To become Missional, you must allow God to redefine, shape and guide your whole life to the purposes of God. Important lessons to learn ...
Missional is about implication, not application. The mission of God cannot be something you add or
fit into your life. Nor is it even something for which you simply
sacrifice to make room for. Rather, it is about examining the very
real implications of what it would mean on every level of life if we
were defined by God's Divine Agenda.
Missional cannot be understand apart from ecclesiology (or vice versa). You don't go to church. You are the church. Being the Church is much more than a place or Sunday gathering.
Missional is incarnational. As a people of God, we relate and engage the world
after the way that God relates and engages the world. This is
expressed primarily in the person of Jesus.
Being Missional has a few core principles, such as:
Community: We called to be in genuine community, seeking to be many
united as one. We are not able to become gods in our unity, but
rather, through the work of Jesus on the cross, we die to self and are
resurrected into His Body, bound together in the Spirit. Being "His Body" is more than an analogy, but a defining description
of our nature as the Church. Our commitment to unity and community does not
require the irradication of the individual. While we must resist the
disintegrative force of individualism, true community always celebrates
and nurtures healthy individuality. In fact, it is only within the
Chirst-community that individual identity can truly be realized. This
is perhaps the single greatest tension we face- the battle between
rampant individualism and soulless uniformity. I would go so far as to say that a person cannot be truly
missional apart from community, because that very community is
essential to mission and the Godhead that gives it form.
Contextualization: Jesus, fully God, entered into our
world as fully man, the ultimate contextualization. He divested
Himself of many things that were His right in order to make a way for
God's mission of love and redemption to happen. In the same way, we
must enter into the world around us in such a way that allows people to
encounter Christ in ways that they understand. It means that we must
give up many things that we (may) have every right to, but that get in
the way of representing Christ's incarnational presence in our
neighbourhoods, cultures and world.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9, that we are to "become all things to all men so that
by all possible means" others will be saved. So we do not simply
contextualize, we contextualize as Christ in the culture. It is important to note that, while
we seek to "become all things to all men", we cannot be all things at
the same time. This is why singular expressions and models copied
elsewhere can undermine the effectiveness of being truly missional.
Countercultural: We are be an incarnational expression of Christ in culture, but not
simply an adaptation (or compromise) with the culture in general.
Going back to my reference to "implication not application", we must
recognize that the incarnational presence we are called to represent is
not compatible with all aspects of our world around us. Be it
individualism or consumerism (two of the most serious threats to the
Church today), we cannot and must not attempt to accomodate aspects of
culture that would undermine the mission of God, but rather live boldly
apart and even against them. We are called to be a peculiar people in
that our radical obedience to Christ will set us apart, not simply
through rejection and isolation, but by engaging the world as living
alternatives. At this point, we must be careful, for we can call all sorts of
isolationism "counter-cultural". Further, we can even begin to gain an
identity around those things which we reject (as many Christians seem
to be defined by their anti-gay or anti-abortion stances, or more
subtley and closer to home, by being anti-program or
anti-institution). We are to
be countercultural, not in what we oppose, but through the living
alternative we represent before a watching world.
Posted in Daily Thoughts by Lanny Richardson on 6/10/2010
God is using Haiti to open up ears, eyes and hearts to Him and His
power. His Kingdom is moving and we are moving with Him.
Within this Kingdom move, the greatest challenge for the believer is to live with expectancy but not with expectations. Will I ... Will you live each day in expectancy that God is going to reveal His power but not predetermine how it will happen?
Yeah, you say you want God to move and show you that He is God. But, can you give up your expectations of the "what, when, where, who and how" of God's moving and simply trust that He will?
"Be still and know that I am God"
(Psalm 46:10)
Be (Being) still (Stop striving against God and His way and become weak in your own power and abilities)
and know (personally experience the power of God operating in your life).
If we try to "box" God into our expectations, we will miss His move.
If we live with expectations and they are not met, we will take offense and try to "steer" God's move by making our own paths.
...other results (you suggest) ...
