I have been meaning to read Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community since it came out last year. I wish I could have read this about 3 years ago. But it was not available at the time. Overall, this is a very good, and important book that most pastors need to read. Oh, and their elders too. Pastors don’t have their lay leaders read enough books. The pastor needs to get these men on board to begin shifting the culture of the local congregation. I’ll begin with my pet peeves, and then hit some of the highlights.
Annoyances: At times the book was a bit repetative and sometimes abstract. I don’t have a whole lot of patience for factual errors (“North America is the most diverse nation in the world.” page 14. North America is a continent, not a nation.) The editors missed lots of mistakes in spelling or punctuation. I guess I expect more- they are professionals. Perhaps it is my theological heritage, but I’m uncomfortable with calling living people apostles. I know the Bible uses the term for the office and a role (essentially church planters). But to use it in a book can be confusing. Lastly, I’m not sure if they are perhaps a bit too broad in their grasp of orthodoxy. It was hard to tell, but they seemed a bit too gracious toward some people I would be uncomfortable with.
The Intro: Stetzer and Putman discuss how evangelism and missions are connected. They lay out their basic premise: “Evangelism is telling people about Jesus; missions involves understanding them before we tell them.”
The Emerging Glocal Context: The main point is that “there are cultural barriers that blind people from understanding the gospel.” They affirm the spiritual barriers. But most conservatives underestimate the cultural barriers. So, one of the tasks of church leaders is to identify those barriers and then remove them. The problem (which they keep bringing up) is that too many Christians “love their preferences and their strategies more than they love the people whom God has call them to reach.” This is one of the most important things for church leaders to hear. Our problem is that we live in fear of the surrounding culture.
Breaking the Missional Code: They identify some churches that “broke the code.” They made some interesting choices, particularly (from my perspective) Saddleback. Rick Warren did a great job breaking the code, but I’m not sure how solid his application of that data is. I think he underestimates the power of the Word, treating it more like a proof-text machine instead of explaining and applying the Bible. I’m much more a Mark Driscoll guy.
They point people toward other local churches that broke the code to quickly understand your own context. The point is, why reinvent the wheel. But a church that breaks the code keeps breaking the code. Communities are not static, but dynamic. You have to keep doing your work.
Responding to the Commissions of Jesus: They build a Scriptural case for missional thinking and practice. They keep hitting the drumbeat too: “Missions makes this point: it is not about us and our preferences.” Again, “Our churches often struggle because we put our preferences over our call- our preferences over our mission.”
The Missional Church Shift: The fourth chapter focuses on the shifts in ministry models over the last few decades. They trace it from Church Growth -> Church Health -> Missional Church. They provide a helpful table to understand the distinctions between these 3 models. They once again return to the Sin of Preferences, with a big section of the chapter devoted to it. One problem with many churches is that the ministry choices are made based on the preferences of the people already there- not what will make the greatest impact for the gospel in their particular community. I like this statement: “How we do church is grounded in Scripture but applied in culture.” This about sums it up. This is especially important for a church in a missionary context, like much of North America.
Transitions to Missional Ministry: I did not find this chapter very captivating. It focused on big picture transitions. From programs to processes; from demographics to discernment; from models to missions; from attractional to incarnational; from uniformity to diversity; from professional to passionate; from seating to sending; from decisions to disciples; from additional to exponential; from monuments to movements. I’m on board with most of these. Some of these shifts are a function of their denominational context (SBC).
Values of Leaders and Churches that Break the Code: I struggled a bit with calling. I feel an internal call to ministry. But they define it terms of to “a specific place and/or people.” I’m not sure Paul experienced such a thing except for the Macedonian vision. But they diss the guy who looks for an opportunity. It is as though they are expecting a voice to say “go to __________.” Perhaps this is a function of my own status as one needing an opportunity- though I want a good fit. I think as I get to know the search committee and learn about a congregation, I will feel a sense of call to that church. But that does not arise in a vacuum. I couldn’t tell you today, or next month, I’m called to “x”. I just didn’t find this to be the most helpful chapter.
Contexualization: Making the Code Part of Your Strategy This chapter was largely focused on the shift to the emerging church, and seemed focused on the greater length of time moving into membership. I mean the person is committed to the church often before they are committed to Christ. It also discusses the tension between seeker & believer targeted worship services. Our tendency to go to extremes means that evangelism-focused services leave believers frustrated, and believer-focused services leave the unchurched, seekers and new Christians frustrated. What never seems to get addressed is that churches are supposed to balance evangelism and edification (and exaltation). The same gospel is supposed to be preached for justification and sanctification. Songs should be meaningful and accessible. We err if we go too far in any one direction. This was not one of the stronger chapters.
I really didn’t find the next few chapters very stimulating. I struggled with them, but they might be helpful to others in different circumstances.
Revitalization to Missional Ministry: chapter 10 brought me back. This is what I really needed to know 3 years ago. I needed a process to recognize and institute the changes needed to change our congregation. I didn’t have it. We tried NCD, and read From Embers to a Flame together (we never could seem to make it to the conference). But this chapter could have made a big difference.
“1. Make a list of the fastest-growing, biblically faithful, and culturally engaged churches in the area, and go visit them.” The second criteria really limited the field here. But there are some in our county.
“2. Lead the church to experience different kinds of worship.” “The key, regardless of the genre of worship, was being able to worship in a familiar way that allowed them to express their heartbeat.”
“3. Bring it home and discuss it.” This begins the process of deconstructing any false notions you have of “doing church”. They then discuss the needed steps of inviting and welcoming guests, connecting with people and plugging them into community that they might discover and grow.
Since I’m not a church planter, I passed over the chapter on Planting Missional Ministries. Chapter 12 was focused on Networks, which is the new paradigm. They addressed the strengths and weaknesses of those networks.
Breaking the Code Without Compromising the Faith was an important chapter. The focus is not on technique, but on solid missiological thinking. We must be solidly biblical, but also contextualize the message so people understand it. Here Stetzer gives his categories for the emerging church (relevants, reconstructionists and revisionists). They view the revisionists like the older liberals or neo-orthodox scholars. They suggest you can read them for some good descriptions of the problem, but not good prescriptions to solve the problem. I’m not sold on that.
The chapter on the Best Practices of Leaders and Churches that Break the Code disturbed me in some ways. They noted that they are willing to pay the price. But the example was Bill Hybels schedule in the early days of Willowcreek. He basically worked 7 days a week. That is not paying the price, but disobedience in my book. Where was the time to rest? It is commanded by God, not merely a pleasant suggestion. This is not a positive role model for me, but something to be avoided.
On of the best chapters was The Process of Breaking the Code. There I found some rebukes for me. For the last few years I haven’t really wanted to be where I am. But I submitted to God and continued to do the best I could. But I did not love this community. I loved the people in my congregation, my friends and some other people. “We need to love the culture where God sends us and not be longing for the way it was somewhere else.” Or to be somewhere else. “Once God softens our hearts toward the community, then we begin to live as aliens who love the community where God made us sojourners.”
They provided some good practical steps on how to break the code. My red pen got quite the workout. Some are fairly common sensical, but some did not come to my mind.
Although not a perfect book, it is a book well worth reading to shift a congregations’ thinking. It is for those pastors and churches who have the truth, but are finding it difficult to get anyone to listen.
Cavman Considers 
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