Evangelism Handbook: Missional

In his recent presidential address for the California Baptist Convention, Walter Price called for a “new normal” in terms of how we as believers in general and leaders in particular cooperate together. He admitted uncertainty as to what that new normal would be, but he accurately diagnosed the problem.

In the fourth section of my Evangelism Handbook, “Missional,” I argue for what I believe must be the New Normal for Baptists and others if we are to be serious about the Great Commission in our time. The New Normal might be called various things: A Great Commission Resurgence, a Missional Revolution, etc. But whatever you call it, it must happen. In fact it will. The question is whether or not we will be a part of it.

We live at a time of such fundamental shifts. Read the book Socialnomics. Turn on a computer and google “social networking.” Pay attention to a younger generation-even secular writers describe a rising tide of spirituality yet to be tapped by many churches (see L. Sandler, Righteous; N.S. Riley, God on the Quad, to name only a couple).

But I am more concerned with what is happening in the church. In my Evangelism Handbook I begin the missional section describing how things have changed in the church from my birth in 1959 to now. I argue that fundamental paradigm shifts must happen, including:

-From Maintaining an Institution to Advancing a Movement: in the SBC I would submit this is our greatest need, and the point of greatest friction sparked by the Great Commission Task Force. Institutionalism stifles creativity and limits those on the margins, where most spiritual movements begin. Our main focus in cooperating should be the mission of God in Scripture centered on advancing the unchanging gospel; nothing less will suffice.

-From Attractional Evangelism to Missional: we should continue to have attractional evangelism. But if we are to reach the Samaritans of our time we must do more than have a Samaritan night once a year—we must go to Samaria! Missional living must become the heart of who we are. What is that? It means helping every believer, whether a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker, regardless of vocation, to see himself/herself from the posture of a missionary. My friend David Platt says it this way: “My goal as pastor is to help the people of God to fulfill the mission of God.” What if every pastor in our nation, which is at least the fourth largest and possibly the third largest unsaved nation on earth, took the posture that he would spend his life helping every family live as missionaries in their community? Most of us do not even talk to our own neighbors about spiritual things. We are hardly missional. That must fundamentally change.

–From Programmatic to Incarnation: We have found ways to become Contagious Christians and even to make Evangelism Explode. But have we created a culture in our churches through our programs where our people live out the program they sit through? Rarely. Evangelism in the early church was viral—it spread not because of technique but because of truth. We must begin preaching the gospel more to ourselves, so that we in turn may share it with others out of the lives we live. See I Thess. 1:5 where Paul describes this.

–From Compartmentalized to Holistic Ministry: One of the things I love about Southeastern is that we do not have a separate school of evangelism and missions. There is nothing wrong with those that do, as one can make a compelling case for such a school, and many friends teach in that structure. But at SEBTS, we see our whole school as a school of evangelism and missions! Our theme is “every classroom a great commission classroom.” In like manner, we need to see evangelism less as a project we do sometimes and more as a lifestyle centered on the gospel. We can and should still do projects, events, and special times. I just visited with a lot of my neighbors yesterday as part of a special outreach by our church. But I would have done it whether our church organized it or not!

–From Consumerism to Service: Christmas time is here. We say things like “Let’s Keep Christ in Christmas,” usually sneering at secular businesses that change “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays” when we say it. But hold on: if someone compared the amount of money spent on ourselves by Christians versus what we spend on missions or helping the poor someone might say we also should put Christ back in Christmas. We have gotten to the place that we offer a free car if someone watches an evangelistic presentation. I do not see Paul doing anything like giving away a gold-plated chariot in the first century. The gospel was enough. If we are to reach an increasingly unchurched culture, we must serve our way to them, not buy into a consumer culture. We have lost the home field advantage in the culture; we must show the love of Christ even as we share Him with others.

–From Conformity in ALL THINGS to Conformity in Truth/Creativity in Its Application: we too often confuse our preferences with truth. Worship style, standing behind a big pulpit, our attire, and other differences serve as a gospel thermometer: if we are more concerned with how people dress at a church building than how we are adorned with the gospel 24/7, we are simply religious. Thankfully this is an area where change is coming, but not without more than a little resistance. Jesus called us to be disciples, not clones. If we will see a Missional Reformation, we will see it demonstrated in a variety of ways, but focused on unchanging truth.

I just summarized the first chapter of the missional section. The remaining chapters unpack how this looks in such vital areas as a resurgence in church planting, in reaching youth and families, the unchurched, and in reaching the cities.

I close with a quote from Bill Easum that summarizes well what I am trying to say:
“Following Jesus into the mission field is either impossible or extremely difficult for the vast majority of congregations in the Western world because of one thing: They have a systems story that will not allow them to take the first step our of the institution into the mission field, even though the mission field is just outside the door of the congregation.”

You can order my Evangelism Handbook: Biblical, Intentional, Spiritual, Missional (B&H, 2009) at amazon.com or through any fine book store .