Missional & Incarnational in Suburbia? Is it possible?
I have done a good amout of reading about the missional church, incarnational church, etc. At The Well, we’re doing our best to embody these values. Sometimes we do well, other times we really stink it up.
Most of the concrete examples I have seen in most of my reading and personal interaction with people have been examples of churches and communities in urban settings. While I am really excited to see God using communities in the urban setting (the need is so great) I wonder:
What does the missional incarnational church look like in the suburbs?
I ask this because that is where I am. That is where I live. I have heard a few people say that the missional, incarnational church works in the urban setting but not the suburban setting. I say “hogwash.”
God calls the church to embody the gospel and incarnate the love of Christ in all cultures. Not just the city full of cultural creatives!
I realize that being missional in suburbia is quite a challange (one that i face every day) but I am convinced, despite its amazign challanges, it is possible!
So, somebody share with me their ideas, what does it mean to be missional in suburbia?
(I have some thoughts on this, but i’d be more interested to hear some others’ thoughts. Perhaps this is not something many of us have thought about much. This would be sad because I am personally convinved that one of the most godless places on this earth is the world’s comfortable, isolated, time-crunched, money driven, suburban communities).
Okay, shortly after i wrote this, i have googled “missional & suburbia” and came up with some at least one good article and another blog:
- Article by Mark Feliciano -
Dicipling the Comfortably Numb - A series of blogs by Terry Mann (a pastor in Pittsburgh)
Ed C said...
111/21/05 8:48 PM | Comment Link |
The suburbs eh? To be missional, my guess is that you have to figure out what makes up the suburbs. You’ve already hit on some of it: money, time-crunch, comfort, etc. Other things: commuting, convenience (how many supermarkets do we really need!!!), and entertainment.
We can’t compete with the entertainment on one front, but we can promote good entertainment: good music, art, etc. The Well does that rather . . . well.
Here are a few things I’ve been wrestling with:
I think must of the suburban stuff needs to be countered, but there are times when you need to just go with it. For example, people will commute and live in two different worlds. Home world and work world. Can we minister to people in both?
But the money, time, and comfort issues are another matter. CS Lewis talks about giving away enough money so that we no longer have a $$ cushion. That takes care of two birds with one stone. I love how some churches take up a cause or a particular need of a community and make it their own. In many cases it would appear that being missional means providing an alternative to the spirit of the place.
In other words, we understand the times, expose the corrupted parts as worthless, and provide a life-giving alternative. For the parts that are commendable, we can use them as avenues for the Gospel.
Sorry for the long post. I swear, I do have my own blog! I’ve just been thinking about this A LOT lately since I just moved to Vermont and would like to get involved in some kind of ministry. Figuring out the needs and culture of the area seems to be first, but I’m no missiologist for sure.
BobF said...
211/21/05 9:46 PM | Comment Link |
Interesting, Todd. I don’t have any answers, but a couple of observations. I’m in Central Bucks County, so our context is much like yours.
I spent some time at the Starbucks in Doylestown the other day. Reading things posted there and the free papers available to take away it struck me that the spiritual hunger Paul encountered in Athens is there, but its not out in the marketplace in the same way; its more privatized. People are shopping for “spirituality” but its not as easy for us as going to a public square and throwing in our two cents. Are ads next to the yoga studios and healers what we need? I don’t know. I also noted that while small groups came in and were engaged with each other, there was not much interaction between groups. That leads into my next observation.
Friends who moved away from the area came back to our church Sunday. They noted that Texas, where they are now, is more like Northcentral PA where they grew up than Central Bucks. There, like they remember from youth, you can go out to mow your lawn and be in a long conversation with your neigbhors, and people will talk to you for hours in the grocery store rather than the careful avoidance they experienced here. The challenge is that there is distrust and a need for privacy that gets in the way of community, even though people want it.
It’s not impossible in suburbia, just different.
Todd said...
311/22/05 9:40 AM | Comment Link |
guys, thanks for these thoughts. i’m formulating some stuff in my head that is going to end up in a new post…
ed, i think you are so right when you say we have to expose the corrupted parts and use others as avenues for mission.
there seems to be a great need for a prophetic voice to call out some of those things that work against the gospel in the burbs.
Kevin said...
411/22/05 10:16 AM | Comment Link |
Todd, I don’t have any experience with this issue.
But when I think about it, the urban church has it’s type of social issues i.e. poverty, social justice, crime, addiction ect..
Some of these exist in the suburbs too, but other suburban problems are more subtle.
Isolation is a big problem, lack of community is another.
To be missional in the suburbs might be to address issues relative to the suburbs. One big issue is prejudice. What if the well could bring Christs love where prejudice exists. For example, maybe host a discussion group with a Jewish rabbi where Jews and Christians could come together and share with one another. I don’t know if that idea is out of line or not. Perhaps another idea would be to reach out to an urban (possibly racially different) church, and have a community dinner and concert. Maybe on a saturday night instead of local bands have some good ole’ gospel music. The Well could possibly have a gospel night with the help of an urban church that might have a great gospel singing choir.
I don’t know if any of these are feasible, but I just thought I would throw it out there.
Kevin
Doug said...
502/18/08 4:30 PM | Comment Link |
It seems to be the primary barrier to being missional in suburbia is affluence. It is not a barrier limited to our context, by any means, but a barrier made remarkably consistent in communities built around families of uniform social and economic class.
That being said, what has impressed us about the missional concept is that it seems to accurately mirror the work of Jesus. In that sense, we would be foolish, indeed, to label is as inapplicable in a suburban setting. It is simply a matter of working as Jesus would work in that context. The other comments here, I believe, are on the right track. There are ideologies of wealth, materialism, consumerism, and isolation that must be challenged, primarily by example. And yet, in the solution we re-encounter the problem.
My setting, while more rural than what you describe, is still very suburban in its makeup (affluence, isolation, commuting, etc.) and people who have built their lives around these values are reluctant to consider anything else, even if these bring them no contentment.
I would speculate that urban dwellers may be, in general, more apt to question this kind of conspicuous consumption, and, in that regard, might be more open to another world view. But, let’s face it, wealth is going to be a barrier across the board, not just in the suburbs, and where there is falsehood, idolatry, and darkness, there is a need for missional light.
Todd said...
602/19/08 5:14 AM | Comment Link |
Doug, thanks for the thoughts and adding to the conversation. Enjoyed your blog as well..