•Luke 7:17-33•What does it mean to be missional?1. Is the center on God or on the Church? One of the hardest things about charting a missional course is to quit asking church-centered questions and start asking God-centered questions. As Craig Van Gelder is famous for saying,"It is not the church of God that has a mission in the world, it is the God of mission that has a church in the world."Mission-ish means thinking about the church and what the church is doing for others. Missional means being centered upon God and discerning what God is up in the world out ahead of us.2. Is the focus on activities or identity?When we ask church-centered questions,missional quickly becomes about programs, events, trips or other activities that the church plans, schedules and accomplishes. In so doing, we assume that we can continue living life or being church as usual and simply add a cause or charity into the schedule. Missional, though, is about identity, about who we are, about living our whole lives in the context of God's presence and work in the world.Mission-ish means adding new programs. Missional means embracing a whole new lifestyle.3. Is the connection to neighbors transactional or relational? When missional is about church-centered activities, rather than about God-centered identity, our interaction with neighbors becomes transactional rather than relational. We function as an outside organization coming to them to provide a service or resource in order to meet needs. The church remains in control, deciding who is in need, what is needed and how the need will be met (whether this is food, clothes or the gospel message).This approach forgets that God is already at work,that we may be the ones who need to be changed.Missional life requires authentic relationships of mutuality and partnerships of reciprocity.Mission-ish means service projects that meet needs. Missional means mutually transformative relationships.It is easy for me get caught up in a movement that promises to give me purpose, that allows me to make a difference, that proves I'm not just a common church guy concerned with sitting in pews. It is easy to fall in love with an image of myself being heroically engaged in serving the least of these. All of this, though, is about me, not about God. It is about what I do, not about who God is. It is about what I do for others, not about how the other transforms me. Even after 17 years of thinking about and working on this, it is way easier to settle for being mission-ish than being authentically missional.•What is our vision?To live out the way of Jesus.To be radical disciples – to take this as the most serious of things- To live generously- to be an active part of the church (that means coming)- to make a commitment to grow in our faithTo boldly speak and live the truth of JesusIn the midst of babel, speak the truth. . . .And more than that, in the Word of God,expose death and all death’s works andwiles, rebuke lies, cast out demons,exorcise, cleanse the possessed, raisethose who are dead in mind or conscience.William Stringfellow, An Ethic for Christians and other Aliens in a Strange Land (1973-To deeply embrace, include, and build covenant relationships with each other and the worldoTo love, no matter whatoTo be committed to life

•Luke 7:17-33•What does it mean to be missional?1. Is the center on God or on the Church? One of the hardest things about charting a missional course is to quit asking church-centered questions and start asking God-centered questions. As Craig Van Gelder is famous for saying,"It is not the church of God that has a mission in the world, it is the God of mission that has a church in the world."Mission-ish means thinking about the church and what the church is doing for others. Missional means being centered upon God and discerning what God is up in the world out ahead of us.2. Is the focus on activities or identity?When we ask church-centered questions,missional quickly becomes about programs, events, trips or other activities that the church plans, schedules and accomplishes. In so doing, we assume that we can continue living life or being church as usual and simply add a cause or charity into the schedule. Missional, though, is about identity, about who we are, about living our whole lives in the context of God's presence and work in the world.Mission-ish means adding new programs. Missional means embracing a whole new lifestyle.3. Is the connection to neighbors transactional or relational? When missional is about church-centered activities, rather than about God-centered identity, our interaction with neighbors becomes transactional rather than relational. We function as an outside organization coming to them to provide a service or resource in order to meet needs. The church remains in control, deciding who is in need, what is needed and how the need will be met (whether this is food, clothes or the gospel message).This approach forgets that God is already at work,that we may be the ones who need to be changed.Missional life requires authentic relationships of mutuality and partnerships of reciprocity.Mission-ish means service projects that meet needs. Missional means mutually transformative relationships.It is easy for me get caught up in a movement that promises to give me purpose, that allows me to make a difference, that proves I'm not just a common church guy concerned with sitting in pews. It is easy to fall in love with an image of myself being heroically engaged in serving the least of these. All of this, though, is about me, not about God. It is about what I do, not about who God is. It is about what I do for others, not about how the other transforms me. Even after 17 years of thinking about and working on this, it is way easier to settle for being mission-ish than being authentically missional.•What is our vision?To live out the way of Jesus.To be radical disciples – to take this as the most serious of things- To live generously- to be an active part of the church (that means coming)- to make a commitment to grow in our faithTo boldly speak and live the truth of JesusIn the midst of babel, speak the truth. . . .And more than that, in the Word of God,expose death and all death’s works andwiles, rebuke lies, cast out demons,exorcise, cleanse the possessed, raisethose who are dead in mind or conscience.William Stringfellow, An Ethic for Christians and other Aliens in a Strange Land (1973-To deeply embrace, include, and build covenant relationships with each other and the worldoTo love, no matter whatoTo be committed to life

