Transcript Document

NOBTS Chaplaincy Conference
February 18-20, 2013
Session 3- Missional Church
Culture Matters
Breaking the Missional Code
(Ed Stetzer)
• “Cultural barriers blind people from understanding
the Gospel; missional people find a breakthrough”
• “If the church doesn’t examine its culture, it ends up
a culture unto itself”
• “The key to breaking the code of a community is to
have the heart of the Father for that community”
• We are sent by God…to all kinds of people…with a
God-given message…empowered by the Holy Spirit
A Case Study
Acts 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at
Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that
the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the
synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in
the marketplace every day with those who happened to
be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic
philosophers also conversed with him. And some said,
“What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He
seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he
was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus,
saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you
are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to
our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things
mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who
lived there would spend their time in nothing except
telling or hearing something new.
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said:
“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very
religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the
objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this
inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you
worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God
who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of
heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by
man,25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he
needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind
life and breath and everything.
26 And he made from one man every nation of
mankind to live on all the face of the earth,
having determined allotted periods and the
boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they
should seek God, and perhaps feel their way
toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far
from each one of us, 28 for ‘In him we live and
move and have our being’; as even some of your
own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his
offspring.’
29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think
that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an
image formed by the art and imagination of man.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now
he commands all people everywhere to repent,
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge
the world in righteousness by a man whom he has
appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all
by raising him from the dead.”32 Now when they
heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked.
But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
33 So Paul went out from their midst.
Taking the Gospel to the Culture
1. Acknowledge the Spiritual Questions (17:22,23)
“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very
religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects
of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription,
‘To the unknown god.’
What Is Missional?
• A Biblically faithful, culturally appropriate,
reproducing community of Christ-followers who
abandon themselves to passionately pursue the
living out of God’s mission to reach all peoples.
(The Missional Church of North America, John Bailey, NAMB Church Planting Group)
What Is Missional?
• “A community of believers in Jesus Christ
who accepts the invitation to join in the
mission of God for the world around us
that God so desperately loves.”
Discipling Our Nation, Cam Roxburgh)
Empirical Indicators of
A Missional church
• It proclaims the Gospel publicly, audibly, visibly.
• It is a community where all members are
learning to become disciples of Jesus Christ.
• The Bible is normative in the church’s life.
• The church understands it is different from the
world because of its participation in Jesus’ life,
death, and resurrection.
“The Gospel and O ur Culture”, by
Eddie Gibbs 10:3, Sep 1998
Empirical Indicators of
A Missional church (cont’d)
• Seeks to discern God’s specific missional
vocation for the church and all its members
• Its members practice, love, self-sacrifice, and
generosity to each other and the community.
• It practices reconciliation
• Members are accountable to one another.
• It practices hospitality
Empirical Indicators of
A Missional church (cont’d)
• Worship is the central act by which the
community celebrates with joy both God’s
presence and His promised future.
• It has a vital public witness.
• There is recognition that the church itself is an
incomplete expression of the reign of God.
*Question, How do these missional indicators apply to
the Chaplaincy?
Being A Missional Church
or Chaplain Means….
1. Having a positive and loving view of your
neighborhood, city, institution
2. Speaking in a contextual language
a) avoids tribal talk, stylized prayer language,
unnecessary evangelical pious jargon, archaic words
b) Avoids “we-them” language, disdainful jokes that
mock people of different politics, beliefs, etc.
c) Avoids talking as if non-believers are absent
Being A Missional Church
or Chaplain Means….
3. Enter and re-tell the culture’s stories with the
Gospel; know your audience, and institution!
ILL- Feb 3, 1942, USS Dorchester, and John 15:13
4. Create Christian community which is countercultural and counter-intuitive
EX- Christian views on sex, money, power is different from culture
5. Practice Christian unity as much as possible
ILL- “Cooperate without compromise”; respectful of diversity
Missional Readiness
• Requires an understanding of God’s intent for the
world (God’s purpose, power, plan)
• Missio Dei- this term suggests that “God does not
merely send us on mission. God is already on mission,
and the church must join Him.” (EX- Acts 8:26-39)
• Who and what is your personal mission field?
• What is God’s mission for your place of ministry?
