ever-expanding list of technologies that shape our vision of the world. If families are not taught to make radical, costly, and time-consuming commitments to nurturing their children, the future of the church as a missional community in the West will be bleak.

I remember trembling at the baptism of my oldest two children as a I felt the enormous weight of my responsibility to enable them to know the promises, the commands, and the warnings of the covenant in Deuteronomy 11 and 30. At that time my wife and I committed to taking steps that were needed to be faithful in this calling.

1) Committing to family worship: We started this early, and none of our children can remember a time when we didn't have family worship as central to our evenings. We set aside an hour to an hour and a half for family worship five nights a week (Monday through Thursday and Saturday). It was important to set a time and a commitment to guard it against other intrusions. It mean starting other meetings later and not planning other evening events. During this time we taught our children the true story of the world in the Scripture, using books and methods appropriate to their ages. We spent time in singing and praying together. We memorized and discussed sections of Our World Belongs to God. We talked about and prayed for the church around the world. I would regularly take each of my children on my knee and pray for her or him. All of this made family worship one of our favorite times of the day.

2) Shaping education: Early in our family life we realized that a gospel of the kingdom was meant to shape all of life. Those who confess the Name of Christ are called to develop learning and teaching which is based on the Word of God. Recognizing Christ's creation-wide redemption, Christians will produce fresh and new approaches in education. Probably second to technology, education will be the primary way that the next generation will be nourished into a story and way of seeing and living in the world. So the choices we make have far-reaching implications. Education today – including public, Christian, and home education – is too often committed to serving the gods of economic utility, consumerism, multiculturalism, and technology. Commitment to finding ways to educate our children in a way that sees Jesus as Lord of all of life is not an option but rather a deep responsibility. It will require an intentionality and sacrifice that can be sustained only when we realize the importance of this task.

3) Discerning use of technology: No doubt the powerful forms of technology of the twenty-first century are shaping the next generation's view of the world more than anything else. When new technologies were introduced into our home, we discussed them together: What will this give and what will this take away? What are its benefits and dangers? We can record some success and some failures. Nevertheless, there must be an intentional plan to discuss these issues to help our children learn to use technology wisely.

4) Understanding our cultural context: It is essential to understand the spiritual currents shaping our culture. This can be done with younger children by teaching them to be thoughtful with advertising, perhaps the most powerful prophet of consumer religion. With television, we had our children observe a simple rule after each commercial. We all asked: 'Who do you think you're kidding?' We found that reflecting on culture can best come through discussions of technology, movies, music, and current events. Opportunities abound; it requires only parents sensitive to these openings, willing to grow themselves and engage their children.

5) Enabling children to become members of the body of Christ: Children can be excluded in too many ways from the worship and life of local congregations. Church leaders must find ways to incorporate children, but parents have the primary responsibility. We took time before the service to discuss the various elements to equip and teach our children how to worship. My wife speaks of 'parenting in the pew,' intentional work to enable our children to participate in corporate worship. Many things could be mentioned, but sermon notebooks were a great way to encourage our children to listen to sermons. Before they were able to write, they would draw pictures of what they had heard.

  
These are only some of the ways that families must take up their responsibility to nurture their children into the story of Bible. It will take prayer, time, commitment, and sacrifice, but what will it profit parents if they gain the whole world and lose their children? The congregation must find ways to equip parents for this difficult task." – pgs. 221-223

Next posts: 

• 13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church – Mark 12 of 13: A Church with Missional Communities That Nurture for Mission in the World
• Sully Notes Special | Baptism: The Water that Unites Part 1 of 2

– Sully

 
Curiosity piqued? Something inside you being stirred? Go ahead and connect. For other updates, like and follow Emmaus City on Facebook.

CN | Mark of Missional Church: Well-Trained Servant Leaders

Salt + Gold Footwashing Series by Jess Bond

Mark 10
A Church with Well-Trained Leaders
13 Marks of a Faithful Missional Church
in the 21st Century American West  

This series of special Notes are touching on a subject growing in recognition and discussion within the 21st century American church.