•1 Kings 17:7-11•2 Kings 5:1•“We need continuous help in staying alert and knowledgeable regarding the conditions in which we cultivate faithful and obedient lives before God, for the ways of the prevailing culture, whether American, Chinese, Polish or Indonesian – its assumptions, its values, its methods of going about its work – are never on the side of God. Never. What Elijah did, and what his contemporary prophet descendants do, is purge our imaginations of this world’s assumptions on how life is lived, on what counts in life. Over and over again, God the Holy Spirit uses prophets to separate his people from the lies and illusions they have become accustomed to and put us back on the path of simple faith and obedience and worship of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in defiance of all that the world admires and rewards. Elijah and his vast company of prophets, by now centuries deep and worldwide, train us in discerning the difference between the ways of the world and the ways of Jesus, keeping us present to the Presence of God.” –Eugene Peterson •Luke 4:22-30•Luke 7:1-16•“In the development of this account, it is critical to recognize, then, the basis on which these elders appeal to Jesus for assistance. They do not employ the language of kinship or need, nor do they frame their request with any language that one might regard as harmonious with the new dispositions and behaviors Jesus has outlined in the preceding chapter. Instead, they assume and propagate the insider-outsider categories of honor and obligation prevalent throughout the Empire. Their words betray their captivity to a world system whose basis and practices run counter to the mercy of God. Given the duplicity of these elders of the people, we may be surprised that Jesus goes with them. Given that the centurion is a Gentile, we may be doubly surprised that Jesus seems intent on going to his home to heal his slave. Jesus, however, has outlined a new worldview in which such distinctions are not determinative for social interaction and certainly not for manifestations of saving power.” –Joel Green•“The liberating message is the reality of the gratuitousness of grace – the assurance that the resources of divine mercy and forgiveness are always at hand, gifts ready to be bestowed on all who ask for them.” Robert Brown•Mark 1:15•“Kairos points to another kind of time – a special time, a time of decision, a time when things may hang in the balance and what we do (or don’t do) will have far-reaching consequences. A time of kairos is a time when unexpected possibilities enter the scene, brand new things can happen – and frequently do happen.”•Who is worthy of God’s blessing of grace?•How far do the boundaries of God’s grace extend?•Is hope real? Can change happen? What will tomorrow hold?•What time is it?•How do I need to wake up and see what God is doing? To have my life freed from the captivity of the hopeless, the changeless and the “way things are and will always be”?

•1 Kings 17:7-11•2 Kings 5:1•“We need continuous help in staying alert and knowledgeable regarding the conditions in which we cultivate faithful and obedient lives before God, for the ways of the prevailing culture, whether American, Chinese, Polish or Indonesian – its assumptions, its values, its methods of going about its work – are never on the side of God. Never. What Elijah did, and what his contemporary prophet descendants do, is purge our imaginations of this world’s assumptions on how life is lived, on what counts in life. Over and over again, God the Holy Spirit uses prophets to separate his people from the lies and illusions they have become accustomed to and put us back on the path of simple faith and obedience and worship of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in defiance of all that the world admires and rewards. Elijah and his vast company of prophets, by now centuries deep and worldwide, train us in discerning the difference between the ways of the world and the ways of Jesus, keeping us present to the Presence of God.” –Eugene Peterson •Luke 4:22-30•Luke 7:1-16•“In the development of this account, it is critical to recognize, then, the basis on which these elders appeal to Jesus for assistance. They do not employ the language of kinship or need, nor do they frame their request with any language that one might regard as harmonious with the new dispositions and behaviors Jesus has outlined in the preceding chapter. Instead, they assume and propagate the insider-outsider categories of honor and obligation prevalent throughout the Empire. Their words betray their captivity to a world system whose basis and practices run counter to the mercy of God. Given the duplicity of these elders of the people, we may be surprised that Jesus goes with them. Given that the centurion is a Gentile, we may be doubly surprised that Jesus seems intent on going to his home to heal his slave. Jesus, however, has outlined a new worldview in which such distinctions are not determinative for social interaction and certainly not for manifestations of saving power.” –Joel Green•“The liberating message is the reality of the gratuitousness of grace – the assurance that the resources of divine mercy and forgiveness are always at hand, gifts ready to be bestowed on all who ask for them.” Robert Brown•Mark 1:15•“Kairos points to another kind of time – a special time, a time of decision, a time when things may hang in the balance and what we do (or don’t do) will have far-reaching consequences. A time of kairos is a time when unexpected possibilities enter the scene, brand new things can happen – and frequently do happen.”•Who is worthy of God’s blessing of grace?•How far do the boundaries of God’s grace extend?•Is hope real? Can change happen? What will tomorrow hold?•What time is it?•How do I need to wake up and see what God is doing? To have my life freed from the captivity of the hopeless, the changeless and the “way things are and will always be”?

