Simplified Missional Living by Jonathan Dodson
Posted by deangonzales on September 8, 2009
Jonathan Dodson from the Resurgence has put together a helpful list of ways to live missionally. What else do you do to spend more time with non-Cristians in your life? Feel free to leave a comment.
Eat with Non-Christians
We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations. Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.
Walk, Don’t Drive
If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox or convenience store, walk to get mail or groceries. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, carrying along a 6-pack to share, bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spent an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with about four of our neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet, and some people.
Be a Regular
Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places at the same times. Get to know the staff. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of leftover pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use them for church gatherings and occasionally give them to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a regular.
Hobby with Non-Christians
Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try city league sports or local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons, such as sewing, piano, knitting, or tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.
Talk to Your Co-workers.
How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form moms’ groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.
Volunteer with Non-Profits.
Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take a Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!
Participate in City Events
Instead of playing XBox, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, cleanups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.
Serve Your Neighbors.
Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, or fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative. Just serve!
(HT: Jonathan Dobson, “Simplified Missional Living”)
September 8th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Great article Jonathan. I am going to recommend this to our church.
Thank you.
Steve
September 9th, 2009 at 9:09 am
This is extremely helpful and I certainly need to put these things into practice. Thank you so much for putting these practical Gospel tips into our hands.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:16 am
“Flee the Christian subculture!”
Excellent stuff. Get out of your fishbowl!
A further point, this is why it’s good to live in the community where your church building is. It’s difficult to minister to your neighbors and get involved with local organizations, and then get those to whom you minister to travel 35-40 minutes to get to your church. Consider moving to the community where your church gathers…
September 9th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Great ideas. Thanks for sharing.
September 10th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
“Flee the Christian subculture.”? I thought the Church didn’t spend enough time together. Whatever happened to “they shall know you by your love for one another”? Has that Scripture become taboo? Are we being self-centered and selfish if we follow the biblical admonition…”not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another…”?
Isn’t “the Christian subculture” the very environment in which we are to be equipped for the ministry?
Jonathan makes it seem like fellowshiping with one another is essentially a waste of time, and self-serving. If that is what it has become, then it is probably the leadership’s fault, because they set the tone for how the fellowship will be conducted.
And, after all, isn’t “the Christian subculture” what the Bible calls “The Church”? It’s not a bad thing. We don’t need to demean the Church just because we want to exhort that same Church to go out and reach the world. Can’t we have both? A vibrant Christian Church fellowship and a vibrant Christian outreach without demeaning either one?
“…carrying along a 6-pack to share”? Pepsi, I hope. I hope he doesn’t seriously think that his testimony will be helped by offering beer to an unsaved person, or to anyone for that matter.
“save some gas, [save] the planet…”? I hope he’s only joking! Or else we’re dealing with dangerous environmentalist propaganda here!
“Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.”? If he’s telling me how to be, how am I “being myself”?!
“Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing…Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do…Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do…Get creative. Just serve!”
Sounds like one of Obama’s speeches to recruit us for community service!
Doesn’t the Church already do a lot of these things? We’ve already been accused of being too much like the world.
Let’s not forget to allow God’s Spirit to work in us and through us through the renewing of our minds. And let Him direct our steps by His Spirit.
September 10th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Dear John,
Thanks for your helpful counter-points. I can’t ultimately answer for Jonathan Dodson, the author of the article, so you may want to go to the website where the article originally appeared and ask for clarification. But I think I can offer some comments that might help us put the best construction on what he’s saying.
First, his exhortation, “Flee the Christian subculture,” comes at the end of a paragraph where he encourages believers to spend time with non-Christians as well as Christians. So I don’t think his point is that we should abandon the church or brotherly love. If I understand him correctly, he’s concerned to correct a tendency among conservative Bible-believing Christians to spend too much time in distinctively Christian settings and not enough time among unbelievers where their light can shine. In other words, he’s really addressing what he believers to be an imbalanced kind of Christian subculture that keeps aloof from unbelievers. This kind of subculture does not do well at equipping us for ministry. Of course, I suppose that we might use the phrase “Christian subculture” in a more positive sense to describe, as you do, church life. Nothing wrong with that. We just need to understand that folks may use terms in slightly different ways, sometimes with a negative connotation and sometimes with a more positive connotation.
