The Promise and Threat of Missional Theology

Our next talk was given by Darrell Guder.  If you have never heard of Guder then you should know that he was the forerunner of this whole Missional Theology Conversation.  It all started with a book that he edited called Missional Church.  I personall have not read this book yet, but it is on my desk and laudry list of "to read" books.  I have read a book of Guder's in grad school called The Continuing Conversion of the Church and found it to be a great read.

On to Guder's talk.  Guder began by talking through the reason for even needing a term like missional in the church.  He reminded us that mission is the definitive of the church and that missional is not a noun.  It is an action word.  Guder then talked about our current North American context.  He claimed that we are in one of the most difficult mission fields ever.  This is so because Christendom was rooted in a Western mindset that left out mission as a priority in the church.  Our mission focus has always been out there, instead of right here.  Guder reminded us that the theology of the church should be rooted in the mission of God and that mission is the fundamental calling and action for the church today.

Now on to the promises.  Guder claims that we stand closer to the pre-Constantinian church than ever.  (For background on the Constantinian shift click here.)  He claims that we have lost the power and prestige of Christendom which frees us to reengage our mission as servants of Christ.  I loved a point that he made about how we do not take Christ anywhere but instead witness to what Christ is already doing in that particular place.  Guder concluded on the promise of how missional theology will help us to view our Christendom legacy with integrity.  He believes that we can address our theological divisions and ecclesiological divisions in a new light in this post-Christendom era and come to a point of landing where God would have us to be.

What are the threats you might ask?  Guder believes that there are some who fail to see the need for the church's continual conversion.  They are fine with the way things are now or have been for decades and centuries in the past.  He also believes that the church could become a servant of culture which would cause it to lose sight of the very mission it is called to fulfill.  He see the compartmentalization of theological disciplines as a threat as well.  His call is for all of theology to be based on missional thinking even to the point that we view church history through the missional lens.  Guder thinks that another threat is that we view Christendom as a problem that needs to be solved.  His response is that missional theology seeks to move on as if Christendom had never existed.  Lastly, Guder thinks that triumphalistic theology is another threat.  Our confidence should be in God and not ourselves and in that we are called to live in solidarity with the world.

Where do you see missional theology in your current context and how radical would this be to those that you serve?