PCUSA and Missional Church

What does “missional” mean? Earlier this month, I was at a Presbyterian Church, USA meeting that included presbytery and synod executives, General Assembly Council members, and a few other leaders of denominational entities (see earlier post). We had read articles by Darrell Guder in advance and then heard a presentation on being missional by Guder to kick off our time together.

As the group engaged in small group discussions, it was clear that the term “missional” had a range of diverse meanings for us; some would likely be unrecognizable to those who first popularized the term. Feedback from small groups suggested that we must first define “missional” before we seek to explore its implications for our lives together. There was real doubt about whether or not we Presbyterians could ever settle on such a definition.

However, some among us asserted that we had already defined “missional.” Chapter 3 of the PCUSA Book of Order describes being “missional.” Here is what the writing team offered as a “definition” of missional. What do you think for those of you who are passionate about being a missional church?

The Church and its mission is given by God’s activity in the world as told in the Bible and understood by faith….

The Church of Jesus Christ is the provisional demonstration of what God intends for all of humanity. The Church is called to be a sign in and for the world of the new reality, which God has made available to people in Jesus Christ. The new reality revealed in Jesus Christ is the new humanity, a new creation, a new beginning for human life in the world: Sin is forgiven. Reconciliation is accomplished. The dividing walls of hostility are torn down.

The Church is the body of Christ, both in its corporate life and in the lives of its individual members, and is called to give shape and substance to this truth. The Church is called to tell the good news of salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and Lord, proclaiming in Word and Sacrament that the new age has dawned. God who creates life, frees those in bondage, forgives sin, reconciles brokenness, makes all things new, is still at work in the world.

The Church is called to present the claims of Jesus Christ, leading persons to repentance, acceptance of him as Savior and Lord, and new life as his disciples.

The Church is called to be Christ’s faithful evangelist going into the world, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all he has commanded; demonstrating by the love of its members for one another and by the quality of its common life the new reality in Christ; sharing in worship, fellowship, and nurture, practicing a deepened life of prayer and service under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; participating in God’s activity in the world through its life for others by healing and reconciling and binding up wounds, ministering to the needs of the poor, the sick, the lonely, and the powerless, engaging in the struggle to free people from sin, fear, oppression, hunger, and injustice, giving itself and its substance to the service of those who suffer, sharing with Christ in the establishing of his just, peaceable, and loving rule in the world.

The Church is called to undertake this mission even at the risk of losing its life, trusting in God alone as the author and giver of life, sharing the gospel, and doing those deeds in the world that point beyond themselves to the new reality in Christ.

The Church is called… to a new openness to the possibilities and perils of its institutional forms in order to ensure the faithfulness and usefulness of these forms to God’s activity in the world, [and] to a new openness to God’s continuing reformation of the Church ecumenical, that it might be a more effective instrument of mission in the world.

(Book of Order, Chapter III, “The Church and Its Mission,” G‐3.0100, 3.0200‐3.0400, 3.0401c,d.)

Comments

[Darren]

"The Church of Jesus Christ is the provisional demonstration of what God intends for all of humanity. The Church is called to be a sign in and for the world of the new reality, which God has made available to people in Jesus Christ. The new reality revealed in Jesus Christ is the new humanity, a new creation, a new beginning for human life in the world: Sin is forgiven. Reconciliation is accomplished. The dividing walls of hostility are torn down."



Sounds a lot like a radically catholic vision of the church. Unfortunately, it also doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard in any of the PCUSA churches I've encountered. One thing that I think is missing (unless it is elsewhere than the section you posted) is Eph 3:10 - through the church the wisdom of God is proclaimed to the powers. It is precisely by being the community of reconciliation in Eph 4 that the powers see this. So even though the book of order says, "the Church is called to undertake this mission even at the risk of losing its life," I think it would do well to articulate precisely why it might lose its life. Let's get real about the rulers and authorities and through who/what their rebellion against the ascended Lord is manifested, even as we call to them to submit to his Lordship.

[preacherman]

I want to thank you for sharing this information with us. I know that it has helped me understand more what missional means and really where God is directing His church.

[Viola Larson]

Michael,
Thanks for posting this. I think it is good. It takes all of the terms like God's new reality and places them in Jesus Christ where they belong. It does not separate what Jesus Christ has already done from what God is doing. What Jesus Christ has done is the new reality. That is one of the problems I was having with Paul Hooker's What is Missional Ecclesiology? . If you are interested see http://www.naminggrace.org/id68.htm. I do need to read some of Darrell Guder. I am writing of Missional blind!

[Michael W. Kruse]

Darren

I didn't mean to imply that this was descriptive of what PCUSA congregations presently are. I'd also add that I don't know of many churches who claim to be missional that would fit this description by their actions either.

Rather, we are looking for those things in our Presbyterian DNA that we can draw on to call forth a missional reformation. All PCUSA pastors, elders, and deacons take ordination vows that say they agree to be governed by the polity of the church. These statements come from chapter 3 of the BOO are in the first four chapters, which is the foundational statement about who we believe God has called the church to be. So if we take our vows seriously, we have already affirmed we will take these words seriously. We can now ask the question, "Are we taking this seriously?"

Preacherman and Viola

See my earlier post for links to three online articles by Guder about being missional: "Presbyfest" and Missional Presbyterians

For a quick summary of the questions we are confronted with see: On Becoming Missional in the Twilight of Christendom

[ceemac]

1st reaction: It's too long. Can it be described in 25 or so words that stick in the memory. Maybe in the form of poetry or a hymn instead of several paragraphs of prose.

2nd reaction: I have about decided that "missional" has been used so much that it is a useless term. When used by a Presbyterian it seems to mean getting rid of those aspects of being Presbyterian that the speaker/writer does not like.

3rd reaction (that occured as I was rereading #1): Maybe John Bell's "The Summons" is close to the type of defintion that I was talking about in #1

[Viola Larson]

Thanks Michael,
I have so far down loaded two of those and read one. I will read them all and your posting. That is very helpful.

[Darren]

I realize this was not meant to be descriptive, my sentence beginning "unfortunately" was actually a lament, not a critique. I would love to see PCUSA churches - missional or otherwise - live this out.

[Michael W. Kruse]

Ceemac

All good points. At this point I'd be happy to get folks energized about what they say they already have in common through these statments. The term "missional," and a concise definition of the term, are secondary issues that may (or may not) come latter as I see it. Thanks for the Bell heads up.

Viola

You're welcome!

Darren

Amen!