“Missional” is one of those words. That is to say, it is one of those buzz-words that is often used without a concrete definition. For nearly every ten books you read on the Missional Church you will find at least ten different definitions. So, for example, some among the Emergent Church movement have spoken of the Missional philosophy in terms of an abstract concept of the Kingdom of God with a primary emphasis on social justice.[1] Others have recast the old seeker-sensitive methodologies in Missional terminology. Darell Guder, however, was the original creator of the word “Missional,” and he defined it very specifically. It was Guder’s groundbreaking work in 1998 that first defined the term as a movement of the church from “The Sending to the Sent.”[2] The church itself is a missionary. This definition has profound implications, then, for its leadership style. If the whole church is to live and act like missionaries what role, then, does that leave for the “professional?” It is my conviction that what missional leadership is all about is equipping and mobilizing the congregation for this very activity of missions.
[1] This is particularly most evident in the writings of men like Rob Bell and Brian McClaren, and, to some lesser degree in the writings of N.T. Wright.
[2] Darrell L. Guder ed. The Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998. 1.
Sparrow & Heart Soul Care 