Missional Christianity, Pt. 1 - God is On a Mission
Note: This is the first of a series of lessons I'm writing for some of our small groups to work through the idea of "missional Christianity."
The other day, I visited a historic cathedral in New York City. It was a beautiful building, but walking through it I couldn’t help but feel the tension. Sure, part of it was the hundred or so tourists snapping selfies. Yet is was deeper as well. Donation boxes were everywhere. Three gaudy penny-press machines flanked the main aisle. A few people were gathering for mass, but they kept their heads down and were ushered through gates by security while the other visitors walked by. Here was this glorious church, and yet somehow it had ceased to be a beacon of light shining in the dark world and had become instead a tourist trap. It was trying to continue as an institution while having lost all sense of its mission. This isn't just a problem for this one church - it is an affliction of the church in the West as a whole. We have lost…
The other day, I visited a historic cathedral in New York City. It was a beautiful building, but walking through it I couldn’t help but feel the tension. Sure, part of it was the hundred or so tourists snapping selfies. Yet is was deeper as well. Donation boxes were everywhere. Three gaudy penny-press machines flanked the main aisle. A few people were gathering for mass, but they kept their heads down and were ushered through gates by security while the other visitors walked by. Here was this glorious church, and yet somehow it had ceased to be a beacon of light shining in the dark world and had become instead a tourist trap. It was trying to continue as an institution while having lost all sense of its mission. This isn't just a problem for this one church - it is an affliction of the church in the West as a whole. We have lost…