•1 Kings 17:7-11•2 Kings 5:1•“We need continuous help in staying alert and knowledgeable regarding the conditions in which we cultivate faithful and obedient lives before God, for the ways of the prevailing culture, whether American, Chinese, Polish or Indonesian – its assumptions, its values, its methods of going about its work – are never on the side of God. Never. What Elijah did, and what his contemporary prophet descendants do, is purge our imaginations of this world’s assumptions on how life is lived, on what counts in life. Over and over again, God the Holy Spirit uses prophets to separate his people from the lies and illusions they have become accustomed to and put us back on the path of simple faith and obedience and worship of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in defiance of all that the world admires and rewards. Elijah and his vast company of prophets, by now centuries deep and worldwide, train us in discerning the difference between the ways of the world and the ways of Jesus, keeping us present to the Presence of God.” –Eugene Peterson •Luke 4:22-30•Luke 7:1-16•“In the development of this account, it is critical to recognize, then, the basis on which these elders appeal to Jesus for assistance. They do not employ the language of kinship or need, nor do they frame their request with any language that one might regard as harmonious with the new dispositions and behaviors Jesus has outlined in the preceding chapter. Instead, they assume and propagate the insider-outsider categories of honor and obligation prevalent throughout the Empire. Their words betray their captivity to a world system whose basis and practices run counter to the mercy of God. Given the duplicity of these elders of the people, we may be surprised that Jesus goes with them. Given that the centurion is a Gentile, we may be doubly surprised that Jesus seems intent on going to his home to heal his slave. Jesus, however, has outlined a new worldview in which such distinctions are not determinative for social interaction and certainly not for manifestations of saving power.” –Joel Green•“The liberating message is the reality of the gratuitousness of grace – the assurance that the resources of divine mercy and forgiveness are always at hand, gifts ready to be bestowed on all who ask for them.” Robert Brown•Mark 1:15•“Kairos points to another kind of time – a special time, a time of decision, a time when things may hang in the balance and what we do (or don’t do) will have far-reaching consequences. A time of kairos is a time when unexpected possibilities enter the scene, brand new things can happen – and frequently do happen.”•Who is worthy of God’s blessing of grace?•How far do the boundaries of God’s grace extend?•Is hope real? Can change happen? What will tomorrow hold?•What time is it?•How do I need to wake up and see what God is doing? To have my life freed from the captivity of the hopeless, the changeless and the “way things are and will always be”?

