Joining Mission and Discipleship: The Rhythm of Grace

Salvation is central to the Church’s identity, yet its nature is seldom discussed in local contexts. Moreover, when it is discussed, its relationship to discipleship is ambiguous at best or completely unrelated at worst. At the same time, in the unraveling of Christendom in the West, the doctrine of the missio Dei has been influential in helping the Church to revisit a number of theological concepts, especially a theology of the Church -- ecclesiology. The interest of this project was therefore the exploration and articulation of a soteriological vision rooted in the missio Dei and its relevance for discipleship. The fields of missio Dei/theology of mission, missional ecclesiology, and Anabaptist theology were chosen because of their shared relevance to the issues in view and the Ecclesia Network. The result of this dimension of the project was a missional soteriology of discipleship distinguished by its participational, communal, and (re)creational characteristics. More than simply wanting to develop a new missiological theory, however, the concern of this project was for the contextual implications of such a vision for the Church in North America. The Ecclesia Church Network was chosen as a context for field research as a particular, networked expression of the Church that sees mission, the missio Dei, as central to its identity. Through the use of research methods that engaged the Ecclesia at organizational, pastoral, and local church levels, a theological ethnography was developed and used as a basis for the formulation of contextual proposals related to the missional soteriology of discipleship that emerged. These proposals include ways for Ecclesia to raise the issue of soteriology, the possibility of published resources, launching communities of practice, developing a praxis-based curriculum, and the creation of an online platform for use across the network. In each case, these proposals were set forth as strategic ways to advance the witness of Ecclesia from the perspective of a missional soteriology of discipleship.

DIRECTION Journal

Luke 10-11 is a ubiquitous text for appeal in the missional conversation; but most commentators stop reading at verse 15, or occasionally at verse 23. This leaves the missio Dei all about the sending, neglecting the inward, perichoretic life of God. In contrast, the ontology of the Trinity tells us that God is both community, and community on mission. Robert Banks appealed for a reenvisioning of theological education with a missional framework, arguing for a "thrid way." Was it enough? Kraig Klaudt argued for the ashram as a new model, integrating a quest in a learning community that is egalitarian, missional and monastic. Can we recover the best of the parish and the Ashram in a new synthesis? I offer the Jerusalem-Ashram model.

Abstract (Summary) The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the question: 'What does a spiritual formation model for the members of a missional church entail so that members of a church are transformed into missional Christians?' Community Life Church Cherrybrook (CLCC) in Sydney Australia is a twenty three year old established church that, generally speaking, has been engaging in an attractional paradigm. Over the last few years the church has slowly been moving towards a missional paradigm that affirms the biblical view of the church as a group of God's people sent into the world to be on mission with him. The author has become convinced that a primary way for the church to further engage with the missional paradigm is for its members to adopt a spiritual formation model in order for new practices to be learnt which will form people into missionaries within their context. By correctly viewing the church essentially as a body of people who are 'sent into' the world on God's mission, the church can once again regain its purpose to be a light in our world and an active witness to the kingdom of God. The ministry project will therefore identify formational missional spirituality practices emerging from a missional theology that a sample of people from CLCC can engage in, so that transformation from a non-missional expression of Christianity to a more missional expression can occur. An analysis of the biblical and theological material will show that there is support for a missional spiritual formation model of the church. A preliminary review of the literature on the missional church and practices will also reveal that support for a missional spirituality exists. Based on this, a model for the spiritual formation of a missional church will be formed according to an approach which seeks to produce missional formation through a series of practices and subsequent reflection on those actions. Finally, an assessment will be used to gauge at the final stages of the project the extent to which the participants have moved from non-missional expression of Christianity to a more missional paradigm.

HTS Religion and Society Series, 2019

The purpose and aim of this book is to develop an appropriate leadership model for missional churches. This implies a positioning of this book within the broader theology of mission and a consensus on the theology of the Missio Dei, originating at the 1952 conference of the International Missionary Council in Willingen, Germany. In this approach to the theology of mission, mission is understood as the work of the Trinitarian God, and the church is privileged to participate in God’s mission. It is against this background that the growing consensus on missional ecclesiology challenges leadership models developed for a different time and a different kind of church (with less or no emphasis on the missional character of the church). The aim is to reflect theologically on the role of leadership in the missional church. What kind of ideas about power, authority and leadership are appropriate for a missional church? New missional challenges demand new ideas about missional leadership. Church organisation and leadership reflects a theological position – there is a strong relation between ecclesiology and church organisation. The nature of the church provides the framework to understand the character of the church. What the church is determines what the church does. The church organises what it does and agrees on rules that regulate ministries and organisation. Issues such as the way the church organises and governs what it does, and thus church leadership, need to be answered against this background and understanding. Church polity and organisation, as well as leadership, must reflect the identity, calling, life and order of the church. This book, therefore, addresses life in the Trinity, participation in the Missio Dei and contours of the missional church as the point of entry to develop leadership insights. It contributes towards the development of an appropriate model of leadership for missional churches, because although recent developments in the theology of mission comprehensively addressed the area of missional ecclesiology, there is a gap in the development of a leadership model based on the concept of authority in the missional church.