For me, it all boils down to TRUST. God is teaching me the depths of His intimacy with me through the truths of Proverbs 3:5-6. Here are some questions for you to ponder:
Do you Trust IN the Lord?
Do you Trust IN the LORD With ALL your heart?
Do you Lean NOT upon your own understanding?
Do you Acknowledge Him in ALL your ways?
If you can say "YES" to all four questions above ... HE WILL make your paths straight!
But remember, it will not look like you think it will... (ouch!).
Posted in Daily Thoughts by Lanny Richardson on 6/8/2010
One of the most interesting opportunities afforded to me while in Haiti this past month was to help create spiritual community among our AIM Staff. I can still remember the spiritual empowerment I felt when I walked into a room filled with 50+ World Racers who had just landed in Haiti - www.theworldrace.org. Pouring into other followers of JESUS is the passion of my life.
Spiritual Community is both an enactment and an experience. It is the expression of unconditional love of one another while recognizing the image of God within each. It is all about Spiritual Formation - learning to trust who God says that I am and walking in that identity.
Spiritual formation is tied to knowing Christ deeply with others. This is why Spiritual Formation happens best within community. The goal of God is to "form Christ" in the believing community (see Galatians 4:19).
The marker for spiritual formation is living by an indwelling Lord rather than by trying to imitate His outward behavior. What the Father was to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is to you and me. He's our indwelling Lord. The Lord declared, "As the living Father sent me, and I live because the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me" (John 6:57).
The Apostle Paul later wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Jesus Himself said that without the Father, He could do nothing (see John 5:19). Jesus then said to us, "Without Me, you can do nothing"(15:5).
Spiritual Community is about learning how to live by the indwelling life of Christ. And
therein lies what being a follower-a disciple of Jesus is all about.
As I reflect on our AIM Haiti Staff, I am excited that God has provided a launching pad for them to go deeper into developing community among one another. I pray for Seth Barnes, Jr & Aaron Brunner as God has anointed them to take this development to the next level.
Posted in Mission Trips by Lanny Richardson on 6/8/2010
A couple of years ago, I had an interesting conversation about the Kingdom of God with Joe Countiss (former staff of Adventures In Missions). I took Joe to lunch just before he left AIM to bless him and thank him for his faithfulness to God through AIM. During this lunch we discussed many issues relative to the Advancement of the Kingdom of God "here on earth as it is in heaven".
I shared with Joe about a dream God had given me earlier, "The NeXt Move of God". The dream held many components of calling out a generation to AWAKE, ARISE and ALIGN so as to ADVANCE the Kingdom of God. Since those early days of the dream, God has brought much clarity through the wise counsel of other JESUS followers.
Joe listened to me discuss how these aspects of God's move were tied to the first blessing of God in the Bible ... "God blessed Adam and Eve and said to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, subdue and take dominion'" (Genesis 1:28). God used Joe to respond in this manner ...
"Multiplication is a result of Manufacturing
but Reproduction is a result of Relationship"
God uses the word transliterated "rabah" in Hebrew for "multiply" in Genesis 1:28. If you study this word usage, you will find it comes from the root word meaning "to be".
The key to walking in the blessing of the LORD is learning "to be" not "to do". While in Haiti, God gave me many tests to see if I had learned this lesson with the assignment I had been given through AIM.
While many organizations and agencies seeking to follow the LORD in Haiti are focusing on multiplying systems and structures to accomplish their goals, the test of AIM and my leadership is to focus on relationships for Kingdom reproduction.
Yes, it would have been easier to just tell a key Haitian pastor that we have changed our methodology from our previous discussion in January and now we are moving on to something new and different. However, there was something within me that spoke soflty ... "It's not about manufacturing, it's about reproduction." So, I spent 4 different meetings with this key pastor rebuilding relationship that will lead to greater fruitfulness.
This was my first test that I faced when I went back to Haiti. I knew that bringing ALIGNMENT was key to more fruitfulness. So, I invested not spent many hours listening and sharing.
