Nix the Silos

Here's a quote from Reggie MecNeal's new book, Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church:

The attractional model of church creates a ‘member culture,’ in which people join a particular church and support that organization with their attendance, their money, their prayers, and their talent. The flow is toward the church, which is always at the center of the action, where the big game is being played.

The missional church is made up of missionaries, who are playing the big game every day. They live their lives with the idea that they are on a mission trip. On mission trips, people focus on the work of God around them, alert to the Spirit’s prompting, usually serving people in very tangible ways, often in way that involve some sacrifice or even discomfort. Life on mission is more intentional and more integrated. While the concerns of life (family, work, leisure) are pursued, they are part of a larger story being played out for the missionary.

The member culture views society as a series of silos: politics, business, education, arts, media, technology, health care, social sector, and so forth. All of them are separate. The church culture has developed its own silo—a parallel culture in many respects—complete with schools, businesses, educational institutions, health care facilities, sports clubs, travel associations, and social agencies. Positioned as one silo among others, the church works to recruit people and resources from the other domains, vying for attention and money….. Its activities serve effectively to take a lamp and put it under a bushel….

The missional church views the church’s position in society very differently. It understands that God has his people—his missionaries—deployed across all domains of culture. After all, since the mission is redemptive and the world is God’s target, doesn’t it make sense that he would take this approach? Otherwise, how would salt be distributed or light puncture the darkness?

I love that quote, which I found over at The Blind Beggar's place.
I think this is about as definitive as you can get concerning what drives the missional church movement. I am more intent than ever before on discovering how to live this out. My thanks to Rick(and many other thoughtful missional bloggers and authors) for helping us to work out what "missional" looks like on the ground.