Missional Mysteries

I consider myself a newcomer to the "missional" movement. A lot of what these folks are saying resonates strongly with me, and I recognize in the missional take a kind of positive response to the critique of the church that I'd been refining (some would say "mired in") for some time.

Anyway, although I know that for the missional crowd it's not about "going to church," I recently switched churches and now go to one that clearly wants to embody the missional outlook. Is it all just talk? Is it really just a superficial "new thing" that will soon be forgotten? I'm guessing not.

The missional understanding begins with the perception that Christendom, always a house of cards, is crashing down around us. And it's a good thing (never move into a house of cards). That's what Michael Spencer means when he talks about "the post-Evangelical wilderness." That's what I'm referring to in my tag-line above. But the tag-line pictures a dream, not a reality. Not much "dancing" going on 'round here, I'm afraid.

If you'd like to know more about these mysterious matters, Brad Briscoe has put together a nice reading list of formative readings in the missional conversation here. I'm a student by nature, so this jazzes me.

I think the future of this blog, if it has one, is as a diary of my missional journey. I'm going on a much-needed vacation in a couple of days and won't be blogging much I suspect, but I'm going to be thinking a lot about these things, and will report back soon as I can.

BTW, the Internet Monk nugget of the day, describing his audience of fellow-wilderness-travelers:

We are tribes, hermits, monastics, liberals, conservatives, traditionalists, emergers, contemplatives, prophets, lamenters, artists, solo players and plodders. Most of us have found a place to live out this wilderness experience and we go to work every day doing something for Jesus.

I love it.