keller on missional

Phil Johnson thinks "Missional living as portrayed in many Emerging communities is not a legitimate substitute for real evangelism, where the gospel is proclaimed plainly and powerfully." I'm not sure how Johnson gets to "many Emerging communities" ... I can easily accept "some Emerging communities" just as I can "some Evangelical/Charismatic/insert whatever flavor you want communities".

SB at Exhibiting the Value of Knowing God addresses this well and finds it helpful to have the word missional in our vocabulary (contrary to Johnson). Here he points us to this excellent piece by Tim Keller on The Missional Church. Keller explains that the elements of a missional Church are:

1. Discourse in the vernacular
2. Enter and re-tell the culture's stories with the gospel
3. Theologically train lay people for public life and vocation
4. Create Christian community which is counter-cultural and counter-intuitive
5. Practice Christian unity as much as possible on the local level

As always, Keller is persuasive and helpful.

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