8th September, 2006

RUSSELL STUBBINGS

When Bob Dylan lyrically commented on the changing times back in 1963, little did he know the extent of the social and cultural change which would follow. Today we are faced with rapid change, both locally and globally. It is the rapidly changing times in which we live which makes Christian mission in Australia a unique challenge fraught with many difficulties and obstacles, and yet, at the same time, many possibilities and rewards.

The Problem: Marginalization of the Church
In postmodern, secular society the church has been marginalized, no longer enjoying the influence it once had. For many Australians the church is regarded as irrelevant and even obsolete - an attitude that brings church planting into the realm of missionary activity. For those in Australia who seek to grow the Kingdom of God, a deliberate missionary strategy is needed in order to impact the local community, restore the relevancy of the church, and rekindle interest in the Christian faith. As evangelistic, mission-minded believers we need to see ourselves as missionaries working in cross-cultural contexts, immersed in communities where people are largely unchurched and show little interest in Christianity.

REACHING OUT?: Russell Stubbings argues that the missional church means stepping outside of traditional church culture and into community sub-cultures. PICTURE: Sanja Gjenero (www.sxc.hu)   "It is no longer feasible to open a church, put an advertisement in the paper, and expect people to come."

Authors Jensen and Payne shed further light on the Australian context, starkly illuminating the postmodern tendencies of our society. They contend that Australia is "an unchurched, multicultural, apathetic, spiritually indifferent, relativist, and fundamentally hedonistic society". Indeed, most areas of Australia are reflective of such comments; a society that is largely unchurched, where the relevance of the church is questioned by many. This makes the task of the missionary - those who seek to engage with the culture for the ultimate purpose of saving souls - a daunting one. Of utmost importance is the challenge of evangelising Biblically illiterate people who, in general, regard Christianity as irrelevant.

How can this be done? As missionaries to our own culture we must intentionally engage the community. It is no longer feasible to open a church, put an advertisement in the paper, and expect people to come. Often, when this happens, those who come are transfers from other churches or believers who are looking to move on for a host of reasons. This is not advancing the Kingdom of God - it is merely re-arranging it. Effective mission is directed towards bringing unbelievers into the Kingdom of God. One of the key understandings for this to happen is to engage with people in their sub-cultures as distinct from attempting to draw them out into the foreign culture of the church. This is one of the key features of the emerging, missional church.

The Solution: Incarnational Ministry
As missionaries, we need to intentionally connect with unbelievers. It is not enough to associate only with believers. On-going relationships must be built with unbelievers as bridges for sharing the Gospel. This requires more than just passing contacts and acquaintances, but implies genuine, authentic friendships based on love, care and acceptance. It also requires long term commitment. No missionary enters a foreign culture believing in short term, immediate results. Why, as missionaries in our post-church culture, should we think any differently?

Such an approach requires a major change of thinking. Traditionally evangelism has been viewed as an event. With contemporary unbelievers evangelism must be regarded as a process requiring time, effort and commitment. The event, or conversion experience, will often occur only after a lengthy process involving sharing and teaching within a relational context. The evangelistic process must be understood as long term, requiring patience and sensitivity, acknowledging unbelievers as potential believers worthy of friendship. Unfortunately, most Christians have only Christian friends, and very few meaningful contacts with non-Christians. This focus must change to embrace the idea that it is not sinful to have friends who are unbelievers.

Within the context of relationships the church planter is able to model his faith in a practical manner, demonstrating the relevance of Christianity to everyday life. Opportunities will also arise for sharing personal stories (mini-narratives) describing what it means to be a Christian. Given that postmoderns are more accepting of relational evangelism a number of strategies can be employed. Events, activities and functions such as bike rides, bush walks, surfing, rock climbing, spectator sports, shared meals, exercise groups, and the like can become a context for developing strong relationships.

The Australian dedication to all things sporting provides a unique opportunity for creative church planters. Indeed, it may not be far from the truth to comment that sport is a religion in direct competition with the church in Australia. Sporting groups, such as football clubs, are places where potentially hundreds of people gather each weekend, and even midweek. For the church planter to become actively involved, either as a player, coach, or in an administrative role, shows his dedication to the local community, and opens the door for establishing contacts with many unbelievers. This type of ministry requires time and effort, and a willingness to release people to minister in secular environments. The opportunities are endless. This is largely an untapped area, waiting for innovative, sport-minded church planters, and believers in general, ready and willing to mix with those who need to hear the message of the Gospel.

My personal involvement in the sporting field has enabled me to build relationships with those outside the church I would never otherwise have even met. From this basis I have been able to share regarding issues of faith, offer support in times of crisis, and simply build genuine, on-going friendships. These relationships are not shallow, surface level connections laced with evangelistic overtones, but rather value the other person as one made in God’s image and worthy of friendship. With time, further opportunities will arise for intentionally sharing the gospel, and in this way the Kingdom of God will be extended.

Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost in their challenging book The Shaping of Things to Come refer to this as incarnational ministry. A willingness on the part of believers to intentionally and deliberately step outside the safety and comfort of the church sub-culture and enter various community-based sub-cultures. This is a radical change of thinking from the mindset that says “Let’s hold a rally and invite your unsaved friends to come”. For a start, many Christians don’t have unsaved friends, possibly because the church keeps them so busy attending “in-house” events that they have no time left for those outside the church. And secondly, I know from personal experience that churches view community involvement as secondary to church involvement, simply because when two events clash the expectation is that the non-church event takes second place.

With regard to community groups and clubs it is valuable for church planters to find a niche within existing groups, rather than attempting to start their own, which is usually a slow process with comparatively less exposure to the unchurched. Traditionally churches have initiated their own programs often in direct competition with existing community groups and their activities. This again stresses the “you come to us” mentality, as distinct from the church in the marketplace type thinking so desperately needed. It may well be more productive to simply join an existing group, or support a current community program, as a means of gaining credibility and access to large groups of people already meeting for a specific purpose.

The emerging church movement embraces this type of incarnational ministry. The emphasis is on engaging with the local community through the everyday stuff of life, taking the opportunity to build friendships, and offer hope in the midst of hopelessness, and practical support when it is required. Church planting in this framework needs to be viewed as long term. The church planter needs to be patient, secure, and at peace, despite a perceived lack of numbers (in terms of those who may meet in a church service type context), so often used as the measure of church success. In the emerging church success will be measured more on the basis of health than numbers, relationships rather than attendance at programs, and genuine attempts to present Jesus incarnationally in the local communities across this nation. The possibilities are endless. Why not ask God what you can do today to be incarnational in your community? Who knows what might happen.

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