•1 Kings 17:7-11•2 Kings 5:1•“We need continuous help in staying alert and knowledgeable regarding the conditions in which we cultivate faithful and obedient lives before God, for the ways of the prevailing culture, whether American, Chinese, Polish or Indonesian – its assumptions, its values, its methods of going about its work – are never on the side of God. Never. What Elijah did, and what his contemporary prophet descendants do, is purge our imaginations of this world’s assumptions on how life is lived, on what counts in life. Over and over again, God the Holy Spirit uses prophets to separate his people from the lies and illusions they have become accustomed to and put us back on the path of simple faith and obedience and worship of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in defiance of all that the world admires and rewards. Elijah and his vast company of prophets, by now centuries deep and worldwide, train us in discerning the difference between the ways of the world and the ways of Jesus, keeping us present to the Presence of God.” –Eugene Peterson •Luke 4:22-30•Luke 7:1-16•“In the development of this account, it is critical to recognize, then, the basis on which these elders appeal to Jesus for assistance. They do not employ the language of kinship or need, nor do they frame their request with any language that one might regard as harmonious with the new dispositions and behaviors Jesus has outlined in the preceding chapter. Instead, they assume and propagate the insider-outsider categories of honor and obligation prevalent throughout the Empire. Their words betray their captivity to a world system whose basis and practices run counter to the mercy of God. Given the duplicity of these elders of the people, we may be surprised that Jesus goes with them. Given that the centurion is a Gentile, we may be doubly surprised that Jesus seems intent on going to his home to heal his slave. Jesus, however, has outlined a new worldview in which such distinctions are not determinative for social interaction and certainly not for manifestations of saving power.” –Joel Green•“The liberating message is the reality of the gratuitousness of grace – the assurance that the resources of divine mercy and forgiveness are always at hand, gifts ready to be bestowed on all who ask for them.” Robert Brown•Mark 1:15•“Kairos points to another kind of time – a special time, a time of decision, a time when things may hang in the balance and what we do (or don’t do) will have far-reaching consequences. A time of kairos is a time when unexpected possibilities enter the scene, brand new things can happen – and frequently do happen.”•Who is worthy of God’s blessing of grace?•How far do the boundaries of God’s grace extend?•Is hope real? Can change happen? What will tomorrow hold?•What time is it?•How do I need to wake up and see what God is doing? To have my life freed from the captivity of the hopeless, the changeless and the “way things are and will always be”?

Luke 6:27-49“These sayings constitute strong indications that Jesus was engaged in a mission of revitalizing and reempowering communities in their fundamental social-economic relations, which also enabled them to maintain a certain amount of power over their own lives as cohesive covenantal communities.” –Richard HorsleyJust as the merciful God does not predetermine who will or will not be the recipients of kindness, so Jesus’ followers must refuse to “judge” – that is, to predetermine who might be the recipients of their graciousness. This is nothing but a command to love one’s enemies restated negatively. In an important sense, Jesus’ instructions are to refuse to act as those scribes and Pharisees had done earlier, as they calculated beforehand the status of those “sinners” and thereby excluded them from their circles of social interaction. By “forgive,” Jesus means “release” that is, “release from obligations,” or “give, without expectation of return.” Jesus followers give freely, without dragging others and especially those in need into the quagmire of never-ending cycles of repayment and liability. – Joel Green“We must remember that our first task is not to forgive, but to learn to be forgiven. Too often to be ready to forgive is a way of exerting control over another. We fear accepting forgiveness from another because such a gift makes us powerless – and we fear the loss of control involved. But because we have learned to live as a forgiven people, as a people no longer in control, we also find we can become a whole people. When we exist as a forgiven people we are able to be at peace with our histories, so that now God’s life determines our whole way of being – our character. We no longer need to deny our past, or tell ourselves false stories, as now we can accept what we have been without the knowledge of our sin destroying us.” -- Stanley HauerwasRevelation 1:12-16Luke 13:18-21Jesus is the bearer of a new possibility of human, social and therefore political relationships. His baptism is the inauguration and his cross is the culmination of that new regime in which his disciples are called to share. We cannot avoid his call to an ethic marked by the cross, a cross identified as punishment of a man who threatens society by creating a new kind of community leading a radically new kind of life. -- John Howard Yoder, Politics of Jesus

Luke 6:27-49“These sayings constitute strong indications that Jesus was engaged in a mission of revitalizing and reempowering communities in their fundamental social-economic relations, which also enabled them to maintain a certain amount of power over their own lives as cohesive covenantal communities.” –Richard HorsleyJust as the merciful God does not predetermine who will or will not be the recipients of kindness, so Jesus’ followers must refuse to “judge” – that is, to predetermine who might be the recipients of their graciousness. This is nothing but a command to love one’s enemies restated negatively. In an important sense, Jesus’ instructions are to refuse to act as those scribes and Pharisees had done earlier, as they calculated beforehand the status of those “sinners” and thereby excluded them from their circles of social interaction. By “forgive,” Jesus means “release” that is, “release from obligations,” or “give, without expectation of return.” Jesus followers give freely, without dragging others and especially those in need into the quagmire of never-ending cycles of repayment and liability. – Joel Green“We must remember that our first task is not to forgive, but to learn to be forgiven. Too often to be ready to forgive is a way of exerting control over another. We fear accepting forgiveness from another because such a gift makes us powerless – and we fear the loss of control involved. But because we have learned to live as a forgiven people, as a people no longer in control, we also find we can become a whole people. When we exist as a forgiven people we are able to be at peace with our histories, so that now God’s life determines our whole way of being – our character. We no longer need to deny our past, or tell ourselves false stories, as now we can accept what we have been without the knowledge of our sin destroying us.” -- Stanley HauerwasRevelation 1:12-16Luke 13:18-21Jesus is the bearer of a new possibility of human, social and therefore political relationships. His baptism is the inauguration and his cross is the culmination of that new regime in which his disciples are called to share. We cannot avoid his call to an ethic marked by the cross, a cross identified as punishment of a man who threatens society by creating a new kind of community leading a radically new kind of life. -- John Howard Yoder, Politics of Jesus