Second, I’m not precisely sure what kind of beverage he had in view when he spoke of “carrying along a 6-pack to share.” Whether that six pack was beer or soda pop might depend on one’s neighbors. Jesus turned water into wine and drank wine with unbelievers. So I don’t think we can say it would be sin to enjoy a beer with an unbelieving neighbor. On the other hand, if my neighbor were a teetotaler, I’d probably bring Pepsi or Sprite.
Third, perhaps his statement “save some gas, [save] the planet” was a bit of tongue-in-cheek. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with saving gas. And even Christians should acknowledge that controlling air pollution is not a bad thing. Sure, some environmentalists go overboard. But we should be careful not to portray ourselves as “anti-environmentalists,” especially in light of the creation mandate.
Fourth, I think by “be yourself,” he probably is encouraging believers to be humble and transparent. Sometimes we can behave stiff or awkward or even condescending towards unbelievers. This is not true of all believers. But some of us may have this problem. I know I’ve struggled with this.
Fifth, Jonathan’s exhortation to get involved in community service is, in my opinion, a good idea. It doesn’t matter whether President Obama makes similar appeals. What’s important is that Jesus taught us and exemplified for us the heart and actions of a servant. He served his disciples, and he even served unbelievers who never returned the favor. But that’s part of letting our light shine before men. It’s not our entire witness, of course. But deeds of love and mercy can often open doors for gospel witness. I think this is Jonathan’s point.
Sixth, I would probably agree with you that most evangelical churches are trying to engage in evangelistic endeavors. I think Jonathan’s article is addressed more to individual believers and is addressing evangelistic efforts at a more informal level. As far as being too much like the world, I suspect he’d agree that believers should not “love the world” in the sense of 1 John 2:15-17 but that believers should strive to befriend and love sinners in ways like Jesus.
Finally, I agree with your final comment. We certainly shouldn’t depend on following a list of guidelines for befriending and evangelizing sinners without depending on God’s Spirit to renew our minds and bless our efforts.
Thanks for your comments.
Your servant,
Bob Gonzales
September 10th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Likewise thanks for your comments, Bob.
We seem to agree somewhat that the Church falls short in these areas.
I just believe it’s less of a practical or logistical problem, and more of a spiritual problem that requires spiritual solutions. And that if the Church is spiritual, then having a servant’s heart like that of Jesus would take care of itself.
As we are filled with the Spirit, and walk by the Spirit, He will lead us to where He wants us to plant and water, and He will give the increase.
September 16th, 2009 at 11:44 am
This article and the responses caused me to reflect again on the present situation amongst RB’s.
It is fascinating to watch how the trends in RB circles are ebbing and flowing and often it is coming down to each of us having a sense of where the emphasis of things needs to be.
Those who are may I say ‘more traditional’ struggle with terms like ‘relevant’ or ‘progressive’ or ‘intentional’ or ‘missional’ because they face us with some of the very things we ‘might’ have been neglectful of, or because other unorthodox movements invented them.
Those of us who are ‘more untraditional’ struggle with terms like ‘distinctives’ or ‘tradition’ or ‘heritage’ etc because we might think these things ‘antiquated’ or less ‘relevant’ in our generation and hinder our effectiveness and usefulness in the kingdom and preventing wider infuence.
I would plead for a willingness to listen to one another with care and resolve to put the best construction on what we say. We must strive to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace. Surely none of us want to forsake historic confessionalism as far as it is faithful to Scripture and surely none of us want to have irrelevant ministries that reach no one for Christ. The challenge is avoiding on the one hand simply becoming the what may be little more than a care-taker of a museum priding itself on 17th Century Christian things and on the other hand becoming the CEO in a marketing company which continues to change its strategies according to the trends.
