Core Value #2: Missional Community

The word missional has become a popular slogan for many of our churches and denominations today.  This missional movement has swept through and crossed all denominational lines.  With this mass popularity has come much confusion and complexity as to what this word really means and what it means to serve in a missional community.  Missional simply means to be on mission.  It embraces the understanding that just as Jesus Christ was sent into the world that he also sends us out into the world (John 20:21).  So, to belong to a missional community means that everyone is outreached focused with the chief motivation of our lives being a fulfillment of the great commission (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8). Every member of the missional community gets on the playing field participating in the expansion of gospel ministry all over the globe.  As John Piper says there are really only three types of people in the church when it comes to missions, "Those that are sent, those that send and those that are disobedient."

The Antioch Church certainly was a missional community.  Their focus was on fulfilling the great commission not just on building their own congregation.  Consider that fact that Paul and Barnabas are the traveling evangelists who came there to build up the congregation.  They were like the consultants and the experts in their midst.  It was a great blessing to the church to have them present for a full year to teach and disciple them.  Instead of holding tight to Paul and Barnabas they sent them out to carry out the great commission which was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ.

To be this type of community will often require sacrifice.  It means we may have to sacrifice our best generals or even those large givers!  This is what it takes to build the Lord's Kingdom.  It means we will have to at times sacrifice our kingdom.  Brian Bloye experienced this at his church.  He is a church planter and had successfully planted a nice mid sized church.  In the church planting world he was already extremely successful and he could have easily maintained at that level leading a very comfortable lifestyle.  He knew more was required though.  So, what he did was took his core team from this church and sent them out to plant another church.  Within this group existed those that volunteered the most time to the ministry and the largest financial contributor.  Yet he still sent them out and what has taken place since then is really remarkable.  Now, his ministry is flourishing as the culture in this community is one that embraces the missional lifestyle.  Let's be people that go out on mission to impact lives for the glory of God!

Core Value #1: Shared Leadership

Studying the church at Antioch brings us to a clear conclusion on what an essential core value is of a Biblically sound church.  This core value is shared leadership.  The leaders were gathered together worshipping the Lord and the Holy Spirit spoke to the leadership team to set apart Paul and Barnabas to send them out on their missionary journey.  The interesting thing about the lead team at Antioch is there was great diversity among the group.

First, just simply consider the ethnicity of all of the leaders:

• Barnabas was from Cyprus and a Hellenistic Jew.
• Simeon (Niger) was black.
• Lucius from Cyrene was an African.
• Manaen from Palestine was a Grecian/Herodian
• Saul (Paul) was from Tarsus and a Hebraic Jew.

Never in a million years would we think to assemble such a "motley crue" group together.  This is the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of God unites the hearts of people with different backgrounds in order to carry out the great commission for his glory and honor.  In God's economy he does not just choose one type of person to be a leader, but he raises people up from every nation, every tribe and every tongue.

In addition to their diverse ethnic backgrounds clearly different gifts exist among the group.  Some were prophets and teachers.  Paul was an apostle and a missionary.  Barnabas was given the missionary gift as well.  God gives different gifts according to the grace given to each person.  It is our duty to band together with those individuals that have very different gifts and all exercise our gifts for the glory of God.  This is what was taking place at the church.

God does not want his leaders to go out as "lone rangers"!  We are called to band together with other godly leaders and charge forward as a unified group.  We are to be unified even in the midst of our diversity.   It response to my last blog post our good friend Becca Carr shared some very insightful thoughts on this concept of "Unity in Diversity":

What strikes me is the "unity in diversity" that was, and can only truly be, accomplished in Jesus that was displayed in the church then. how beautiful, and how really glorifying to God it is when we can sincerely neglect to take into account each other's backgrounds, levels of education, ethnic culture, or whatever differences we may have, and see and treat each other for what we really are - fellow sinners saved by God's grace and mercy. it's so liberating to forfeit any competition we may feel with each other, and know that His value of us isn't effected by how we are evaluated by others. i think when we allow the Holy Spirit to show us how deeply dependent we are on His power to do anything good, how incapable we are in ourselves, it won't be difficult to have that sincere humility and selflessness that Paul and Barnabas had.

