First of all I do not like to use many of the “labels” that we so often use as believers. Also I must confess that the term “missional” is not a term of my generation so I handle it with respect to the generation to which it belongs. I have read much about the term and have found that there are many definitions just as there are for many other words in American society.

To illustrate this point I will go completely away from the subject for a moment. I belong to several sub-cultures in this country. (some say I am a sub-species) Most people are very much the same in some relation. I am a knife collector. Among knife collectors most own at least one knife known as a Bowie Knife. You would think that the knives would all look alike. That is far from true. The “looks” of a collector’s Bowie Knife so often depends upon the definitive history of which he or she believes is the correct one for Mr. Bowie’s famous head splitter that went with him to the Alamo. The bottom line is that Mr. Bowie did carry a large knife of some sort and he did use it so very well that both he and the knife became forever part of American history. I thought I would use that illustration due to the fact that we will be in San Antonio for the SBC next June. Hopefully no one will feel the need for a Bowie Knife:-)

Now back to the term missional. I am going to approach this in parts for two reasons. I would like to read the thoughts of others and I cannot write my whole concept of being missional at once due to the fact that I must spend time being just that in my community. I have got to go out and be missional if I am going to define missional. There is the first clue to my definition.

1 I believe that missional is a process much more than a state of being or theological position. The missional process has a most definite beginning. A person must have a regenerated life in order to be missional. I am not talking about a Christianized mentality and socialization. I mean a person must have had a supernatural experience with Jesus Christ wherein he or she experiences the grace of God in a salvation experience. Salvation is a transaction of God in the life of a person. It is a work wrought on a person by the Holy Spirit wherein a person receives the gift of saving faith and his or her life is changed forever. The total being of a person is changed. The heart, mind, body, and soul are directed, for the first time, toward glorifying the Father, by honoring the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. A missional person must be a convert to Christ. You may think to say that is silly, but it is not. Too many people are simply followers of a Christianized culture and have never been converted to Christ. They use terms like “born-again” without the slightest idea of what that truly means. They think that “taking up the cross” means giving a granny woman a bowl of soup. Missional people give granny women bowls of soup but the soup giving is not what makes the person missional.

We are missional because we have died to self and taken up the cross of Christ and in following Him the taking care of “granny women” comes natural to the supernaturally converted for it glorifies the Father to do so. The beginning of the process of being missional is to be converted to faith in Christ. What do you think? Is it a: Process? Theological Position? State of being? Other?

cb

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