Every healthy Christian should be at some level doing what Dodson encourages but it should arise out of the crucible of a healthy commitment and involvement in a local church under a biblical ministry.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I really appreciate the comments by Dr. Bob and Pastor Briggs. I profited from the article because it was a good reminder to me about something I am concerned about: spending time with non-Christians for the purpose of loving them and ultimately sharing the faith with them. I just ignore the occasional comments that appear cynical, unnecessary, or provoking. This underscores the need, as the last several comments have emphasized, to be filled with the Spirit. We need to speak the truth about evangelism, missions, witness, conversions, without making provoking accusations which are usually broad generalizations: “Reformed Baptists are weak in this area,” RBs need to hear this message – you’re not doing it right,” etc. I’ve always been troubled when some of my own brethren have been seeking to stir up fellow pastors, local churches, and in one case our own church, to deeper commitment to sending missionaries, becoming a missionary, sharing the Gospel, etc., by guilt manipulation: “we’re not doing it right.” Reformed Baptsts overall, in my opinion, are a faithful group of serious believers who want to glorify the God of the Scriptures by building solid churches that hold fast to sound doctrine, engage in God-honoring worship, and reach out to the lost. I always am amazed at the many faithful men that we have in our “circles” who are taking the Gospel out further, and the local churches whose prayer letters reveal a great interest in reaching out. Let’s be careful that we are not unnecessarily manipulated by all of the talk about emergence, resurgence, etc., so that we begin to question our own foundations. We’re on a good course and we need to hold on to what is good and keep pressing on to do what we see in our Bibles about Gospel proclamation, Christ-like love and service and involvement with people, and Spirit-empowered Christian living. JR
September 17th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Well said Robert.
John, excellent comments. Here is the problem I have come across though and perhaps you can respond. There are two hands we can hold doctrine in. In one hand we tightly hold to the core doctrines of the faith upon which we stand (i.e. Trinity, the deity of Christ, The Resurrection, etc.), and in the other hand doctrines we hold more loosely (i.e. matters of church policy, the way we observe the Lord’s Supper, etc.). Some RB churches hold all their doctrines tightly in one hand, and that to me is the crux of the problem. For example, some northern RB churches will have limited association with certain churches in the South because they have simply added modern hymns to their hymnody, added more or different instrumentation than piano for singing, and allow casual dress in worship. Consider also how some churches are responding to certain changes that are taking place in a church in Maryland that you are probably aware of. My church’s response? We’re not praying for that church or ministry anymore.
When certain traditional RB churches have this disposition, it is not unnecessary to point this out to them, or to point it out in general. Our dogmatism on non-essential matters bears bruised fruit.
And I can say from personal experience as a long standing member of an RB church, that a punctilious concern for every doctrinal matter (whether big or small) leads to almost unending tension among the people, and congregational attrition over time. It also tends to cripple healthy evangelism.
RB weaknesses need to be addressed, not downplayed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend…
God bless,
RDani
September 17th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Healthy interaction brothers, I trust we can continue to interact on these things in this manner and avoid the tendency to over-react to one another.
We are yet seeing in a glass darkly but praise the Lord for the light we have received. Let us labor to love one another and serve one another for the sake of our glorious king.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 am
Much good advice in this article (it has indeed challenged my life) but many such articles that contain much to ponder often lack clarification about certain details and the devil is in the detail. For example how should I ‘…participate with the city’ considering many summer events are not particularly God glorifying (and are perhaps evidence of this cultures obsession with entertainment and sensuality). James 1 v 27 reminds us to…’visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world’. Jude exhorts us to be compassionate towards the lost or but with many non-believers we are to ….. ‘save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh’. Should I be wary of where this article, good as much of it was, was pulled from? I believe I should as Mark Driscoll is responsible for robbing the Song of Solomon of its discretion and in turn his explicit interpretation of this book has violated the Christian liberty of the marriage bed – although he claims freedom to practice what he has described will attract men to church who otherwise would not come! Note I am not writing him off but I am wary. We must be careful to take the good while at the same time not omitting to point out or indeed separate because of the bad. We must also be careful where we link weaker believers to on the internet.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
“For example how should I ‘…participate with the city’ considering many summer events are not particularly God glorifying (and are perhaps evidence of this cultures obsession with entertainment and sensuality).”
I think the answer is simple, only the ones that a Christian can participate in with a good conscience.
“Should I be wary of where this article, good as much of it was, was pulled from?”
Not necessarily, judge the article on the basis of Scripture. Usually the “consider the source” argument is the RB way of disregarding counterarguments that refute their already held position.
-RDani
September 24th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Raji Dani, thank you for your reply. You wrote:
1. “For example how should I ‘…participate with the city’ considering many summer events are not particularly God glorifying (and are perhaps evidence of this cultures obsession with entertainment and sensuality).”
