It’s time to stop holding on to yesteryear and start looking for ways to introduce Jesus to our dark world. —Daniel Im, Christianity Today, August 2, 2016
In this fourth and final post, I will explain the missional shift and 7 must does to engage in evangelism in post-Christian America.
Remember, four cultural shifts have taken place. While I know them by memory, my recollection is to give credit to Rick Richardson and Gary Rohrmayer for the concepts. The shifts are, 1) from apologetic argument to compassionate demonstration; 2) from large events to personal
process; 3) from monologue to dialogue; 4) from short term presentation to long term relationship. Talking about the missional church movement is a shorthand way to describe the four cultural shifts we have considered.
The Missional Shift
Right now, you may be saying to yourself,
“Tell me something new! Missional Church has been around for twenty years!”
Indeed it has. Stay with me. Lets do a brief history to get on the same page.
Tim Keller wrote a short piece called “The Missional Church” in 2001. It is so helpful, I can’t tell you how many websites I have seen that posted it. Here is a portion that explains the movement’s history.
“The British missionary Lesslie Newbigin went to India around 1950. There he was involved with a church living ‘in mission’ in a very non-Christian culture. When he returned to England some 30 years later, he discovered that now the Western church too existed in a non-Christian society, but it had not adapted to its new situation. Though public institutions and popular culture of Europe and North America no longer ‘Christianized’ people, the church still ran its ministries assuming that a stream of ‘Christianized’, traditional/moral people would simply show up in services.
Some churches certainly did ‘evangelism’ as one ministry among many. But the church in the West had not become completely ‘missional’–adapting and reformulating absolutely everything it did in worship, discipleship, community, and service–so as to be engaged with the non-Christian society around it.” https://bit.ly/2aDvKYw (The full text of Keller’ work can be found here. It is no longer available at the Redeemer Presbyterian website.)
In a word, the Church that Newbigin discovered was not in mission in its own context. Mission was something done somewhere else.
We can describe the necessary shift as being from Come and See to Go and Tell. The Western church had a “feel free to come to my church!” mentality. It desperately needed to adopt a missionary mindset. We must go into the culture and share and demonstrate the Good News.
I offer this brief summary because most churches still have not adopted a missional mindset.
The eighty-five percent of churches that are plateaued or declining are literally dying to find it. And if you are a pastor, that means there is an eighty-five percent chance we are talking about your church.
One of the fundamental things that most churches struggle with is moving from being inward focused to outward focused. It is a not an easy transition. It requires vision, will, perseverance, and a thick skin for leaders. At Turnaround Pastors, what we hear in our Bootcamps is that most pastors say what they need is a basic foundation for values, mission, and vision for discipleship. We have done ground-breaking research, have cutting-edge change management models, and we are prepared to offer current missional trends. Those things, however, are not what the pastors say they need the most. Time and again, we find that pastors are struggling to have a vision for getting outside their church walls with a realistic plan to make more and better disciples.
Pastors, persevere. You are called to lead your church beyond its walls in life transforming evangelism. It can be done! Here are 7 must does.
7 Must-Does for Evangelism in Post-Christian America
- Repurpose small groups to missional communities. Most small groups are focused on fellowship and spiritual growth for Christians. That is good, but out of balance. Missional groups find a “tribe” or neighborhood to serve. After a snowstorm, one missional church in Chicago went around and shoveled for everyone in their neighborhood. That kind of service gets people’s attention and leads to questions! A good resource on missional communities is the Soma family of churches. (www.wearesoma.com) Small groups need to be in benevolent mission. As Matthew 5:15-16 says, Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven.
- Pastor, are you leading in evangelism? As Paul said to his protégé Timothy, …keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry (2 Tim 4:5). Pastor, does evangelism leak out of you? Your vision, your preaching, your relationships, your example? I know, everything is said to begin with the pastor! Yet, in a hierarchy of priorities, what could matter more than the eternal destination of people? Leading the way in evangelism lets your church see what really matters.
- Respect people. People are not a means to an end, and if you treat them like a means, they will know it. This is especially true of the emerging generations. They are media savvy and have grown up being the target of marketing. They value transparency and authenticity. In 1 Peter 3:15-15 we are explicitly told to have respect and integrity in our witness: But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
- Respect people’s process on the journey to faith. Remember, as our culture has lost much of it’s Christian memory, the journey to faith in Christ has gotten longer. Engage people in ongoing dialogue. Gary Rohrmayer has developed a pictorial tool that shows seven stages in people’s spiritual journey. Within the two main categories of “searchers” and “followers,” it allows a person to express where they are on the journey. By asking simple questions, they can be encouraged to move toward saving faith and missional living. Along with Gary’s wonderful book, “Spiritual Conversations,” these “Spiritual Journey Guides” are available at www.yourjourney.org. These tools can be used in relationships, classes, and communities throughout your church.
- Learn the common concerns and questions. Those who engage in faith-sharing conversations know that the same hurts, concerns, and questions come up time and time again. Listening to people’s concerns and pointing them in the direction of good answers is key. There is no better statement of what our attitude should be than Colossians 4:6 – Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Justin Steckbauer further describes this posture at a site about the common questions people raise. “So give ground at times, find ways to agree with points and parts of their position. Identify with their position. Grant fair points when they make them. Be kind and compassionate, and very patient. Develop a friendship, a relationship. If losing the argument will mean bringing the person a step closer, so be it. The person raising an objection may not be listening to the argument as much as he or she is listening to the attitudes and mannerisms of the speaker.” https://bit.ly/2aI6UaJ Take the time to learn about people’s questions and always remember to have a gracious attitude.
- Build relationships. Evangelism always has been and always will be about relationships. Relationship, relationship, relationship. Have I mentioned that evangelism is about relationships? One of the reasons “Alpha” and “Christianity Explored” are effective is because they focus on building community. Remember, this means building relationships outside the walls of your church. In a recent blog by Thom Rainer on the 10 traits of healthy churches 10 years from now, 5 of the traits were outward-focused. https://bit.ly/2a9UG6j Missional churches build relationships in their community.
- Pray for boldness and for the harvest. Evangelism is God’s work by God’s power. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to empower our witness (Acts 1:8). We are commanded to pray to the Lord for workers for the harvest (Matt. 9:38), to pray for clarity in sharing the mystery of Christ (Col. 4:3-4), and to pray that we may share it boldly (Eph. 6:19-20). Some will plant, some will water, but God will make the seed of our witness grow (1 Cor 3:7). This is the unending hope and promise of evangelism! God is at work in seeking to save the lost. Join Him.
