Session 10 & 11: Tammie

1) What is the church? (In a course on Christ and Culture, this should be discussed and dissected.) Describe its nature (ontological reality, identity, membership), mission (purpose, function, role), and structure (organization, polity, administration).
The church, as it exists locally, regionally and throughout the world, is a community called and set aside by God to be the vehicle through which his redemptive purposes for all of creation are revealed in the midst of a fallen world. As a body of believers led by the Spirit, the church is to be a community of hope. It is comprised of believers and, generally, can be thought of as encompassing two different arenas. First is the invisible church which is comprised of all believers through all the ages and the second is the visible church, active and present today which lives in the already-not yet tension between the time that God's redemptive plan is revealed and the time in which his promise is fulfilled. The church is the body of Christ and, as such, its members have been given gift by the Spirit which equip the church to carry on Christ's mission in the world.The organization of the church is influenced by its history and by the world around it, but it is, at heart, influenced most by the leading and teaching of the Spirit. The organization that a church forms is a means of expressing the nature and values of the church.

2) Unmasking the powers was interesting discussion (p. 135), how does the church engage in this messy ministry in a broken world?
By getting messy ourselves. I heard a speaker earlier this year who challenged the college students to whom he was speaking to do more than just "drop nickels from their SUVs" to help the poor as they themselves pursued the American dream. That has stuck with me as a reminder that ministry - real ministry in a messed-up. broken world - can't be done from afar. We also unmask the powers as we live as the people of God, possessing an otherwise inexplicable hope when the rest of the world seems to be so hopeless. In such a way, we point to Jesus who has disarmed the powers and prove that these powers have no control over the redeemed people of God. In one of the sources I used for the ECM course, a speaker said that the church's mission is to find out what God is doing in the world and join him there (I think I also heard that Bono said that, too, but that's a different story of engaging culture!). That, it seems to me, is an awesome place to start.

3) If the church is to be missional, why do we need Mobile Missional Structures? (p. 169)
Mobile missional structures bring a new dynamic to the local church as it grows from the local church and, in return, strengthens the local church. In one sense, the key to discovering why they are necessary is in their name - mobile. These structures can often move more quickly and effectively than the local church as they are often specialized ministries reaching specific populations. Just a few weeks now after the VT tragedy, I think of campus ministries such as Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and Campus Crusade for Christ which were already active in the campus and its leaders could respond almost instantly to the unfolding tragedy. These mission structures can fill the gaps in the local church. For example, there are not too many local churches that, individually, could afford or administer a full-time overseas mission endeavor on its own. So, mission agencies or departments within denominations have been created to fill that need. It is also notable that those who service in mobile mission agencies have a vision or the skills for ministry in a broader context, but who are connected to the local congregation, For example, the Passion movement with which I have volunteered for the past couple of years is meant to be a catalyst for ministy on college campuses - not the ministry itself.