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Here’s a simple conversation on releasing people for movements! Watch the video…
Jeff: We are moving from a doing for ministry to equipping and releasing….the value of equipping the saints is absolutely crucial! …At Soma, we don’t pay people to do ministry, that’s the Body of Christ. We all do that. But we do free up people for equipping of the saints and administering to feee up the movement of the saints.
Alan: Look at the church – the early primitive movement – it was made up of ordinary people, the most unlikely players – women, men… our most foundational story of ecclesia is not a professional slick show. It’s actually just a group of people fired up by Jesus!
Mike: It’s gotta be defined by: this is what it looked like with Jesus, and this is what we think it’s going to look like in heaven. And so clearly, we’re trying to say, “Let’s live out what it is that we think we can interpret and understand of the community that Jesus created, and the one that we’re expecting in heaven. Let’s try and do that now.” Because then people get a witness of what it is that they’re longing for.
Jo: And the potential – I mean, you think of equipping a banker or someone in a grocery store, when we think of ordinary every day life – when you are equipping everybody, then you are bound to reach more people. When you equip everybody, everyone gets to play, everybody brings in the lost.
Jeff: Not only are you going to probably reach more, but you are also going to help bring all of life under the Lordship of Christ – because you are going to teach them that all of life is ministry.
Al: I’d be interested to see how you guys are doing that. …Most people say that real church is done by professionals. If you are high church, it’s bells and smells. If you are a mega-church, it’s this slick show that you are presenting. …I’d be interested to see how you guys are inculcating the notion that real church is done in ordinary life.
Jeff: We basically say that the gathering of the church is for the sake of equipping the church for everyday life on mission. …What you measure is what you value. So we are measuring everyday life on mission and where that’s happening instead of measuring how many people are coming on Sunday or how many people are giving or whatever. Those aren’t the primary measures of our effectiveness. It’s moms who can actually talk to other moms about Jesus in the everyday life and talk to their kids about it and they see all of life as mission.
How do you measure that? It seems subjective, but it’s not as subjective as you think. You could say – Well, how many friends do you have that would actually call you a friend that don’t yet believe in Jesus? How many people come to you for wisdom and advice? How often is that happening? How many conversations a week do you have about Jesus? Those are things you can talk about [and measure].
Al: A missional church is a church that measures its effectiveness by those outside the church, not simply within the church.
Questions to Consider:
- How are you being equipped to live on mission with Jesus?
- How is your church about more than what happens on Sundays?
- How are you living out the community that Jesus created?
- How is everyone in your church engaged in reaching the lost and making disciples?
- How are you brining all of your life under the Lordship of Christ?
- How are you embodying the notion that real church is done in everyday life?
- How are you measuring effectiveness?
- How many non-Christians would call you a friend and seek your advice?
- How many conversations about Jesus have you had this past week?
Today’s Missional Challenge
Consider how you are equipping and releasing others to live on mission with Jesus. How will you measure your effectiveness?
