Understanding the Nature of the Church to Clarify Its Purpose

books:

	• Ministry of the Missional Church, The: A Community Led by the Spirit Craig Van Gelder Baker Books, 2007 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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A Thoughtful and Articulate Look at Missional Ministry

This book is one of the textbooks for my seminary class entitled Congregation as Learning Community. It was a great starting point for this class, which is named after Everist's book with the same title, because Van Gelder forms a solid basis for thinking about ministry as a communal and missional activity. The open-systems perspective he uses integrates theology and organizational theory to craft a vision of how missional living should take place within the church and how pastors and leaders can be a part of shaping that vision. At times the open-systems perspective seemed a little too framed for me, as though we can capture the move of the Holy Spirit within a congregation by using tried and true organizational practices. Something I've noticed about missional communities is that they are open to God working in unexpected ways without trying to go back and deeply analyze the components of His working in that way, since those components usually shift in each individual circumstance. However, Van Gelder's diagrams are definitely valuable and a sight to see. He thoughtfully articulates in them the must-have attributes and processes of any missional ministry.

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Practical Implications of the Missional Church Conversation

The missional church denotes the community that follows the Spirit into the work that God is already doing in the world. In the nineteen eighties, questions concerning Christian mission within North America converged with questions about the nature of the church, resulting in the "missional church" concept. Craig Van Gelder presents Christian leaders with a vision of ministry that flows from this missional perspective. The whole life of the church community points to the "reign of God in Christ." Therefore, churches must understand their cultural context and discern how the Spirit is leading the community to participate in the creative action of the triune God.

The Ministry of the Missional Church suggests possible structures and patterns that are conducive to creating a community capable of discerning the Spirit. Van Gelder draws from organizational theories, as well as hermeneutics, and he ably weaves these theoretical concepts with practical applications. At the same time, structures must remain fluid and flexible in order to meet changes inside and outside the church. Van Gelder reminds us that the church is always reforming. Ideally, pastors, church leadership committees, and adult education and small groups will read and discuss The Ministry of the Missional Church together. Studied with open hearts and minds, they will find it challenging, and hopefully an impetus to look and see how the Spirit of God is leading them in their own contexts.

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Understanding the Nature of the Church to Clarify Its Purpose

There is movement today within the Church actively seeking to move beyond focusing on strategies and techniques that promise success, to understand the nature of the church as a Spirit-led, missional community.

Craig Van Gelder skillfully melds theology with organizational theory developing how the church should minister to the world and how ministers should carry out their ministry in the church. The premise of "The Ministry of the Missional Church" is that it is crucial to understand the Spirit's role in the creation of the church if we are to understand the purpose of the church in light of the ministry of the Sprit.

Van Gelder provides an outline for strategic action which is Biblically framed, theoretically informed and community discerned. He addresses five phases of the discernment process and a plan for community in a complex, dynamic, congregational open system perspective.

Craig then describes decision making coalitions for planned change, the cycle of change, and the responses to change.

Craig Van Gelder has masterfully presented a challenge to church ministers and church leadership to "let the church be the church, Spirit led, participating fully in God's mission in its particular context."

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In a time when churches are focusing on finding strategies and techniques to guarantee success, a movement toward the missional church is emerging. Missional churches are communities created by the Spirit with a unique nature and identity. Purpose and strategies of the church are derivative dimensions, the activities that flow naturally from the church that is focused on Spirit-led ministry. The Ministry of the Missional Church leads pastors, ministry leaders, and laypersons through three simple arguments--the church is; the church does what it is; the church organizes what it does--in order to make sense of how missional churches work. And by focusing the work of the church as the work of the Triune God, this unique book will change the way readers think about the church and the world.

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