Missional Community Dreaming in SF

Last night I had a conversation.  It was a community conversation.  One where  we dreamed and danced around on pogo sticks.  We imagined what it might look like if the church quit buying into the lie that it is a building or a Sunday event and it started living like it was a people.  We reflected how the early church wasn't about buildings, budgets, and butts.  But was about discipleship, community, and Gospel.  We thought about what might happen in San Francisco if we started living with gospel intentionality.  If our gatherings on Sunday were times to connect with each other, worship God, recenter our hearts around the cross, and be equipped to be disciplers.  And if our Monday through Saturday was all about gospeling our world.  What if I, as lead pastor, embraced the apostolic model of shared leadership?  You know, Jesus sent them out by twos, so what if the pastorship was not a lead pastor but a shared pastorship?  What would it look like if I, as an elder, split my time between training elders and community leaders, and reaching out to my neighborhood? 

It was fun at first, but then we started thinking of all the logistical factors and challenges. The discussion meandered down some streets with potholes and broken asphalt.  We embraced the fact that this wasn't a smooth ride. The discussion was healthy and started us dreaming and thinking.  We didn't resolve anything or form any conclusions.  We just talked about God's kingdom.  Someone suggested we post a blog and keep the discussion going.  And invite others into the discussion.  So here are some questions to interact with:  (1) From God's perspective, what should the church look like? In its relationship to the world around it?  (2) What is the mission of the church?  (3) How can we best prepare/equip our community to live the mission?  (4)  Where should we go from here?  (5) What pieces should be thought through more thoroughly and what aspects need more reflection?

Can't wait to hear from you.

Comments

[Nathan Thomason]

i felt like we had a great conversation last night as a kicking off point for something new. not really even new, just a logical extension of the things we already believe about what the church should be.

i feel like we flipped through a notebook filled with rough sketches of a bunch of very big ideas. you could pick any one page, spend a week on just that idea and develop it into something incredible.

since we only spent a few minutes flipping through the pages, there were a ton of questions left open on how the details of the sketches would be filled in and what the final result should look like.

knowing that the details will still have to be worked out, i am still convinced that the common theme behind the ideas we discussed is the right direction for our church. we just need to work through how to start applying the ideas we discussed at an individual and at a community level.

with that in mind, i propose that we start a prototype 'missional community' built around the people who are already lighthouse volunteers/leaders/contributors. we could use that group to get to know each other better by telling our stories, going through the story of God, and exploring how to start applying the ideas we discussed.

we could start out with dinner once every couple of weeks and then get a feel for which ideas would have the biggest impact on the community and could be implemented the fastest. plus if we got nothing else out of it, we would strengthen the community at the core of lighthouse by spending more time together.

let me know what you guys think, we could start with just a few of us depending on who all is interested.

grace and peace.
nathan

[Vince Larson]

Jeff & SF Lighthouse,
I'm so excited to hear you guys are embarking on this journey! Every journey has it's speed bumps & struggles, but if touching this world with the Gospel of Jesus and Discipling people to Him are the goals, then it's worth every effort!

At Anchor Gaslamp, we have begun a similar journey. As we focus on our purpose, we do not first ask the question, “What works best?” Instead, we ask, “How do we best display who God is and what He has done in and through Jesus Christ appropriately within the culture we are sent to?”

Our goal is not to convert people to our church. Our goal is to see them converted to Jesus through the gospel so that they can BE THE CHURCH on mission that truly declares and demonstrates the gospel in all of life.

The Gospel is not just about my individual happiness or God’s plan for my life. It is about God’s plan for the world.

The gospel is not just the ABC of Christianity, but the A to Z. It is the way in which we are to live every day of our life. The reason why so many Christians fail to experience ongoing transformation is because they have forgotten what God has done for us in the Gospel (2 Peter 1:3-9).

So, we don’t go to Church. We are the Church. At Anchor, we want people to experience church as a network of relationships rather than a meeting you attend or a place you enter. We want our people to see church as an identity instead of a responsibility to be juggled alongside other commitments.

We have a new identity because of what He has accomplished and it is in light of what He has done for us and who we are in Christ that we do anything rightly. Our Sanctification comes out of our Justification. We live differently because of what he has done and who we are in Christ. Our doing comes out of our being.

Remember that the joy is in the journey and tension, not just crossing a finish line...

We love you guys & will be praying for ya!

[Genaro & Monica Rojas]

My wife and I are excited about the conversations last night and know God has given us a sketch of where we need to go.

We share the passion to be more than just a building, event or a place where we interact on Sunday. We desire to daily show the Gospel by actions, words and character. This theme was echoed by many yesterday and resonates in my heart.

A prototype missional community is an awesome idea (Nathan)! We would definitely be interested in being a part of it.

Be blessed

[Henry Vargas]

I wanted to thank you for sharing your SOMA experience with all of us. I thought that it was really cool of you to do that. I learned a lot from it and I am excited about what the future holds for our growing community. I was both very excited and a little overwhelmed all at once; please know that this is in a good way though.