‘I think the answer is simple, only the ones that a Christian can participate in with a good conscience’
Raji, I am not sure that the answer is as simple as you state. There has been a shift over many years in what is deemed ‘wordly’ and should be avoided and what is simply a matter of Christian liberty. R Barcelos addressed this point recently:
http://reformedbaptistfellowship.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/my-pharasaic-heroes-or-bible-babies-in-fundy-bathwater/
The common Christian conscience out there today is one that has been difused by the uncertainties of post-modernism and softened by years of poor teaching on the dangers of loving the world and it’s values and tenants. I believe we should seek to change our culture where possible (although always with the gospel, not mere moral reform), but we should never carelessly immerse ourselves in it. I believe it is biblical to be wary of our hearts first and foremost, but also to be wary of the culture that has grown up around the degradation of man’s heart. Is it not naïve to imagine that our faith cannot possibly be shipwrecked by it?
David Wells points out:
‘The stream of historic orthodoxy that once watered the evangelical soul is now dammed by a worldliness that many fail to recognize as worldliness because of the cultural innocence with which it presents itself…….It may be that Christian faith, which has made many easy alliances with modern culture in the past few decades, is also living in a fool’s paradise, comforting itself about all the things God is doing…….while it losing its character, if not its soul’
You also pointed out that I should:
‘…..judge the article on the basis of Scripture. Usually the “consider the source” argument is the RB way of disregarding counterarguments that refute their already held position’
I did actually judge it on the basis of scripture as my reservation included citation from the bible but the source is also important however (as a useful and safe check), whether it be the RBS or the Vatican. Surely we are to test the source scripturally (and as a result either commend it or not as the case may be) – otherwise let this and other blogs start publishing articles (that may have good things to say) picked from Purpose Driven or Health and Wealth or Emergent blogs without any clarification or caution as to the serious errors that are intertwined within these movements.
The way I see it, I am taking the middle ground here, not an extreme position; I already stated that I appreciated much of what was said, but please let us clarify when necessary. I am not advocating retreat into a Christian bubble but at the same time we must not race headlong into the world’s culture with post-modern naivety. That would be thoroughly unscriptural. John McArthur will not condemn everything that Mark Driscoll has said or done – but he did need to point out that his explicit and potty-mouthed sermon style are not acceptable:
http://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/pulpit/posts.aspx?ID=4168
I feel strongly enough about that one issue alone, never mind his ‘fellowship’ with the Crystal Cathedral, to warn fellow Christians to be on their guard about him. However, as I have already stated……I am not writing him off.
Your brother in Christ,
T Millar
September 24th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Brother Millar,
I appreciate your willingness to be discerning, open to learn from the strengths of others while ascertaining and avoiding their weaknesses. Driscoll’s use of language has unquestionably been the subject of debate. He has confessed that he has at times stepped over the line. At the same time, he has defended the occasional use of strong and even coarse language in preaching. I’ve pointed my readers to the website of a friend who attempts to present even-handedly both sides of the debate and draws practical lessons at the end (click here).
I’d rather not resurrect that debate here. I do think, however, it would be helpful to our readers if you would provide us with a definition of “worldliness” or “worldly culture.” I ask this because often when this terminology is thrown around in discussion it’s not defined or understood in the same way by those in the discussion. As a result, the conversation doesn’t make a lot of headway. So, as I’m sure you would agree, it’s good to be on the same page when we’re attempt to ascertain what is and what is not “worldly culture.”
Thanks,
Bob Gonzales
September 24th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Brother T.,
Is the use of guitar in the church “worldly”? How about the (dare I say it, *gulp*) drums?
Not promoting the use of drums, of course. Personally, my general opinion is they do not aid reverence in worship. But that’s my opinion. I couldn’t dogmatize it from Scripture.
Just wanted to get your thoughts…
Raja
September 24th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Brother Gonzales and Dani,
To be honest with you both I never intended to initiate a full blown discussion; rather I simply wished to offer my two cents worth. I don’t leave comments often and when I have, I perhaps regretted it. I prefer to discuss face to face with people. However, I will do my best to give you a few thoughts on what I believe “worldliness” or “worldly” culture is, as far as I have learned so far, if you think that would be helpful.
It is a multi-faceted thing but it always has its root in the same place – the heart. The heart that loves God will love who He is – His character and will love His law, and it gives God His rightful place as the King of Kings. Most of all such a heart will love the Saviour, subsequent to a hatred of the sin that resides there, albeit a fledgling hatred at the beginning of conversion. Conversely, the heart that loves the world does not appreciate His character and despises His law (although still content to bathe in the benefits of it, e.g. criminalisation of murder, theft etc.). It worships self and seeks to feed self’s desires. It defies the need to be saved from the consequences and desires of sin, sometimes politely and sometimes with vehement opposition.
