The Best Definition of a Missional Church?
I just read one of the best definitions of a missional church. I think. And guess what? It’s not from a pastor or theologian, and it doesn’t even have any Scripture quotations. Cue the scream: *scream*
Here it is. It’s from Jeff Bezos, founder and chairman of Amazon.com, and it’s in reference to their strategy for creating products and reaching customers:
“There are two ways that companies can extend what they’re doing. One is they can take an inventory of their skills and competencies, and then they can say, “OK, with this set of skills and competencies, what else can we do?” And that’s a very useful technique that all companies should use. But there’s a second method, which takes a longer-term orientation. It is to say, rather than ask what are we good at and what else can we do with that skill, you ask, who are our customers? What do they need? And then you say we’re going to give that to them regardless of whether we currently have the skills to do so, and we will learn those skills no matter how long it takes. Kindle is a great example of that. It’s been on the market for two years, but we worked on it for three years in earnest before that. We talked about it for a year before that. We had to go hire people to build a hardware–engineering team to build the device. We had to acquire new skills. There’s a tendency, I think, for executives to think that the right course of action is to stick to the knitting—stick with what you’re good at. That may be a generally good rule, but the problem is the world changes out from under you if you’re not constantly adding to your skill set.” (Click here to read the whole article).
This concept kind of turns some of the dialogue on spiritual gifts on its head. For example, much of the seminars on spiritual gifts focus on exactly what Bezos was talking about: what are my talents, gifts, personality, etc. But I think his concept is more Scriptural. It simply asks, “what does our community need, how can we reach them,” and then the church would go about learning those skills or doing what is necessary to reach the people. I think this is something the Holy Spirit can really work through: the Spirit blessing you with gifts as you seek to reach those far from Christ.
What do you think of this concept as related to spiritual gifts and reaching people?
[image by Jim Darling] *picture of a guy reading on an Amazon Kindle with a cover.
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Thanks so much Rodlie. This is so timely! I am meeting this afternoon with a pastor friend who is going to review the Special Gifts Inventory with me. I saw that as a need in our congregation; we have a lot of people (newly baptized and not so new) who want to figure out what they can do for God. We'll be doing a whole weekend workshop for the church. I think adding this layer of "What does our community need and how can we provide it?" is great. It's a more goal-oriented way of managing spiritual gifts. You are not just finding out what you are good at but you can start thinking about how to do it, for whom, and when. You have a church that has gifts A- D but the community needs E and F. You start praying and asking for that gift to address that current need. This is very exciting!!!! Thanks again.
So glad it could help. Yeah, I think that this is the right process. Typically we've just figured out what our gifts are, and then said, "what ministry can I start in my church based on my gifts." But ultimately you may be missing out on what the whole point of spiritual gifts are: to help you reach people. That's why I like his approach and sounds like you guys are thinking in good ways. Blessings and let me know how your weekend goes.
Rodlie, you are on the money. This is THE ticket to true success. Look at Jesus ministry. He helped the felt needs of the community. We can follow the example and be seed planters and no more. If the Holy spirit convicts them, He will show them the way. We are to serve. A buddy of mine argues(good argument btw) that Matthew 25 shows that we will be judged not on what we know but what we do. deep yet so simple. good post
Wow…that Matthew 25 argument is deep. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing that excerpt. I always find myself thinking of spiritual gifts and the church in terms of what God has gifted us with, instead of what is needed in the community. But I agree, this is much more biblical. Speaking of Matthew 25, it seems like the parable of the talents supports this idea. When we only take an inventory of the gifts we have, we are like the third guy, who took his talent and buried it in the ground. The guys with the five and the two talents added to what they were given, and were called "good and faithful servants."