Missional Movement?

There hasn't been a lot on this blog recently, but every so often something turns up that it seems important to take note of.  This latest post from Mike Breen is one such item.  He's discussing the effect of Western individualism on the missional framework. He begins this way:

Since we began experimenting with discipleship, Missional Communities, and the like in England in the 1990s, we have been partners and friends in what you might call the missional movement. It has been fantastic to see all that God has done through what we believe is a work of his Spirit in remobilizing the church for mission.

.....However, I think if we’re honest, it’s not producing the kind of church we see in the book of Acts. At worst it stirs up guilt that we’re “not doing enough,” and at best it produces people who have a vague conviction that they should be “missional” at work, at school, in the neighborhood, etc, but who don’t really know how to do it in a non-weird way, so we either end up saying something awkward or we say nothing at all.

This isn't a long blog post, but it's well worth visiting.

Wright's five act play...

Andrew Perriman discusses Tom Wright's 'five act play analogy for biblical authority' in a recent blog post, and, while he finds it has value, doesn't think it goes quite far enough.

He notes:

...it is a useful analogy. It gets away from the Bible-is-authoritative-because-it-says-so approach, and it brings into the foreground—stage front, if you like—the concrete, intentional, creative response of the biblical community. So far, so good.

My main disagreement with Wright here is that, in his view of things, history more or less grinds to a halt when we get to Paul.

To find out why he thinks so - and his thinking develops Wright rather than dismissing it - read it online here.

Being a Do-Gooder

More than one person in the world has begun to do small acts of kindness (sometimes 'random acts of kindness') with effects far beyond what they expected.

Debbie Tenzer is a marketing professional who felt helpless to change the state of the world with regard to war, crime and the schools in Los Angeles. So, she started with small gestures of kindness on Mondays, her own most difficult day. Then friends soon suggested she post these activities on a website, and DoOneNiceThing.com was born.

"OK, I can't fix needy schools, but I could give them my children's old schoolbooks," Debbie says. "I can't end the war, but I can send a phone card so a soldier can call home and feel comforted. I decided then I'd find a way to do one nice thing for someone every week."

Now she communicates with "nice-oholics" in 53 countries — people inspired by the Web site. Amongst other things they pour tons of school supplies into Afghanistan, meet the needs of students fleeing hurricane Katrina in Mississippi, and send sweaters to help people endure the bitter winter winds in Iraq.

Sharing these stories gives other people hope, Tenzer says. "The world is an imperfect place, and there's a lot to do and we can do."

Too often people in our congregation find it hard to know where to start. Either of these sites might give someone the impetus to get out and 'be kind.'