“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD ... and God will teach us of the divine ways, and we will walk in the Lord’s paths.” (Isaiah 2:3) Photo by Teresa Stricklen
What is Missional Preaching?
Listen to an interview on missional preaching
First of all, let us ask: What does missional mean?
Good question. A cursory glance at uses of the term “missional” indicates that missional is a rather fluid term that has become a buzz word of various meanings. Missional doesn’t just mean doing mission work, though that is certainly a part of what it means to be a missional church. Rather, missional is a broader word used to describe a certain way of being church.
The characteristics of the Missional Church
To different degrees, depending upon their unique cultures, circumstances and people involved, each missional church will embody these characteristics is various ways.
Theological Understandings that Shape a Missional Church
In a sense, there is nothing new about the missional movement. Instead, missional emphasizes certain theological understandings that have always shaped Reformed ecclesiology, though perhaps in new configurations fit for our current situation.
The preaching of a Missional Church
If we are a missional church, sent to proclaim and live out God’s mission, then preaching becomes about more than just unfolding a scripture passage. Missional preaching is not about telling people about the Bible as much as it is about proclaiming what the Bible itself proclaims — the good news of God — and inviting people to live within this reality. After all, we were commissioned to preach the gospel by Jesus Christ, who preached the good news that the basileia (literally, “sovereign activity”) of God is at hand, so we should repent and believe. This Christ commissions us to continue in our incarnate contextual realities, just as he did in his. Like Christ, we are to proclaim God’s mission, or what in the world God is up to in bringing creation under the divine dominion of shalom.
