Mission in the Neighborhood

Conceptual Explosives

Before being put to death for his part in Nazi resistance, Dietrich Bonhoeffer began working on a book about the role of the church. All we have are some notes and an outline, but in this outline we hear what he called the “conceptual explosives within the walls of the ecclesiastical establishment.” His core belief was the church was only the church when it existed for others. If Jesus is the one for others, then the church as the body of Christ is only the church when it exists to be of service to people. He wrote:

The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell people of every calling what it means too live in Christ, to exist for others. (Letters and Papers from Prison)

In this issue, I have found myself wondering what it means to be a church for others. What does it mean for the church to give itself away?

In that spirit, a few ideas:

#1 Redefining Mission

Most churches consider missions to be some mixture of church initiatives, denominational ministries, and local programs. Almost all of them are doing good things. But what if missions support were defined differently? What if missions were defined as the place members were during the week?

Wayne Schwab, who has written a book called When the Members are Missionaries, (www.MemberMission.org) asks the question, “How do you measure your congregation’s effectiveness in mission? True missionary effectiveness is unknown until you begin to look at the living of each member in each of his or her daily arenas.”

Schwab speaks of a fundamental paradigm shift that needs to happen. He says that we often speak of the church having a mission. Rather, we should be saying that the mission has a church. It is important to know what is the dog and what is the tail, and who is wagging who.

If mission were defined differently, it might lead to something radical like…..

#2 Using the Mission Budget Differently

This idea comes from Dennis Bakke, as he writes in his book Joy at Work. He tells the story of his church developing an effective after school learning center for children in the neighborhood. The program was expensive. It required over $100,000 of the churches $150,000 mission budget to provide part-time services for 30-40 children.

Bakke tells of a discussion among church members about what changes could be made to the program. His provocative suggestion was to shut down the center, and in its place he suggested this approach:

Why not provide $10,000 a year supplements to entice up to 10 young Christian teachers to work in the public schools of the inner city around the church? The new teachers would be marked by the church as God’s ambassadors to the children in the neighborhood.

A few years ago, I would have been one of the ones in the room appalled at Bakke’s idea. Now I actually would be in favor of it. Why?

Like many people, I have been drawn to the idea of the church providing mission and ministry opportunities around it. Some of that is out of a genuine desire to be a positive witness in the world around it. I like the idea of people looking at a church, and saying, “that church is doing good things—it seems to really care about the world around it.”

But there is a temptation here, and it is not that different from ones we face as individuals. The temptation is that the church be more concerned about what people think of it, than whether or not it is attempting to meet the needs of the world, to be Jesus hands and feet.

It is nice to have a meaningful church program that the congregation can be proud of. But in terms of effectiveness, can you imagine what would happen if every person in the congregation saw themselves in full-time ministry and mission wherever they found themselves in daily life? Using Bakke’s example, think of how many kids those 10 teachers would impact through the years.

God Wanders Among Us

In his Barcelona sermon, Bonhoeffer said, “God wanders among us in human form. speaking to us in those who cross our paths, be they stranger, beggar, sick or even in those nearest to us in everyday life, becoming Christ’s demand on our faith in him.” (Gesammelte Schriften)

Church programs are great, as long as people come to the church. Most of the world however, is out where we are in our daily lives. Mission is nothing more than attempting to be Christ’s presence to those nearest us in everyday life.

Discussion Question:

How does your church support members as missionaries?

Books Referenced:

• Joy at Work, by Dennis Bakke; published by PVG
• Letters and Papers from Prison by Dietrich Bonhoeffer; published by Macmillan
• Gesammelte Schriften, I to VI by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Kaiser Verlag
• When the Members are Missionaries by Wayne Schwab, published by Member Mission Press

Doug Wysockey-Johnson is the Executive Director of Faith At Work. Doug co-leads FAW's Mutual Ministry Project with Dick Broholm. The MMP is a three year research effort to help the church support people for their ministry in daily life. It is called the Mutual Ministry Project out of the conviction that both pastors and laypeople are called to ministry, and that they need each other for support in the living out of our daily calls.