Luke 6:27-49“These sayings constitute strong indications that Jesus was engaged in a mission of revitalizing and reempowering communities in their fundamental social-economic relations, which also enabled them to maintain a certain amount of power over their own lives as cohesive covenantal communities.” –Richard HorsleyJust as the merciful God does not predetermine who will or will not be the recipients of kindness, so Jesus’ followers must refuse to “judge” – that is, to predetermine who might be the recipients of their graciousness. This is nothing but a command to love one’s enemies restated negatively. In an important sense, Jesus’ instructions are to refuse to act as those scribes and Pharisees had done earlier, as they calculated beforehand the status of those “sinners” and thereby excluded them from their circles of social interaction. By “forgive,” Jesus means “release” that is, “release from obligations,” or “give, without expectation of return.” Jesus followers give freely, without dragging others and especially those in need into the quagmire of never-ending cycles of repayment and liability. – Joel Green“We must remember that our first task is not to forgive, but to learn to be forgiven. Too often to be ready to forgive is a way of exerting control over another. We fear accepting forgiveness from another because such a gift makes us powerless – and we fear the loss of control involved. But because we have learned to live as a forgiven people, as a people no longer in control, we also find we can become a whole people. When we exist as a forgiven people we are able to be at peace with our histories, so that now God’s life determines our whole way of being – our character. We no longer need to deny our past, or tell ourselves false stories, as now we can accept what we have been without the knowledge of our sin destroying us.” -- Stanley HauerwasRevelation 1:12-16Luke 13:18-21Jesus is the bearer of a new possibility of human, social and therefore political relationships. His baptism is the inauguration and his cross is the culmination of that new regime in which his disciples are called to share. We cannot avoid his call to an ethic marked by the cross, a cross identified as punishment of a man who threatens society by creating a new kind of community leading a radically new kind of life. -- John Howard Yoder, Politics of Jesus

Luke 6:27-49“These sayings constitute strong indications that Jesus was engaged in a mission of revitalizing and reempowering communities in their fundamental social-economic relations, which also enabled them to maintain a certain amount of power over their own lives as cohesive covenantal communities.” –Richard HorsleyJust as the merciful God does not predetermine who will or will not be the recipients of kindness, so Jesus’ followers must refuse to “judge” – that is, to predetermine who might be the recipients of their graciousness. This is nothing but a command to love one’s enemies restated negatively. In an important sense, Jesus’ instructions are to refuse to act as those scribes and Pharisees had done earlier, as they calculated beforehand the status of those “sinners” and thereby excluded them from their circles of social interaction. By “forgive,” Jesus means “release” that is, “release from obligations,” or “give, without expectation of return.” Jesus followers give freely, without dragging others and especially those in need into the quagmire of never-ending cycles of repayment and liability. – Joel Green“We must remember that our first task is not to forgive, but to learn to be forgiven. Too often to be ready to forgive is a way of exerting control over another. We fear accepting forgiveness from another because such a gift makes us powerless – and we fear the loss of control involved. But because we have learned to live as a forgiven people, as a people no longer in control, we also find we can become a whole people. When we exist as a forgiven people we are able to be at peace with our histories, so that now God’s life determines our whole way of being – our character. We no longer need to deny our past, or tell ourselves false stories, as now we can accept what we have been without the knowledge of our sin destroying us.” -- Stanley HauerwasRevelation 1:12-16Luke 13:18-21Jesus is the bearer of a new possibility of human, social and therefore political relationships. His baptism is the inauguration and his cross is the culmination of that new regime in which his disciples are called to share. We cannot avoid his call to an ethic marked by the cross, a cross identified as punishment of a man who threatens society by creating a new kind of community leading a radically new kind of life. -- John Howard Yoder, Politics of Jesus