The world is going urban and the urban world is going young. Leadership is shifting rapidly from the aging to the young and talented. Theology of the young is being shaped by a global informational system moving at warp speed.
Will the emerging leaders of the world get caught up in the theological arguments of the West and the incessant babbling and reaction to a Western faith that has lost its way? Is it possible for young leaders outside the West to move beyond the present wars within the church calling for a different kind of faith? Does the whole world need different kind of faith? Has the mission and faith of the West missed the gospel entirely and simply produced a step child faith within other cultures that will utimately call Jesus down out of heaven to wipe us all off the earth?
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I believe that part of the problem is that we in the West are trying to apply the term "missional" to an already entrenched form or expression of church. We think missional is about being cool and hip and we mistake it for being "emerging" since its the flavor-of-the-day buzzword. Are we truly being missional in the West? If the core essence of being missional is to take on the mentality and perspective of a missionary then I'd say we're not missional.
As a Church Planting Strategist I get guys who want to come to Tucson and plant a "mega-church." I've come to see that that is such a silly statement. How absurd would it be for a missionary to go into the jungles of Brazil and proclaim to the loin-cloth-wearing-natives, "Folks, we're gonna plant us a bona fide Ed Young Jr type mega-church!" Absurd. Why is it absurd in that context and not ours? I think its because while we throw around the term missional we're not really willing to get dirty and uncomfortable to embody the definition.
Because in many parts of Tucson if one we're to truly be missional then new expressions of church must arise. It's not an abandonment of church, but actually going through the painful process of contextualization and truly becoming an indigenous church. I think the ramifications of living missionally scares a lot of folks. If we really want to win the West, to stop our petty debates, then we need a new ecclesiology (or epxression of) in order for the church to gain traction in the margins.
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