Too many times in the rush "to follow God's lead" we focus on a multiplication process instead of a reproduction process. This is the challenge of all who want "to be"
Posted in Mission Trips by Lanny Richardson on 5/20/2010
The video attached below is a recent Orphanage discovery in great need ... watch.
The video helps explain how our Church-to-Church Partnership Program between a Haitian Pastor and a church in America help to meet the great need of Haiti.
Share this with others and ask them to pray for how their church, home fellowship group, etc may help to be the hands and feet of JESUS to those in Haiti.
Posted in Mission Trips by Lanny Richardson on 5/20/2010
They say a picture is worth a 1000 words ... what do you see?
We went to another Tent Village today to visit with a community pastor to discuss how AIM wanted to partner with him to serve his people. The pastor was moved by our care and generosity. But, I was moved by what I saw.
This picture above is one of many I happened to capture as I looked around. Everywhere you look there are new tent communities from the last time I was here a month ago. It seems that everyone has moved into the city to receive food and water from the feeding programs.
Just today we heard that the outlying areas of Port-au-Prince such as Carrefour & Pettionville have increased to 400,000 & 350,000 people each.
I am convinced that the government is incapable of handling the crisis. They will not be able to remove the people and relocate them. My translator, Geftay, said to me ... "The government will not do anything about these people. They will end up living here in these conditions for the rest of their lives, probably. And, my heart hurts for them."
I wept as I heard my brother in Christ share his compassion for his people. Please pray that the LORD will stir the hearts of the people in America as we seek to establish direct Church-to-Church Partnerships between Haitian & American churches to minister to the great need.
Posted in Mission Trips by Lanny Richardson on 5/17/2010
We stopped at the local market today to pick up a few supplies and I saw out of the corner of my eye these smoked fish ... NO, ACTUALLY I SMELLED THEM FROM FAR AWAY.
How many can we ship to you? How about just one ... the one on the far right?
Posted in Mission Trips by Lanny Richardson on 5/12/2010
On this day, we met with the deacon of the church across the street from the "tent" city God led us to. Watch this video as Mark, one of our Set-Up Leaders here in Haiti, describes his heart.
One of the most interesting facts discovered in this interview was that God led us to meet this deacon and a few church members while their pastor was away from the church serving food to 100s of mentally ill in another town.
Only God could have led us to this church on the very day out of a 2 year rotation! What do I mean? One day in a 2 year rotation, this church pastor and leaders go to the Mental Hospital to provide a meal for those of the country who are in the mental institution. The next year they go one day of the year to the jail to share Jesus and feed the inmates.
Can you imagine a church body of 180 who have lost almost everything in the earthquake taking the time and very limited resources to serve their fellow man in need? I was moved beyond understanding at how God spoke through this leader and their church leader's example. My heart was gripped with conviction.
Would we take the time to be the hands and feet of Jesus when our houses are in rubble, our church is partially collapsed, our place of employment is no longer in business, etc.?
What would you do? You can help AIM be the hands and feet of Jesus to Haiti as you ...
Posted in Mission Trips by Lanny Richardson on 5/12/2010
I don't know if I would call the area we were led to as a "tent" city and here's why: there were 754 small 8'X8' pole tents covered with sheets - no tarps. (see video above)
Imagine being one of 5-7 people sleeping in an 8'X8' area ... (that's a total people population in this tent city of approximately 3770 - 5278) ... with absolutely no protection from the nightly rains that deluge Port-au-Prince almost nightly, now. Do you have the mental image? Watch the video above and you will see ...
What would you do when the downpour comes? Would you stay in your "shelter" or would you run to the trees of any other kind of shelter you could find from the rain? And, what about your belongings if you choose to run for cover?
I witnessed with my own eyes people running to get out of the rain because they did not have any tarps to keep them in the dry. Please pray that God will give all AIM Mission Teams His wisdom for how to serve His people in this area and help meet their physical needs.
You can be apart of helping to meet this need through prayer and financial gifts to AIM for Haiti Relief.