This shared leadership concept is a core value for me in my ministry.  For one thing I know that I have way to many weaknesses to build a sound ministry as a "one man show."  It just won't work.  This is why the Bible time and time again calls for a plurality of overseers to lead and direct the church.  I am earnestly praying and on the lookout for leaders who feel called to unite together for a common vision and purpose reaching people for Christ.  Identify the way that God has uniquely equipped and called you and go and fulfill that calling!

Antioch Church

The church at Antioch appeared in the drama of the early church play on two significant occasions.  They were a vital character in moving the plot forward for the expansion of Christ's church.  The term "Christian" was attributed to those followers of Christ who faithfully testified of their Lord in Antioch.  This church held a special place in the hearts of Paul and Barnabas as they spent an entire year at Antioch depositing the truths of the Scriptures into the believers bank accounts (Acts 11:26).  Essentially these two godly men where obeying the great commission teaching and instructing the believers to obey all that Christ commanded (Matt. 28:20).  From this account we learn that Paul and Barnabas were more than just those "soul-winning" missionary types, but they also believed in "soul-saturating" by continually informing the people in the doctrines of the faith (Acts 2:42).

In Acts 13 we glean even more insight about the infamous Antioch Church.  In three very brief verses (Acts 13:1-3) we learn so much about what made this church so unique and special.  A culture was created in which diversity was not only allowed but celebrated as the church leaders came from completely different ethnic backgrounds and we read about them being united together worshipping the Lord, "Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch and Saul" (Acts 13:1).  Furthermore, we see that they not only were from different ethnic backgrounds but they had a diversity of gifts as well.  Some present were gifted as teachers and others as prophets.  Paul (Saul) was of course appointed as an apostle.  Paul and Barnabas clearly had the missionary gift and calling.  No two individuals are alike nor does the Lord distribute the same gifts to every individual.  All are given different gifts and are commanded to use them according to the measure of grace they are given (Rom. 12:3, 6).

Paul and Barnabas were the missionaries that came to the church at Antioch.  They were the "experts" who had been to this rodeo before and they were there to instruct the church in what they know and have learned.  Clearly they were the most seasoned and qualified leaders at the church.  Notice, though that they did not suffer from a case of "spiritual elitism" in which they viewed themselves as the only leaders in the group.  In fact they submitted themselves to the leadership at the church!  The church at Antioch sent them out on their next missionary journey (Acts 13:3).  Paul and Barnabas presented themselves as servants to the church and lifted others up to exercise their gifts for the glory and honor of God.

The Antioch Church claimed their stake in the annuls of church history as a church focused outward and can properly be called a sending church, "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.  Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off" (Acts 13:2-3).  I am sure that after serving the Antioch Church for a year that the people had a deep love and affection for them.  It would have been profitable for the church to keep Paul and Barnabas around.  A culture of true Kingdom building was created in the midst of this church.  Notice I said "true" culture of Kingdom building.  All churches seem to have a focus on kingdom building.  The problem is that many focus on building their kingdom rather than His Kingdom.

This mindset adopted by the Antioch Church is the proper one to have.  It is our calling to have a vision for being a sending church and to set aside times to worship to seek out the Lord's calling.  John Piper says that there are three types of people that exist in every church, "Those that send, those that are sent, those that are disobedient."  The question is which category to you fall in?  Let's model our lives and ministry after the Antioch Church and be sent ones and senders for the glory of God.

DID YOU KNOW: The city of Antioch was held by Muhammed Ali for a period of about 9 years.  Well, this was not the boxer but Muhammed Ali of Egypt who lived in the early to mid eighteen hundreds.