Right now we are going through a two week series entitled "missional".  Over the last several years the term missional has become quite the buzz word in evangelical circles.  Seemingly, there are many who grab buzz words and attach them to their church missions statement or core values without even considering or defining what these words or phrases actually mean.  I, however, would like to clearly explain what missional means so that I am not guilty of doing the same thing.  Rather than merely having the word included in our missions statement, I would prefer to see it played out in our church culture... that the people who make up our church know what it means and know how to live it out.  

 The basic characteristic of a missional church starts with the people.  And what I mean by that is that a church is not simply creating an evangelistic program called "missional" and now we can be called a missional church. Rather, I think it has to come down to the people.  

So, I think the real question is... are the people missional and how can we gage that? We can gage this by asking ourselves one question... "do our people, as a whole, care about the common good in our city and our world?"

To be missional is to live life as a missionary. A good missionary contextualizes the Gospel wherever he or she is placed. This means that the missionary understands the people of whom they are engaging with in the Gospel.  The problem with many Christians is that we have an "us" and "them" mentality in regards to how we relate to those who do not know Jesus.  Sometimes we have created such a subculture we often do not see the needs of those around us or even share the same concerns. 

Jesus was the perfect example of what it means to live as a missionary.  He "made himself nothing (or emptied himself), taking the form of a servant..." (Phil. 2:7).  Jesus was often for the common good. Jesus' ministry was full of feeding the poor, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, etc.  but he did so to display the beauty of the Gospel. 

My good friend Winfield Bevins speaks further on this topic:

So, when we talk about missional... I want us to pled with God to show us where we do not see the needs in our city and in our world.  I hope we can display the Gospel of Jesus by the way we love those in our neighborhood, in our work place, in our schools, etc.  Let us ask God to allow us see the world through the lens of the Gospel and not through the lens of cultural Christianity.  Lord, help us be missional.