Worldliness is a love of the things of this world, even though they may not be sinful in themselves, more than God who created them (1 John 2 v 15-16). It worships the created thing rather than the creator, replaces God with idols and hates God’s law, preferring to live a life without its restraints. This results ultimately in moral degradation (Romans 1 v 18 – 31). In light of the Gospel, it loves sin more than obedience to Christ. (John 14 v 15)
Culturally this results in a negative omission to recognise God’s right to be the pinnacle of a culture’s affections and desires and His right to govern, shape and when necessary to restrict our culture; it also results in a positive promotion of that which is against God’s law and displeasing to Him. If culture is such then it follows that to love and embrace all aspects of it is to hate God (James 4 v 4).
If a festival or summer show or concert upholds and promotes sexual purity and does not encourage or facilitate drunkenness or blaspheme God from the stage, then sure, get involved if you have sufficient time on your hands and it gives you opportunity to evangelise people. If however, the event is characterised by any of the above demonstrations of open rebellion to God or even if the material presented has a moral looseness about it – or a juvenile or lowbrow take on life, then we have to consider if our participation, whether it be in the foreground or background, is going to dull the effectiveness of our testimony and our witness to others.
I really did appreciate this article more than you probably realise. I am just saddened by the desire in many quarters (and I am not including the author of this article) to be immersed in the culture without little or any acknowledgement of its dangers. I am also deeply concerned about the felt need to be hip, cool, even crude in an attempt to make people listen to the Gospel – hence my potential concern about the root source of the article.
God gives the Christian grace to overcome a wordly life and as a result to live ‘….sensible, righteous and godly lives…’, i.e with a sober-minded awareness of the dangers of worldliness, the brevity of life and the need to think eternally; upholding and promoting Gods laws; all this done with awe and appreciation of God and devotion to Him. (Titus 2 v 11-12) I believe this is how we should approach our culture as we seek to tell people of the good news of the gospel.
September 25th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Reading the thread here reminded me of the challenges i have faced since coming to IBC.
When I came here the smell, stench and corruption of legalism had made its indelible mark on the lives of the people. A deficient understanding of the gospel had seriously affected the people. Consequently opening up Romans 1-8 was used of the Lord to bring us to a more gospel-centered emphasis in our lives.
However as we moved away from legalism and pharisaical tendencies immaturity brought another challenge. Licentiousness began to threaten and as a result we saw a casting off of restraints and a tendency towards ‘I am free in Christ and the bible does not forbid it so i will do it’.
We have recently been addressing the wise and spiritual use of our Christian liberty in a pastoral attempt to help our people understand their freedom in Christ and how to handle it. As a result it has brought us again to the heart of the Christian life as Calvin speaks of it and expounds it from Romans 12v1-2; Titus 2v10-13.
A life of humble dependance on God, Father, Son and Spirit to enable us to pursue a life of self-denial that emanates in love for God and for our neighbors, be they brothers, friends or foes. This is what we are called to and what we must stay centered upon. It is what we must grow in and focus on if we would please God and if we would be effective in the world for Christ.
Working out our salvation in fear in trembling really is work !
Warmest regards
RB
September 28th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Hi Bob,
thanks for posting my article. I am pleased to see it has generated so much thoughtful interaction. May it lead it an equal amount of mission!
Also, thanks for your outstanding six point response to the heavy handed critque. Your response was winsome, charitable and spot on.
Reader might check out a lot of my other writings to get a fuller picture of my theology of church and mission. This practical artcle doesn’t really get at that.
With you in the Gospel,
October 4th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Jonathan,
Not sure why you aren’t addressing me personally, but please don’t mistake passion for heavy-handedness.
Most churches are sorely lacking in truly spiritual fellowship — either falling into deadness, or running around like human missional dynamos attempting to replicate themselves with more human missional dynamos.
They’ve forgotten “be still and know that I am God” and “sweet hour of prayer”, and so the fellowship declines into what you call the Christian “subculture”.
But the answer isn’t to flee the so-called Christian subculture. It’s to make it truly spiritual, filled with the Spirit and the grace and love of Christ. And from the Life of Christ Himself flowing through people who have spent time with Him, He will build His Church.
I have read many of your other writings, and while I appreciate much of what you say, I wonder if you have any real concept of what we used to call a “quiet time”.
By the way, I originally had read the article on your website, and would have commented there, but there was no place for comments. It would be good to have you respond to me directly, as you haven’t done so yet.