• What prevents you from being missional in your
ministry setting? How are you addressing them?
The Missional Church Should Be…
• “Incarnational” (deeply connected to the
community)
• “Indigenous” (reflect to some degree the
culture of the community)
• “Intentional” (their methodologies have
purpose leading to a focus on the mission and
purposes of God)
The Main Concerns Over Missional?
• Loss of tradition
-the traditional methods (worked well since 1845) vs. a
new ministry engagement with the culture
• Suspicion over the “new ways”
• Solution? Missional churches must:
– Contend for the faith once delivered to the saints
– Contextualize their ministries
– Cooperate w/other churches for the Kingdom of God
•
Chaplaincy Strategy
Engage Pastors and Denominational Leaders
• Provide roster of chaplains in region to State Execs,
CPCs, DoMs, etc.
• Assist State Execs in the development of an annual
Chaplaincy training event
• Invite local pastors to chaplains’ institutional settings
• Ensure ministerial alliances include chaplain reps
• Establish military church plants in Send Cities
Chaplaincy Strategy
Enlist Chaplains In the SNA Mission
• Emphasize to endorsed chaplains the importance of
active membership in the local church
• Include Send North America updates in regional
chaplain training events
• Increase emphasis on evangelism
• Recruit Chaplains into the Church Planter Farm System
• Chaplain Alfred Carpenter
GOALS
EMBRACE Chaplains
Reintegration/Ministry “redirection” strategy
NAMB Appreciation letter and gift card or book
July 4, 2013 – “Salute To The Military”
EDUCATE Churches
Resources on NAMB/chaplaincy website
Video of the Chaplaincy Story
Prayers Cards (“Chaplain” deck in May/Jun 2013)
Ministry To Military Handbook
Challenges
Personnel
- 7 staff managing 3600 chaplains; 1 volunteer
- Staff Vacancies
- Vocational Chaplaincy/Professional (since Mar 2012)
- Volunteer Chaplaincy (since Dec 2010)
Budget
- Loss of Chief of Chaplains’ Offering in 2013; impact is a $50k shortfall in
funding for regional chaplain training and resources
Religious Liberty
- Increasing secular tension within the institutional setting
Institutional/Governmental Budget cuts
- Possible 25% reduction in force
Calendar
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Chaplain Development Conferences
Feb 18-20 NOBTS
Mar 18-20 SWBTS
Apr 22-24 SBTS
Jul 6 – 11 European
Sep 15-18 Pacific
Oct 14-16 MBTS
Oct 21-23 SEBTS
Nov 11-13 SoCal
Locations
New Orleans, LA
Fort Worth, TX
Louisville, KY
Interlaken, Switzerland
Lihue, Kauai
Kansas City, KS
Wake Forest, NC
El Cajon, CA
Supporting Core Value (s)
1,3 and 4
1,3 and 4
1,3 and 4
1,3 and 4
1,3 and 4
1,3 and 4
1,3 and 4
1,3 and 4
2013 Chaplaincy Events
Locations
Supporting Core Value (s)
•
Jan 13-18 National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces
Washington, DC
Winnsboro, SC
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
Des Moines, IA
Camp Lejeune, NC
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
Kansas City/Topeka, KS
Ft. Irwin/Los Angeles, CA
Ft. Campbell/Nashville, TN
SBC Wide Churches
Amherst, OH
Ft. Drum/Groton, CT
2
2
2, and 3
2, 1, and 3
2
3, and 4
3, and 4
3, and 4
3, and 4
1, 2, 3, and 4
2
3, and 4
•
Jan 28-29 SCBC Planning Meeting
•
Jan 31-Feb 1National Prayer Breakfast
•
Feb 12-13 Iowa Church/Chaplaincy Conference
•
Feb 28 BSCNC meet w/Larry Jones
•
Apr 6-12 PC/CAST (
•
Apr 15-18 Army CAST
•
Apr 30- May 2 Army CAST
•
May 20-23 Army CAST
•
Jul 4 Military Chaplains Day (SBC Wide)
•
Jul 7 Chicago Ministerial Alliance Meeting
•
Aug 19-22 Army CAST
-------------------------------NAMB Core Values:
Whatever It Takes
Respect Our Partners
Love our Missionaries and Chaplains
Do more with less
•