I am currently at Garrett-ETS (Evangelical Theological Seminary) taking a 2-week intensive class on Missional Preaching. What a gift! Even though it is a bit chilly here in Evanston, a suburb just north of Chicago, I am finding this to be a life-giving learning experience. There could not be a better class for a deacon in the United Methodist Church!
Our instructor is John Dally, an Episcopal priest, who wrote a book called Choosing the Kingdom: Missional Preaching for the Household of God. Although I rebel against the word "kingdom" and prefer to speak of the "reign of God," this book is well written and insightful as the preacher is called to move beyond "maintenance" of the institution to lead the church into "mission" in the world.
It occurs to me that missional could be another way to talk about "risk-taking" mission. Yet to develop a missional mindset we may have to go even farther. Dally quotes Darrell Guder (Missional Church) “Mission is not merely an activity of the church. Rather, mission is the result of God’s initiative, rooted in God’s purposes to restore and heal creation. Mission means “sending” … the purpose of God’s action in human history … our challenge is to move from being a church with mission to becoming a missional church.” YES! Tell me how!
John challenges us every day to seek the reign of God … to proclaim the reign of God in all that we are and all that we do. The questions that emerged for me as I prepared my first sermon for the class are: Am I living a missional life? How can I proclaim a credible missional message if I am not living a missional life? These are questions that beg to be explored as I inhabit the liminal space between the church and the world as a deacon.
So ... what does the reign of God look like in your life ... your church ... your world?
I've read Dally's book and found it really helpful. I'm working on a DMin on missional preaching and would love to hear the best insights you get from the class if you are open to sharing. Our church is seeking to live out a missional, risk-taking life amongst the urban setting in L.A., in particular, making a 40 year commitment to the economic, social, and spiritual renewal of the city of Compton. So i need all the help i can get in learning how to proceed! thanks, Bill (bill.white@erc.la)
ReplyDeleteHi Bill. I am very open to sharing. Perhaps I don't have insight as much as struggle to share at this point. Our first week I was confronted with the reality that missional preaching begins with the preacher herself. More to come ... I still have a week to go!
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