ii - communicating missional
The following is part two of a workshop I taught at the Presbyterian Global Fellowship (PGF) “Gearing Up” conference in Atlanta. The content and illustrations are from life at Good Shepherd, but I was trying to identify key transferable concepts, particularly for life in smaller churches (though I hope they would transfer into any context).
For many, a missional way of being church will require more than reading a book or attending a seminar. It will require an identity-change. This is not something that happens overnight! After a period of study in my own life, the season of teaching on lighthouse/searchlight church began with an officer/staff retreat in August of 2006. I spent 8 hours with my elders, deacons, and staff poring through the scripture and applications of it our personal lives and the life of the church… and then again in 2007 and again in 2008…
Here are some slides from the Officer Retreat:
The slides show some of the key meaning and questions around the images of "lighthouse" and "searchlight." These have become significant metaphors for understanding our missional identity.
The officers and staff were just the first stage. After that August 2006 retreat, I began preaching and teaching regularly (and haven’t stopped). There were several explicit sermons on lighthouse/searchlight themes, but most every week there is some tie-in or application… go figure – God’s heart for the world is evident in most every scripture passage! I also found it helpful to bring in some other voices – like the Michael Frost video (analysis/reaction here: 1 2 3) from a PGF event. I didn’t agree with everything, but our Wednesday night study group worked through the hour-long video in 3-4 weeks, evaluating (and practicing – we drove the neighborhood one night) as we went.
I also began this blog as a way to keep missional themes before me and interact with some folks beyond the church.
NEXT: envisioning missional