Home Missions Regional Listening Cluster

As part of my Extended Professional Development Leave (EPDL), I attended a "Home Missions Regional Listening Cluster" sponsored by Home Missions. Sheila organized this event for the churches of Classis Eastern Canada. About fifteen or so people came together to share a lunch and then stories of how their churches, and their lives, are moving in missional ways. It just so happened that two others from Calvin CRC were present, which was surprising. They were wearing other hats than Calvin congregational members. As we discussed and shared for several hours, here are some of the points that I picked up:

1. It's important to have people share their stories about their walk with God. It reaffirms what is happening in the life of the person sharing, and it encourages those who are listening. I was very encouraged by what I was hearing about others' lives, and their churches. I was reminded of how Calvin invites people to become members. We don't just have them stand up and "wave," but we have them do a reaffirmation of faith (and the congregation does that with them), and then we try to get at least one person to share with us why they came to become a member of Calvin and where they are at in their journey with God. Welcoming new members into the church has always been a wonderful time of edification for me, and I hope for others in our church as well.

2. It's important to help people discover what their passions are, and allow them (dare I say challenge them) to serve God out of those passions. Several people expressed their joy as they were being missional in their communities. Much of that came because they were serving God in ways that were a match for their gifting. I was reminded again that it's been a while since we've held a gifting course at Calvin. We need to do that again this Fall. 3. One woman shared her sadness that the church has fallen so short in the area of missional living. She came to Christ BECAUSE her church was so giving, loving, serving, caring, full of grace with her. She just assumed that was how church WAS. Unfortunately, she has come to see that her case may be unique. The church CAN be like that, but it's sporadic at best. This saddened her and her goal has been to try to get the church to be the same with everyone as they were with her. That got me to thinking about Calvin CRC. I know we have welcomed many people into our community over the years I've been here, but we've also lost several people for the very reasons this woman expresses concern. 4. I was reminded again that being missional is all about relationships, relationships, relationships. Whether in the church, or beyond it's walls, it's not about programs, it's about people. Relationships take time, however. They can be messy. They can even cause us stress. In our stressed out lives relationships don't always seem to be something we want to delve into. It seems that ministry programs are a safer way to be church. I wonder about that.... often. : ) 5. The issue of church planting came up. One person thought that maybe the days of planting churches are waning, and planting ministries should be the new way to go. Maybe a new church has no building at all. Maybe it's about being out there in the world. A tension was then aptly noted. So.... what about meeting together each Sunday for mutual edification? Some really struggled with that whole concept. Why do I come to church on Sunday? Should I just be out in my community on Sunday meeting people? Now, as this is my blog, I'll throw my two cents into the ring here. :) I think it's a valid struggle. People are changing their church attendance habits. I've certainly seen it in the seven years I've been at Calvin CRC. Life is busy, and church fits in where it can. Being a member means different things to different people now. The definition of community is a moving target nowadays. How does the church work in this ever fluid environment? It certainly isn't easy, but the dialogue is good. I think it's a both/and for me. I need to be ministering out in my broader community, but I also need a community I can come back to for feeding and leading, fellowship and support. If you don't have both, you are unbalanced and either your community ministry suffers, or your sense of belonging to the church of Christ suffers. Neither is good for a Christian. Leading is good, but feeding is equally important. 6. Our sharing time also brought out the age old question of, "In our missional mindset, where does the mentioning of Christ fit into the mix?" I've pondered much about that question myself. We have both sides in our church fellowship. Those that feel we should "serve, and if necessary use words," and those that feel that the name of Christ must be injected somewhere in the relationship at some point. After much thinking, I can see both points of view, but I'm one who probably sides with the latter. The name of Christ is powerful, the Scriptures equally so, and the Holy Spirit can work in ways that we can't even imagine. In all we do as missional people, if we are doing it with the right motivation and Christ at the centre, then at some point people will discover our DNA (meaning we are followers of THE WAY) and ask about it, and we then need to be ready to have a response.... something I'll talk about in another blog entry. It was really good to have the time to share with each other. I saw many individuals and churches thinking through, or acting on, their missional yearnings. I had to examine myself and came to realize I have work to do in this area as well. Part of my EPDL will be spending a week with Jason from OIM and learning more about homeless street youth. I'm looking forward to that. It will stretch me and it will get me out of my church building as well. I also had to think about the church I serve, Calvin CRC. A great church. Full of loving, kind, God loving people. I've seen people generously give of themselves to new people who have come to our community, or donate to mission trips, Christian Education, refugees, etc. Yet, we are at a crossroads I think. Maybe even a bit of an identity crisis (or a continuing one)? We are quite good at welcoming people into our building, somewhat good at keeping them once they settle in, but we are probably lacking more on the missional side of things. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are pockets of it going on, but there is no real excitement, inertia, or community ownership of things missional, if we are going to be honest with ourselves. I'm hopeful our next planning time in September will help us; strengthen our identity, discover why we do what we do, and begin a journey of discovery and adventure as we try to engage the community around us. If Calvin is going to thrive, we must grapple with what being missional really means. So, as I continue on in my EPDL, these are just some reflective thoughts that have come to mind so far. I was grateful for the opportunity to be part of this think tank group. I am thankful that God is calling people to live each day for Him and for their neighbour so that they will come to know Him. How are you answering that call in your heart?