In the three years we have been in Troy, learning the ropes of church planting and urban missions from an insider's perspective, I have taken the time and opportunity to attend many conferences, both locally and nationally, in an effort to learn and grow. Additionally, I have read numerous books authored by some of the leading thinkers in the realm of church planting. The buzz words, "Missional" and "Incarnational" have sunk into my brain, but my heart is still in the "seeker sensitive" stage.
For instance, I am learning through hands on experience, that being missional and incarnational is not a program, strategy, event, or some new idea that formulated with Ed Stetzer, Alan Hirsch or even Darrell Guder, but simply means living in the community God has sent me to, as a person being transformed daily by Christ. As He lives in me and through me, I am living in such a way that I become the salt and light Jesus spoke of in his Sermon on the Mount.
For me, being "missional" and "incarnational" simply means being the person God created me to be in the place where I live, work and play. It means letting go of what I know and letting Christ truly live His life (Zoe) through me. Then I am able to love as he loved, live as he lived and serve as he served; not merely some superficial vocation that I wear on my sleeve, but a life that is surrendered to do whatever and go wherever the Holy Sprit leads.
I am learning that being missional and incarnational can be fun (it is fun), because if it simply means me being the new man God has created me to be, in the place, and among the people God has sent me to, then by taking my kids and a bunch of neighborhood kids sledding in a nearby park, and then chilling out with some hot cocoa and munchies afterward, and chatting about every day stuff like school, families, life and things that bother us...if that's being missional and incarnational...sign me up every day!