Van Rheenen, Gailyn: Missions - biblical foundations

What are the cultural dynamics within a congregational system that are vital to the empowering of missional leadership? Do Lutherans have anything to contribute to the missional church movement in the United States? These two questions were primary for this dissertation and emerged out of two gaps identified in the missional church literature. Seeing congregations as complex, open systems, missional leadership within congregational systems was studied using a grounded theory, qualitative research approach. The five ELCA congregational systems in this study were identified by their peers as excelling in helping their faith community discover their calling as disciples of Jesus and empowering them to live their faith in the world. They were studied using primarily the ethnographic methods of field observation, focus groups, and journaling. The particular cultural dynamics of each congregational system were identified first, and then those that were common among them were articulated. These eight common cultural dynamics included: an active view of God, the world as the horizon, discipleship as a way of life, congregational systems as a network of people, the dance of leadership, tension of ministry and mission, a vibrant Lutheran identity, and a changing and adapting posture. From these cultural dynamics, a Lutheran hermeneutic for leading in mission was proposed. Using Craig Van Gelder’s four part hermeneutic, this proposal was shaped around: communicatively discerned, biblically and theologically framed, theoretically informed, and strategic action. The foundation of this hermeneutic of leading in mission was a missional theology, with a missional view of God, church, and ministry tied to a missional, Lutheran understanding of baptism and vocation. To this foundation were added several theoretical perspectives: grounded theory; ethnography; cultural anthropology; complex, open systems theory; and organizational leadership theory. The qualitative, grounded theory research findings, having sought to capture the what and why of the faith communities with a missiological inquiry of discovering God’s intent, were woven throughout. The addition of qualitative research provided the opportunity for the lived experiences of missional congregational systems to speak into the missional church conversation in the United States offering a Lutheran voice, while also keeping theology and theory central.

Direction, 2013

A Geology of mission entails theological reflection on the nature and task of mission by applying biblical teaching to the missiological issues facing the church.1 If, as David Bosch observes, "one's theology of mission is always closely dependent on one's theology of salvation," then an exploration of how a Mennonite Brethren (MB) theology of mission has developed would also reflect tàeir undemanding of the nature of the gospel.^ The MB theology of mission has emerged through an active engagement with Scripture in the midst of changing contexts and realities. Hans Kasdorf describes this dynamic process as a "theology en route," where successive layers of complementary theological emphases (salvationist, kingdom, ^initarian, and holistic) merge to form a fuller understanding of mission.3

Th e mainline churches in Europe and North America are on the decline. Mainline denominations are struggling to reach the unchurched in a fast changing world. New ways of being church and doing mission are on the rise all over the world. Fresh Expressions is one of the ways that mainline congregations (especially in the Anglican Church in England) are seeking to be missional in contemporary culture. Th is study seeks to give a practical theological analysis of Fresh Expressions through some empirical and reflective work. A research team visited some Fresh Expressions initiatives in London and found a pattern of practice that can be described as inviting, accepting and challenging. Secondly, the researchers explore these fi ndings by using a perspective from New Testament ethics, evaluating Fresh Expressions through the lenses of community, cross and new creation. Lastly, a synthesis of the data is made and the researchers also look at possible applications of some aspects of the movement within mainline denominations in South Africa.

Paper 6 of compendium from Feb 2013 4-14 Window Consultation in Seoul.

Ph.D Dissertation, Fuller Theological Seminary, 2002

The contemporary church in Japan faces a formidable challenge. A steadily declining membership has thrown many churches into a crisis of survival. In a context of dynamic social change, churches are forced to reconsider their character, purpose, and mission. While many churches seem trapped in a mode of maintenance, others have seized the opportunity to boldly engage the social change around them repositioning their church to connect to the needs of a postmodern society. In so doing, they are cultivating a fresh understanding of what vitality ought to be for the contemporary church in Japan. Such churches are the core concern of this dissertation. While much of the church in Japan is in decline, these churches are growing numerically, spiritually, and relationally. This dissertation works at understanding what it behind this new growth. In the broadest sense, vitality in a church should mean giving hope to those who are suffering, challenging injustice, and proclaiming God’s redemptive plan for humanity. In this sense, vitality in a church arises from its being. As an investigative descriptive study, this dissertation offers a description of the present condition of the churches included in the field study, integrating these findingswith the background research. A survey of relevant issues in Japanese society and religion and the development of the Protestant church in Japan is also given, along with a discussion on contemporary perspectives of church vitality and the biblical notion of faith community. All of these areas are integrated with the intent of moving toward a deeper understanding of church vitality in the contemporary Japanese context.