Lexicon (part 1)

Lexicon (part 1)

lexiconA lexicon of common terms will be helpful to accurately communicate vision, strategy, and tactical plans. Many words have baggage associated with them or have had their meanings stretched by cultural usage. Instead of creating new terms, I think we can simply agree to a common understanding of meaning when we use them. A common vocabulary and consistant usage of terms will enable us to communicate and exchange ideas more efficiently and with greater accuracy. Here’s the first list of words that we need to consider:

The church is not a place or a building. It is the people of God: gathered as family, worshipping as a faith community, or serving as a team. It can be seen in the two or three at the coffee shop, a small group in a home, a team serving in the community, as well as those in a weekly gathering for worship and inspiration. NineSevenZero Church is not a place but the identity of those who have joined in a common Kingdom purpose and passion. A biological family’s identity is not determined by the home they live in. They are a family whether they are at home or not, whether they are together or apart. The church is also the Body of Christ and is therefore less of an organization and more of an organism, less structural more organic. This means that any building used for a gathering must always facilitate and serve the mission of the church not supplant it.

Discipleship is not a class or a program. It is the lifestyle, a way of life, for the disciple of Christ. In New Testament culture a disciple didn’t just want to know what the master knew. The goal of the disciple was to become like the master in every way, to actually become a clone of the master. That’s why the disciple went everywhere the master went and did everything the master did, 24x7x365. The church body can help, facilitate, resource and hold the disciple accountable but each person must assume responsibility for his own discipleship. Discipleship is the life long process of devotion to following Jesus and learning His words and His ways.

Community is not attending a religious experience once a week like going to a sporting event. True community is only found in the context of genuine relationships. Honest relationships that share life and the walk of faith as it really is, not a phony projection of perfection and religious righteousness. Avatars, imaginary friends and simulated environments are fine in video games not in life.

Unity is not a homogenized party line or the result of a blind faith in a leader. The unity that comes from the Holy Spirit doesn’t require a frontal lobotomy, setting aside one’s giftings or calling, or silent compliance. The unity that Christ prayed for us in John 17 was a unity in the midst of great diversity. It is a unity that is forged by the Holy Spirit in the plurality of passion, experience, goals, personality, opinion, and ideas as well as diversity of race, language, and ethnicity. Jesus said that this unnatural unity will be a testimony to the world that he is who he said he was and that God loves them.

Ministry is not a vocation nor is it what 20 percent of the church does for the other 80 percent’s benefit. Ministry is active, compassionate service to others. While some of it involves serving those in the Body of Christ the majority of it is directed to those outside the church. Ministry is not a vocation nor is it a program that the church organizes and administers. While the church may help facilitate and encourage people in their service, active ministry is part of what a disciple of Christ does in the context of their personal lives and small group relationships.

Missions and Missional – Missions is not a program of the church. It is its purpose. Missional is simply an adjective that describes something that is characterized by mission. The first century culture was God’s incubator for the genesis of the Church. And while that culture did not welcome or embrace them, the Church multiplied at an unparalleled rate and its influence resulted in transformed communities that shifted culture and influenced nations as it spread. They were world changers in their first generations. That is the missional portrait of the Church painted in the New Testament.

“Fundamentally, our mission (if it is biblically informed and validated) means our committed participation as God’s people, at God’s invitation and command, in God’s own mission within the history of God’s world for the redemption of God’s creation.” (The Mission of God, by Christopher Wright)

Please make comments and offer suggestions for terms that are important for us to agree on what they mean and how we’ll use them.

 

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