Shaped by God’s Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches” by Milfred Minatrea (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004), 205 pages. This book is being widely read and is especially popular with pastors and church leaders under 40. Minatrea is a contemplative whose passion is intimacy with God (p. 205). He is also the director of the Missional Church Center for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. If you thought the term “contemplative Baptist” was an oxymoron, you will have to reconsider! Unlike fellow Baptist Rick Warren whose Purpose Driven model has been copied by thousands of churches, Minatrea isn’t prescribing a specific model to anyone: “My intent is not to create a model or models that you should seek to emulate. Rather, I hope that having seen what missional churches look like in other places, you may be led to observe your own church in this light. I hope that you will not leave your congregation, but rather influence it to become a life-giving missional community of authentic disciples” (p. xi). In other words, don’t leave – lead! So, what is “missional?” Minatrea points out the irony of a sleepy local church receiving offerings for missionaries while the church itself is having little transformational impact in its own community. This church needs to reclaim its New Testament role “with authenticity and energy.” Such a church can become missional: “a reproducing community of authentic disciples, being equipped as missionaries sent by God, to live and proclaim His kingdom in their world” (p. xvi). Church renewal begins with people who yearn for a relationship with God. “So the formula must be spirituality, then strategy, then structure. For many existing churches, long-established structures have become the forms through which any new endeavor must pass. If structures do not accommodate strategies, they destroy effectiveness. Mission is sacrificed on the altar of, ‘the way we do things here’” (p. xviii). Milfred’s been reading our mail! “Shaped by God’s Heart” is shaped into three sections: Part One is “The Church in a New and Changing World.” Part Two is “The Nine Essential Practices of Missional Churches,” and Part Three is “Structures and Strategies for Becoming Missional.” Reflection and application questions appear at the end of each chapter, making the book an ideal study guide for leadership teams in local churches. In Part One we get the news that the Church in America has lost home court advantage. In response many Christians have chosen to cluck their tongues and shake their heads, bewildered. They have retreated from the world and thus become progressively irrelevant (p. 7). But other Christians are responding with more hope. They recognize that “A church sent into an ever-changing environment must be fluid in its capacity to adapt while maintaining a clear commitment to its unchanging purpose and God’s eternal truth” (p. 9). Such churches move beyond maintenance, “reconnecting with God’s purpose for His church” (p. 11). Also in Part One Minatrea sets forth The Four Dimensions of Missional Churches: Love God, Live His Mission, Love People, and Lead Them to Follow. Each of these dimensions, in turn, has two corresponding “Passion Actions.” Love God: Worship, Obey Live His Mission: Serve, Share. Love People: Embrace, Invite. Lead Them to Follow: Equip, Empower. Mapped in a circle, these actions constitute “The Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Missional Churches” (p. 20). Minatrea devotes several pages to each of these actions. Of special interest to Church Over 40 subscribers is Passion Action 4: Share. Minatrea makes a helpful distinction between evangelism and “evangelization.” The latter “includes both the declaration and the demonstration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ” (p. 23). By demonstration he means acts of service, compassionate care for people in need, performed in honor of the One who came not to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45). Too many older churches know well how to talk about evangelism, but stop short of serving the needs of unchurched, pre-Christian neighbors. Part Two catalogs “The Nine Essential Practices of Missional Churches.”
Here are a few questions to ponder in light of these practices: Does your church offer a clear pathway to membership for persons interested in joining you on the journey of faith? Does membership require sacrifice? Is your church real in spirituality? Do your members have authentic, open, honest relationships? Does your Christian Education process focus on transferring biblical knowledge or fostering obedience to biblical truth? Is God the focus of your worship? Is worship participative and highly experiential? Do your church members think of themselves as sent out into the world as missionaries? Are they expected to spend time cultivating relationships with lost people? Do you expect your church to impact the community? “Being missional is not first about ministering among those we do not know, but living authentically among those we do know” (p. 92). Has each member identified a primary mission field, “an arena for which the disciple accepts responsibility as one sent to bear witness through words and actions to the reality of Christ’s redeeming love?” (p. 95). Does your church have a clearly stated purpose? Do you members know it? More importantly, do they live it? Does your budget reflect it? “When church members see their church’s best days as lying in the past, rather than believing they lie in the future, the events of yesterday’s calendar come to hold magical power. Many struggling congregations seek to go back to the future, instead of valuing yesterday’s experience as they faithfully walk toward tomorrow” (p. 106). Challenging words for churches over 40! Number 8 is the most distinctive trait of missional churches. They “measure growth by their capacity to release rather than retain” (p. 112). Does your church measure growth by getting bigger, or by maturing and releasing disciples? Are you involved in planting new churches? Do you understand that we are engaged in spiritual warfare? “Kingdom disciples live between the historic ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’ of God’s drama of redemption” (p. 131). Do you cooperate with other churches AND secular organizations in pursuit of Kingdom goals? Part Three addresses common concerns of Church Over 40 subscribers, including how to rejuvenate aging church structures and how to equip members for God given ministry roles. It offers a laundry list of leadership qualities like intimacy with God, humility, and (our favorite) “Being Uncomfortable with Comfort” (p. 160). Here is a nugget for those laboring to bring renewal to older churches: “Tradition is the living faith of those now departed. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those now living” (p. 163, quoting Jaraslov Pelikan). The last chapter is perhaps the most useful to church over 40 readers: “Moving to Missional.” The content of this chapter and the activities listed at the conclusion (p. 184) are worth the price of the book – much more than that, if you actually follow through and DO them! The Appendix is a “Missional Church Cultural Assessment,” something you can copy and give to your members, asking them to rate your church on a 7 scale in each of the Nine Practices. We take issue with Minatrea’s ill-conceived attacks on the
value of seminary education, an opinion we assume must be based
on ignorance. Still, we highly recommend this book. It’s a
good read for any pastor or lay leader in a church over 40, and
as an interactive study guide for leadership teams, it’s one
of the best available. Put it on your Christmas list and make a
New Year’s resolution to assemble a study group with an action
orientation. New years are great, but renewed churches are the best!
May God give you strength and encouragement as you lead your church
through positive change in the year ahead. We are praying for you.
Rev. Fred Oaks |