Friday 12 October 2012

Mission-Shaped Church - Blessing or Curse?

I think Mission-Shaped Church (MSC) is a good thing and I base this on the 1994 CofE report of the same name and my experiences of same.

MSC, as I recall, has roots in a great book by George Carey and Charlie Cleverly and I see nothing sinister in the name or the reality. In fact the five values for a missionary church are exemplars of what Church (and church) should be (for the official words see 'Mission-Shaped Church p. 81 onwards).

A missionary church is:

Trinitarian  - A relationship with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit that brings forth prayer, praise and action with, and and through the three members of the Trinity is our goal and purpose.

Incarnational  - It makes visible the invisible God in the communities in which it is called to serve in such ways that whilst remaining counter-cultural is also a part of that community.

Transformational -  It changes the community by preaching the Gospel in word, action and intent by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the example of Christ and the Love of God the Father.

Discipling - It draws people to Jesus, the Christ, and helps them, individually and corporately, learn to follow Him on the faith journey that leads to the Cross.

Relational - It builds relationships with others by being open and welcoming not rigid and restrictive. An inclusive (yet not permissive) approach to those who come in from outside; a structure free for cliques and power groups.

These are what I see as the basics of being a Mission-Shaped Church - are there other outworkings of this that I do not understand?

Pax

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