A Jesus Manifesto For The 21st Century Church

A Magna Carta

for Restoring the Supremacy of

Jesus Christ

a.k.a.

A Jesus Manifesto

for the 21^st Century Church

By Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

Christians have made the gospel about so many things … things other than Christ.

Jesus Christ is the gravitational pull that brings everything together and gives them significance, reality, and meaning. Without him, all things lose their value. Without him, all things are but detached pieces floating around in space.

It is possible to emphasize a spiritual truth, value, virtue, or gift, yet miss Christ . . . who is the embodiment and incarnation of all spiritual truth, values, virtues, and gifts.

Seek a truth, a value, a virtue, or a spiritual gift, and you have obtained something dead.

Seek Christ, embrace Christ, know Christ, and you have touched him who is Life. And in him resides all Truth, Values, Virtues and Gifts in living color. Beauty has its meaning in the beauty of Christ, in whom is found all that makes us lovely and loveable.

What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology. Christianity is not a philosophy. Christianity is the “good news” that Beauty, Truth and Goodness are found in a person. Biblical community is founded and found on the connection to that person. Conversion is more than a change in direction; it’s a change in connection. Jesus’ use of the ancient Hebrew word shubh, or its Aramaic equivalent, to call for “repentance” implies not viewing God from a distance, but entering into a relationship where God is command central of the human connection. Read the rest here:
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Reggie McNeal - Missional Church Part 1

For several years I had this deep disturbing feeling that the way I had been taught to do and to lead the church was wrong. Deep down I felt there was something missing - that the church was not what Jesus ever intended then to be. It was painful for me. About two years ago I began to see blogs, articles and a few books on what is called "Missional Church". I read what they said and it resonated deeply within me. Since then I have learned much more about the Missional Church and have come to believe that this is what Jesus had in mind.


The two videos below are of Reggie McNeal talking with the pastors and lay persons of the Reformed Church of America. He does a fantasic job of explaining who the church today needs to make some adjustments. I have been guilty of all the things you will hear Reggie say about the things that are wrong with today's church. But I hope to lead in such a way that we can move the church back to what Jesus had in mind. Enjoy.

Reggie McNeal - Missional Church Part 2

A Fransican Benediction

If there is such a thing as a missional benediction, this is one:


May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

Why go to church?

The statements below come from a church in the Chicago area:

Some people go to church to get something: feel-good music, fascinating sermons, fun stuff for kids. They evaluate church based on what they get out of it. However, this turns church into a product to be distributed, used, and discarded. Christians become consumers. God is shrunk into a personal-need provider, and the glue holding together his people is mere taste and self-interest.

Really, church is about participating in what God is doing, being his Body, allowing him to heal us, transform us, and use us to his glory.

At Life on the Vine we are a family committed to each other and to Jesus, the Head of our household. When we assemble for worship, his message is preached, his Spirit is present, and his people are restored, healed, and gradually conformed into his likeness. We invite you to participate, test the spirits, and allow the Holy Spirit to form your life.

Life On The Vine has three commitments

Transformational
When we gather for worship, or in confession during the week, may our encounter with God in Christ truly shape who we are. Seeking more than emotional arousal or intellectual critique, let us join those who have gone before us and submit our minds, bodies, and souls to the living Lord.

Communal
Whether at a local house gathering, a church potluck, or the Lord's Table, may God grant us hearts of hospitality, embracing one another in the unity of the Spirit. Let us be an authentic community that journeys together, bearing one another's burdens and speaking truth in love.

Missional
Every day may we be Christ's presence to the hurting, lost, and victimized people of this world. Let us welcome the stranger and offer words of life. Joining hands with churches around the globe, we participate in what God is doing to redeem the world to himself.

Here's a link to Life On The Vine's website:http://www.lifeonthevine.org/index.html

What do you think of their understanding of church and what it means to be missional? Comments are always welcomed!

From LAX

I'm beginning this new blog from Delta gate 51A as I wait form my flight to Las Vegas where I will wait for four hours to a flight to Minneapolis and then wait for a flight to Grand Rapids. If everything goes well I will be back in Grand Rapids around 9:30 AM tomorrow. I'm here because I just traveled across the country with my son Justin who will be out here until December studying at the Los Angeles Film Study Center(www.lafsc.com) where he will be in an internship with some film or TV production company. Justin is one of an elite group of 50 students from across the country who was accepted into this great program. We are very proud of him and very excited for him. At the same time we will miss him very much!

One of the highlights of our trip was the Grand Canyon. I wasn't prepared for it's spectacular beauty. Pictures don't do it justice, you just have to see it. The picture below shows Justin as he prepares to take a picture.

In the weeks to come I'm going to be posting on the concept of what it means to be missional. This is not a new concept, it is a concept that has been around as long as God has. In fact, the first things we need to understand is that God is missional. That being so, it means it has implications for us as individuals and for the church. In the mean time if you would like to do some reading about things missional click this link http://www.friendofmissional.org/