What is Missional?

As I post here there are at least 50 authors who have already posted and participated in a Synchroblog attempting to redefine "What is Missional?". They are redefining missional because missional has lost it's meaning. It's just another watered down word that means little to nothing or everything for everything. It has become a catchy phrase. Alan Hirsch suggests we should reclaim the original meaning of "missional" and not come up with another word to describe the Missional Movement.

To use the tongue in cheek approach Bill Kinnon gives us an example of how ineffective the word missional has become.

Missional Sunday Morning as described by Bill Kinnon

"I got up from a good night's missional sleep and ready for a missional day. Missionally showered with missional shampoo and headed out the door. Jumped into the missional SUV and exited the missional neighborhood - heading for the partially-opened missional church doors. Sang missional songs with the gathered missional people, listened to the missional sermon, partook in the Lord's missional Supper, got a missional blessing, grabbed a fair trade missional coffee at the door, picked the SUV up from the missional parking lot and headed missionally home. I just love being missional."

About 2 years ago we opted not to use the term "missional" to describe our Disciple Driven Church movement because we expected this to happen. Now it appears the trendy new word "Missional" has lost it's meaning in the midst of trendy popularity. Now I have read more than a fair share of the articles and it appears that in order to understand "missional" you need to be a good reader with a good mind to think. The scholarly work may make a now complicated issue even more complicated. You can pick up the synchroblog at reclaiming the mission.

So for me, I continue the simple dialogue of making disciples who make disciples. That's what we should all be doing. We make disciples by setting the captives free. That's what it means to join in on the mission of God. We must accept Christ and then lead others to Him who lead others to Him who lead others to Him. It's a 24/7 missionary movement of disciple making that must become multi-generational. We live to fulfill the mission of setting the captives free.

I also believe that when we attempt to become "Missional" in the local established Church then "missional" ceases to become "missional" because the average Christ follower and church attender refuses to personally "make disciples" which is exactly what it means to be missional. Redefining the meaning of "What is Missional?" isn't the answer. Making the making of disciples the priority for the church is. Setting captives free is and always has been the answer.

Now we have to redefine "MISSIONAL" for a church that refuses to be just that.