There seems to be lots of confusion about what it means to be missional. I don’t pretend to be an expert. But I think the Acts 29 Network provides a good summary of what it means.
“We believe that our local churches must be faithful to the content of unchanging Biblical doctrine (Jude 3).”
I’d include Galatians 1 in there. Missional Churches have a firm grasp of the unchanging Gospel. The content of the Great News does not change, though our understanding of it sure can. As we mature in Christ, we should have a fuller understanding and experience of the Great News. In other words, we should understand biblical doctrine better, and appropriate it by faith more consistently.
“We believe that our local churches must be faithful to the continually changing context of the culture(s) in which they minister (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).”
Churches do not exist in a vacuum. They live in a culture. In Acts 1 Jesus tells them to wait until the Spirit comes with power, and then bring the Great News to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the ends of the earth. Each of those places was culturally different. That means more than they had a different language. They had different customs, traditions, priorities and concerns. In some ways those would reflect a biblical world view (though often flawed), and in other ways those would oppose a biblical world view. Paul preached differently to Jews and Gentiles. More importantly, Paul made himself indistinguishable from the culture he was in to gain a hearing. He maintained God’s moral standards, but he was flexible on cultural issues. Paul blended in, not sticking out like a sore thumb- except for matters of faith & practice.Missional Churches recognize that Galatians 1 & 1 Corinthians 9 are NOT at odds with one another. We must live 1 Corinthians 9 in order to bring Galatians 1 to our communities. This means a church in Bithlo, FL will not look like one in Seattle, WA or Los Angeles. That is because their cultures are different.
“We believe that our mission is to bring people into church so that they can be trained to go out into their culture as effective missionaries.”
Here is the main difference that sets Missional Churches apart. Traditional and Contemporary Churches tend to have a “come and see” attitude. They have speciel evangelistic events, or a seeker service. They invite or attract the lost to come and hear the Gospel. Missional Churches send their people out, after equipping them, to bring the Gospel to the lost. This is part of recognizing the cultural shift that has been taking place in many places in our nation and the world. Christianity is no longer “dominant”, but has become marginalized. We are no longer seen as the movers & shakers, but are looked down upon. In those places, the Church must return to an early church mindset of going out to seek the lost rather than just expecting them to show up on your door because you’ve got a cool looking building with great programs.
I guess the way I look at it, we can either spend our time whining that we are no longer a “powerful” cultural influence, or we can begin to influence the culture in a new way, by seeking the lost to bring them to faith. Not a glamorous as having political and economic power- but more in keeping with the ministries of Jesus, Peter, Paul and the rest of the Apostles.
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CT has on on-line 
The Red Sox made a trade today for some help in the bullpen. That is important since Manny Delcarmen is having some issues with his thumb, and Foulke was pulled from playing today. Some say it is his back, some speculate on a trade. No one knows. But the trade! 
Cavman Considers 