What is the missional local church?
Is it something we do or who we are?

What does a congregation look like
that is living out the mission of God
in their cultural context?

How does a community remain faithful
to the good news of Jesus,
the Spirit of God,
the Scriptures, 

the Church throughout human history
and around the world,
and the mission of God
that the Church is called to join,
while also meeting the questions,
needs, and desires of the people
God is sending us to in
the cultures and contexts we live in today? 

I have found no better book to answer these questions than in Michael Goheen's A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story. 

For this series of posts, my goal is to share the final chapter of the book – Chapter 9: What Might This Look Like Today – with you. In this chapter, Goheen shares from his pastoral and professional experience in answering the question, "Ten Things I'd Do Differently if I Pastored Again." The list grew from ten to a lucky thirteen. I think all thirteen are essential for considering how Emmaus City could live into being a faithful church for our city – Worcester, MA. 

Mark 10
A Church with Well-Trained Leaders

"To live out a missionary encounter
in the world,
local congregations will need 

at least three things:

1) leaders who carry and embody
a missional vision
and equip others to follow,

2) households that are training
the next generation in
what it means to be faithful,

3) missional communities
that can facilitate
the various dimensions
of the Church's task.

It is impossible for a pastor to carry and implement a vision for a missional church alone. Identifying and training leaders who can journey and act as change agents together is essential. But how we conceive of leadership will shape the way leaders are trained.

Lesslie Newbigin suggests that too much of our understanding of ecclesial leadership has been formed by a nonmissional setting. His own missionary experience caused him to reenvision what leadership in the local congregation should look like. In the New Testament leadership was primarily in mission, while ministry in the Christendom setting was largely pastoral care of established communities: 'In one, the minister is facing the people – gathering, teaching, feeding, comforting; in the other he is leading the people, going before them on the way to the cross to challenge the powers of this dark world.'

New Testament leadership
is best defined in the words of Paul:
'Follow my example,
as I follow the example of Christ'
(1 Corinthians 11:1).

Leaders are those who
follow hard after Jesus
and enable others to do so as well.

Leaders are those who themselves
lead by example in missional engagement
and then equip others
also to participate in God's mission.

Two images capture this kind of leadership,
which is necessary for a missionary congregation:

1) Pacesetter: 

Leaders are to be pacesetters,
people who are ahead of others,
setting the pace for others
in the congregation,
inviting and urging others to follow.

2) Pioneer: 

A pioneer is one who ventures
into unknown and uncharted territory first,
so that others can follow him or her there.
As Jesus was the pioneer
leading the way in his life,
inviting others to join him in his mission,
so church leaders do the same.

  

If the congregation is to take on a missional identity, leaders must exhibit that vision and work to form structures that engender that calling. If the congregation is to live out of the gospel as the power of God unto salvation, leaders must embody that commitment in their own lives.

If the congregation is to learn
'frontline' prayer,
leaders must lead the way.

If the congregation is to become
more radical in the task of
raising the next generation
to follow Christ,
leaders must show what that means
in their own home.

If the congregation is to engage
the powers of the public square,
leaders must already be deeply engaged
there themselves.

The key to a missional congregation will be leaders who are already following Christ in his mission and looking for ways to enable and equip the rest of the congregation to follow him more faithfully as well." + pgs. 220-221

Here are the previous Missional Church posts:

Worship That Nurtures Our Missional Identity

Empowered by the Preaching of the Gospel

Devoted to Communal Prayer

Live as a Contrast Community

Understands Its Cultural Context

Trained for a Missionary Encounter

Trained to Evangelism in an Organic Way

Involved in the Needs of Neighborhood

Committed to Missions

Next posts: 

Mark 11: A Church with Parents Trained

Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times

Many blessings of peace and presence,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

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