Here is my contribution to what we discussed this past Sunday:

First, it was awesome to see that the topic that you shared brought about buzz and stirred up a few hearts. Discomfort can be a great thing sometimes, and in my opinion, there were a lot of us in that meeting that were a little uneasy with the topic of discussion. Please know that it wasn’t in a bad way, but in a way that merely drew us out of our comfort zones, and disrupting comfort levels for the purpose of a greater good is always a healthy thing.

'Do we do church effectively?'

My opinion is this; we 'do church' using the attraction model, so YES we are very effective in this regard. We welcome, worship, teach and grow very well. In my opinion we can ‘school’ a lot of other churches using this model. However if our goal is to build community and to really spread the Word throughout San Francisco and the world, well, then I would have to change my answer to 'NO'. We tend to stay within our 4 walls and I have to believe that that is not how things should be done. God is too big for four walls.

'Do we create disciples effectively?'

My opinion is this; we communicate the mission well and we are very effective in teaching what a disciple should talk, walk, think, love and live like, however, I don’t believe that we are very effective in our efforts to make true disciples like we want to be. I am confident that implementing something more like missional community model in our way of 'doing church' will really help in this area.

'How do you feel about the missional community model?'

As I have mentioned, I welcome this model and I believe that this is the right thing for our church. I also feel like the missional community model is like our small groups model. I am still under the impression that God’s kingdom is built in small groups. I think that if we can get our small groups to grow more that it could prove to be one of a few effective methods to implement the missional community model.

'Should we role with it?'

With all the great things that God has in store for SFL, I’m very excited and can’t wait for what transpires. It’s a great time for growth and change. YES we should definitely role with it; with the proper planning of course. I agree with the Thomason’s and the Rojas’s on the suggestion of a 'Pilot' missional community. In our discussion you mentioned that 'Jesus demonstrates'so this pilot missional community can serve as a demonstration to the rest of our family.

Grace, Peace and Love

[Sean]

In my opinion, the only sure fire way to get folks out of the Sunday morning mindset is to stop meeting on Sundays. Or take a break from meeting at all on a certain Sunday. Only shock therapy can wake many folks up. Only way to get a fat baby chick, sitting comfortably in mom's nest to GROW UP, is to PUSH them OUT of the nest. Stop going to church for a while. Or as a church stop gathering in the same way for a while... food for thought.
Sean Hyatt - Denver, CO - sean_hyatt@msn.com

[Sean]

Shock therapy may be controversial, but it also helps to get rid of dead weight as well. It is so much easier to get a human body moving after it loses the pointless weight it has gained. After all, it's not about how BIG a body is, it is about how FUNCTIONAL a body is. And a lean body is often much more functional than a heavy one.
Sean Hyatt - Denver, CO - sean_hyatt@msn.com

[Sean]

Sorry for leaving 3 seperate comments, I feel like a dork... but better than discussing, intellectualizing, and theorizing what the next step is --- seeking HIS direction is the one VITAL thing. What might make perfect sense in your church's situation might be the exact opposite of what God wants you to do next. Let Christ be Lord of His church again -- and let HIM tell you guys what to do next. Our best ideas always pale in comparison to what the Holy Spirit is saying to our church family. Listen to what HE is telling you to do next.

[Jeffrey Garner]

Nathan: prototype is in the works. Excellent idea. It moves us forward.

Vince: thank you for the encouragement.

Genaro/Monica: thank you for your support. We'll need it. You are right downtown so your love for the City is already there and you are capable leaders.

Henry: thank you for the wisdom. I agree 'discomfort; is a great thing sometimes.'

Sean: thanks for the thoughts. I couldnt agree more regarding seeking God and getting direction from him. Thanks for the reminder of who is King of this Kingdom. Regarding, stopping Sunday gatherings . . . I feel it is one of the practices that the church has down that is most connected to the early church. They meant on the first day of the week, every week, and celebrated Resurrection. To cease gathering on Sunday (with exceptions of special causes, is to miss out on an important lifestyle of the early church). Gathering on Sunday roots us in the reminder that an 8th day was added to our week, a new creation day, a day when resurrection power came to earth. Much love Brother and glad to hear your words.

[Jeff Vanderstelt]

This is Jeff Vanderstelt from Soma Communities. It's great to hear you all working through this and what it might look like for you in your context to be committed to the mission of Jesus.

I encourage you to keep asking how you can make disciples who make disciples (the lost coming to faith, the believers equipped for ministry and then sent out to be the missionary people starting new churches through making disciples) AND how can you equip the church to glorify God in all things by living all of life in light of the Gospel.

I am eager to see how you work this out and I am willing to help in anyway I can (from afar).

One last thing, if you start a prototype Missional Community, be careful not to just create a Christian Community that exists for each other, but not to reach the world - make sure you clearly identify a mission: A people group or place that God is sending you together to in order to make disciples. If you don't, you may likely become a co-dependent community, not a co-mission church.

[Dorothy Bair]

If our mission field is the city of San Francisco and we are called to show the love of Christ toward the people in this city, how would you define or identify our mission?

