missional...seeing what is in front of you
( the sign says...you can rarely see what is right in front of you )
A phrase that has had a significant impact on my thoughts and actions the past year or so comes from Eugene Peterson...
“The way of Jesus is always local and ordinary”
It didn't take long after the emerging virus was inoculated into the faith conversation for it to mutate into all things " missional ". Now don't get me wrong, both are extremely important. But missional has evolved...from folks just doin' it living among the poor and homeless, to interviews, to writing books, to conference speakers...to marketing " how to be missional."
It's like we've complicated what it is to be missional. For the average joe, stumbling down the path trying to work out what it is to be a faithful follower of Jesus, Eugene Peterson's words are encouraging. The way of Jesus is always local and ordinary...it's right in front of my face, the goings and comings of my every day life. To be missional for the average follower...is to be Jesus in that space.
Missional does not have to be spectacular. It is simple. There has not been a day in my life where I have not had a chance to be missional. If I have the eyes to see, and the ears to hear...the opportunities are aways before me, and around me. The challenge is to take that little mustard seed of faith, and plant it missionally in my everyday living.
Check out this post, Ron: http://nakedpastor.com/archives/1952#more-1952
Posted by: jim | April 10, 2008 at 05:41 PM