Understanding Missional - Interview Results Part 1 of 4

After interviewing 7 different respondents from across the country, here are the conclusions I reached about what is driving the missional movement. Enjoy!

Results of Qualitative Research
According to the data collected from every respondent interviewed, the primary belief driving the missional movement in the West seems to be the belief that the Western Church has lost its true identity. Whereas Scripture teaches that the church is the kingdom people of God called and sent to participate in God’s mission in the world, those in the missional movement believe that the church has instead become a place and a program focused on growth and success instead of mission. The missional movement is not simply another church growth tool or a new thing for Christians to do. Instead, the missional movement is all about the identity of the church. Most importantly, the missional movement is focused upon helping the church realize that the loss of its true identity is not a problem to be ignored. Rather, the missional church is teaching that the Western church must regain its true identity through the renewal of theology, the reshaping of leadership, the reprioritization of holistic discipleship, and entering the long-term transition process.

Renewed Theology
According to the respondents, the renewed theology driving the missional movement begins with the belief that God is a missionary God. The missionary nature of God is seen both in his huge mission of complete and total reconciliation and in his sending nature. Reconciliation, restoration and renewal seem to be the respondents’ favorite descriptors of God’s purpose for the world. When God is seen in this light, the Gospel becomes a narrative about the fulfillment of God’s mission or purposes. One respondent described the Gospel as more “robust,” “exciting,” and “alive” among missional churches. Instead of seeing the Gospel as a story about how God wants Christians to go to heaven, the same respondent said that it is a story about how God wants Christians to bring heaven to earth.

The final major theological category identified by respondents is ecclesiology. Four of the seven respondents claimed it is only in the identity of a missionary God and the story of God’s mission found in the Gospel that the church can fully understand its identity as the sign, foretaste, and instrument of God’s kingdom (also referred to as God’s reign, mission, and purpose). Perhaps more than in any other section of the interviews, respondents spoke most passionately and fluidly about the need for the church to seriously consider its current self-awareness and how this awareness would compare to the church seen in Scripture as the people of God sent to live under God’s rule for the blessing of the world and the glory of God.

Up next, reshaping leadership in the missional church.