[Setima aka Kimo]

Talofa,
Pastor asked the question that day, is our Sundays effectively creating disciples? Thinking back to that moment there was this awkwardness and a pause and before people could give an answer I said within myself and with much hesitantion “no”. One afternoon having coffee with Pastor somehow our conversation led me to remember how church was for me before coming to Lighthouse, I then found myself feeling grateful and I mentioned to pastor how grateful I was to be here at Lighthouse. At my previous church my wife, kids and I lived with the pastor for a little over a year and the church became my family and we ate together went to many conferences together created a lot of fun functions and activities and we were a community. Why I was grateful to be here at Lighthouse because it enabled me to break out of “doing church” It became to me a social club, or gatherings where we came and feel good together it became a comfortable place for me and for my church family, I love my previous church and I still keep in touch with most but church was all about us everything we did somehow the focus was turned back within ourselves and 3 B’s became our Church theme, all the while there were lives all around us all over the neighborhood who could use some of what we had. I became a dependent on “church” and not on the living God. I look back and questioned if we were effective in creating disciples I say no we were building our nests and we made house. Lighthouse grew me up I broke free from my dependency and became independent in Christ Jesus. Do our Sundays effectively create disciples, I wouldn’t say no but not entirely. It wasn’t only Sundays but more the many coffees I had with Pastor, In and Out burgers, the Mediterranean lunches we had with Danny, going out to funerals or driving Pastor to prayer mountain and it wasn’t just the meetings or the lunches but the conversations we had about Jesus and how to love others, topics around reaching out this was effectively building me as a disciple.

Pastor is crazy, was my immediate reaction, I respect him even more for expressing not being satisfied and for seeking out ways for Lighthouse to love and serve. As for Sundays, we may not see clouds parting and the Holy Spirit acceding like a dove but Sundays are creating change so I would agree with most about keeping our Sundays, at least for now. I am all for the prototype but in this prototype I want training, as a child it was the stories that got me, and the bible say unless you’re like a child… Monday thru Saturday we intentionally grind out disciples individually or in groups within our neighborhoods while living life, then on Sundays we all come together to celebrate and worship and encourage and edify and disciple. I also think we can learn a lot from our brother and sister who were part of a similar model and discuss the challenges they faced on what worked and what didn’t. sorry 4 blowing up your blog peace and love

Heal Toe,

[Woody Miller]

So, I tried posting but I guess it didn't work... I'll try again, but if there's two from me, sorry. I'm a dork!

Anyway, I was excited Sunday to be part of the 'missional community' meeting. It's always exciting to me when God is moving, changing things, like a wave on the ocean whose energy swells constantly keeping the water flowing. I can fully relate to Setima, having been part of something similar. When you have great community there is nothing better, except when that becomes stagnant. If it becomes about just getting together and not growing/changing/learning/discipling, you only have one part of an equation.

One thing I love about Lighthouse is the missional foundation. This idea of missional communities sounds so great. I think Nathan's idea of a sketchbook full of unfinished pages is awesome, it allows things to continually change.

When you have either missions or community separately, you lack the other. The idea of missional community works in my opinion, taking authentic comminity, mix it with works/missions, and let God stir the pot to create something new!

Also, Jeff, I just wanted to say thanks for always bringing it on Sundays. For me, you are always right on. Just walking into SFL I know I will receive a blessing, and every Sunday I am there, your words speak to my heart. I don't mean to be 'gushy', but I am sorry for the times I have been moved on a Sunday, and wanted to write you an email of encouragement Monday, but didn't think it would mean much.

It's exciting to be linked with people like you all, and I'm glad I can be a part of this family. Jessica and I both love you all, and you Jeff, and praise God that he has sent us here!

Woody

[Rustin]

"Buildings, Budgets, and Butts".
You need to trademark this!
Great book title, t-shirt, conference or something.
Perhaps, "Beyond Buildings, Budgets and Butts".

In all seriousness, great blog!

[Caesar]

Jeff, and all the Lighthouse family, I am excited and grateful to God to see you engaging so deeply in this discussion and movement toward the Mission. Making Disciples is the Mission.

Always remember, as stated before, our "being" leads to our "doing". Major on the Identity we have in Christ and let that inform how you live out the gospel in the rhythm of San Francisco. For us in Soma, there was a palpable shift in our thinking and movement when we began to embrace our Identity in Rhythm. I gave our folks real handles without handing out to-do lists.

I am praying for you as you listen to the Spirit.

Enjoy Grace.

Caesar from Soma...

P.S. The 3 B's was my idea ;-)

[Jeffrey Garner]

Jeff/Caesar: Thank you guys for posting. What you guys are doing in SOMA is amazing. I was, as you can see in the post, so inspired by your devotion to God's Kingdom. Rock on. Caesar, i remember hearing someone say it at SOMA "Buildings, budgets, and butts, but couldnt remember who. Thanks for clarity. Sorry for not giving you props. :-) I love it, though, along with the other b's "brothers of the leaf.

Kimo, Talofa. thanks for the words. And yeah, "I am crazy." :-o. Love ya, bro.

Woody, thanks for your encouragement. You and Jessica are amazing.

Rustin, see what i said, to Caesar about the three Bs. Dude, I missed you at the Kings of Leon concert. Where were you? Did you go?

Jeff