Our study will run for 5 sessions (October 7, 21, 28, November 4, 18.) Each week we will cover a portion of the book, but also draw on other resources to deepen our conversation about the readings.
The book is called Holy Currencies, by Eric Law. Its subtitle is: 6 Blessings for Sustainable Missional Ministries. Eric Law is a church resource person, and has found that 2 questions are practically universal in the workshops he leads: 1) How can the church be reaching out for new members? 2) How can we be financially viable?
Sustainability, in both the environmental and financial sense, is not a new concept for the church. A "missional" church, however, is a recent concept for most United Church folk. We are very accustomed to the notion of mission, and the people who do it (missionaries). But what does it mean for a whole CHURCH to be MISSIONAL?
The missional living
concept is rooted in the Missio
dei (Latin,
"the sending of God"). In 1934, Karl Hartenstein, a German missiologist,
coined the phrase in response to Karl Barth and his
emphasis on actio Dei ("the
action of God").
The missional church
movement first arose during the end of the 20th century and the beginning of
the 21st century.
The movement seeks to
rethink and redefine the nature of the church and create a new paradigm in
which churches are seen as missional in nature, instead of attractional in
nature. Leaders in the movement argue that instead of churches attempting to
attract people to churches through church programs, churches should instead
take the gospel outside of the church and engage society with the gospel, often
by being involved not only in missions and evangelism but also in social
justice movements.
The missional church
defines itself in terms of its mission — being "sent ones" who take
the gospel to and incarnate the gospel within a specific cultural context.
A missional church is a church that looks outward
- from internal to external focus
- from program development to people development-from Church-based leadership to "kingdom based" leadership
(fulfilling God’s mission, rather than the church’s)
Eric Law combined the concepts of sustainable and missional in setting up the Kaleidoscope Institute. The seed money came from the remainder of his contract on Diocesan staff, to become an independent consultant going beyond the diocese to lead workshops for many denominations.
Over time, he has developed an appreciation for 6 different resources (or currencies) that keep churches sustainable. He uses currency to remind us that these resources have to keep flowing in order to work for us - they cannot be held back or they will stagnate.
Time and place - offering leadership wherever we find ourselves;
Gracious Leadership
– creating the right environment, respect, diversity;
Relationships –
developing internal bonds within the community of faith and external bonds in the communities around us;
Truth – naming
injustice through dialogue rather than debate;
Wellness – seeking
wellness in every aspect , removing obstacles to currency;
Money – investing in people means we begin the cycle of blessings over again.
In scripture, we find stories of God’s people using their wits to renew God’s
presence, to survive – moving beyond the accepted tradition in order to create
something new and relevant.
for example, in the stories of Jacob:
1. Jacob’s blessing Genesis 25:29-34 -
Puts blessing in the hands of the one who recognizes its value
2. Rebekah’s
plotting Genesis 27:5-29 -
The ability to discern when it is time to act
3. Laban’s
tricks Jacob Genesis 29:15-30 -
Does the end justify the means?
4. Rachel
and Leah’s competition Genesis 30:14-23 -
Birthing the twelve tribes of Israel
5. Jacob’s
prosperity Genesis 30:25-43 cross-breeding -
Feeding
the 12 tribes of Israel
In what ways do we have to put our creativity to work to shape our churches to be more missional?
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