Bonhoeffer’s Missiological Approach
The City - Photo by JR Woodward
1. There is mission with the view from inside: renewal
The church in ongoing reform and obedience to Christ alone
2. There is mission with the view from below: suffering
We must see history from the perspective of the powerless and oppressed
3. There is mission with the view from the outside: embrace
How can Christ be Lord of the religionless?
4. There is mssion with the view from the world: solidarity
Christ is present in the world and for the world
5. There is mission with the view from the cruiciform center: the cross
The faith that will make a mark in the world carries a cross
When I used to help people redoing their gardens, I would give them ideas. One time the guys asked me to use the word bush instead if shrubbery. I guess they got lost when I would use the word as it was not part of their everyday vocabulary…it was like their mind got stuck and couldn’t go beyond the word they weren’t sure of….same with soil vs dirt…so sometimes their resistance to my ideas was really them getting stuck..it helped tons when I changed my wording for different audiences!! So with what I am reading on missional…the words that get me stuck are community, missional and another one I can’t remember right now..though I have read the definition from your writings it is still not a part of my everyday vocabulary…is there a good word to use instead that might make it more of an easy read…In college the word mole in Chem class did the same thing….could never get the equation quick enough because I would get stuck on an animal in my head not the number needed ..Just a thought!!
A word instead of missional and community? Missiology is simply the study of missions – or the great commission and great commandment lived out in everyday life communally as the people of God.
So missional could be= how we purposely/intentionally “do life” to know God & help others know God..something like that to an unchurched person??
Is community anyone we would have contact with?…if so does it mean our neighborhood, our family,our work place, our city or perhaps all these? If so, could it be replaced with any of these words depending on the person …I might use “family” if my thinking is right & following you right on with this..maybe most of your audience is the churched so what do I know…I was just thinking
FYI…I am the first to get saved among my siblings, parents..etc….and I got saved while taking a class thru Riverview some 30 years…the class was on how to share the Gospel…we do not know who the next JR or Arlene is going to be to replace us…who was it that penned the saying KISS-keep it simple when we were growing in our faith…perhaps the next JR isn’t even a Christian yet and he will read your stuff before he makes that Big step