Comments on: Church and Mission

By: Steve Hayes

Steve Hayes — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:39:50 +0000

Perhaps the question to ask is "What is the church doing when it isn't sitting in its pews?"

Once you can answer that, then you can ask the next question — what SHOULD the church be doing when it isn't sitting in its pews?

By: Andrea

Andrea — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:55:37 +0000

If we take a step back and process this from a multi-faceted layer it's never a problem that will be solved. The very nature of people and our tendency to look for fulfillment decided this. I think back to the discussion of "types of churches." There have always been people in their own recessions that have been involved in church or kept on the fringes because of it. I think you are totally right in that the steps the church needs to take has nothing to do with the recession but bringing the church, ie the mission and embodiment of Christ in the world, out into our lives and not just in the building. I can only hope and pray that enough people see this. If not, it will be a struggle for the remaining churches that can offer the programming everyone feels they "need."

By: Erik Leafblad

Erik Leafblad — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:01:17 +0000

This was implied in your post, I think, but why isn't the gathering of the community in celebration, mission? If the church is missionary by its very nature (cf. Bosch, Vatican II, and a slew of others), then every aspect of the church's life just is its mission. This can be for good or bad, but mission is not only something we do, it is also who we are, and those to ebb and flow together.

By: Cristi

Cristi — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:15:15 +0000

That's definitely a difficulty for me with church. I don't like the idea of the programs and I think often it ends up being defined that the church is "this building" instead of "these people". I don't have a good answer for it though. I see problems with the house church way of doing things too. I'm also a stay-at-home mom of a toddler and infant right now and I don't know how "mission" would work in my current situation. I wish I could find a situation where I was a part of church (the people) and a part of the mission of the church in my everyday life without the isolation of just "being the church" on my own in my own situation.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:57:30 +0000

Julie, I'm a new reader (and big fan now). Your thoughts in the comments section reflect my own. Thanks for posting this.

By: Julie Clawson

Julie Clawson — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:10:35 +0000

Bruce – I fully understand the money struggle when it comes to church. I've been paid staff at a church and support the idea of paid clergy even though it brings up a bunch of other issues. I almost wrote about that in response to this article. What do you do when one group of people is saying to be missional you have to get rid of paid staff and let the people run the church as servants and then articles like these that say that churches should not expect people to contribute to their functioning. and then you add the reality of the beast that people "pay" for stuff they like – make them too uncomfortable or expect to much of them and they take their money elsewhere. the tension is real on that practical level.

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:12:44 +0000

I agree with you that the "being fed and then living my life" model just doesn't go deep enough. For one thing, living a life that is truly an alternative to the values and assumptions of the world around us takes the support of community, not just a sermon on Sunday. And as a Mom, being told you're doing important ministry on the diaper patrol is nice, but it doesn't break the inherent isolation of the job. Somehow church has to happen in our everyday lives, 24/7, or whatever you call the thing that happens on Sunday morning will remain pretty much the same. I wish I knew what that looked like…

By: chad m

chad m — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:06:27 +0000

i happen to think an economic downturn will bode well for the church in america. i work at a church where the people have been very mission focused though it is an "older" church with programs and a large building and multi-pastoral staff. i hope Christians will "test" God in this season and find that God is faithful. i hope Christians will be the ones living and showing our faith through our generosity, both with our time and money…

By: Bruce

Bruce — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:53:58 +0000

Julie,

I hate to sound crass………there are mortgages to pay……..and that is the bottom line. Churches are in debt………and the debt is the tail that wags the dog.

Many KNOW change is needed but they just can't. Alienate too many people……….offerings decline……..and the Church goes bankrupt.

And that many NOT be a bad idea.

Bruce