Still Becoming Missional

          Yesterday we started a mini-series called “Missional: What in the World?”  In this three-Sunday series, we are looking at stories from the book of Acts to see how the early church was “missional" and to encourage us in the process of becoming missional at Calvary.  Although the word "missional" is a fairly recent word, the concept is as old as the first century. 

          In asking "what does missional mean?" I gave a little historical background in the introduction to yesterday's message.  Here's a recap of that:

          The word “missional” hasn’t really been around for long.  About 20 years ago (1991), missiologist David Bosch wrote a book entitled Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission.  In it he acknowledges six eras in the history of the church: the primitive, the patriarchic, the medieval, the reformation, the enlightenment and the ecumenical.  He proposes that in each of those there has been a shift in the way the church understands mission (a paradigm of the theology of mission).  He further acknowledges that we live in pluralistic era where the world is no longer geographically divided into “Christian” and “non-Christian;” a world where the global west is less Christian and where Christianity has shifted to the global south and to the east.  In other words, the modern missionary era where the primary direction of mission is the Christian west sending missionaries to the heathen east and south is past.  This reality, Bosch proposed, calls for a renewed understanding of mission.  The church of the 21^st century needs a renewal of how they see mission and missions.  Bosch says,

“In the new image mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God.  God is a missionary God…Mission is thereby seen as a movement from God to the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission.  There is a church because there is mission, not vice versa.”

         Taking his cue from Bosch’s work, Darrell Guder, seven years later (1998), published the book Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America.  This is probably one of the first publications where the word “missional” appeared.  Guder also recognized that we live in a post-Christendom era and that this reality calls us to look at the “mission of God” in a new way.  Christendom may be described as the era in history where church, state and society were so integrated that to be a church member was virtually equivalent to being a citizen of a Western country or vice-versa.  The mission of the church was beyond its national borders to the heathen in other parts of the world.  So the missionary activity of the church was sending professionals overseas.

         Christendom has also been referred to as the Constantinian system because it began with Emperor Constantine in the fourth century when Christianity was a protected and privileged religion of society and the church its legally established institutional form. Living in a post-Christendom or Post-Constantinian era requires us to think of mission in a new way.  We should not think of the mission as church-centered but as God-centered.  To be missional in this sense is to move from a church that sends to a church that is sent by God.  In other words, the mission field is not beyond our borders but in our backyards.  We go from sending to being sent.  So “missional” is the term that refers to a new understanding of mission for our current era.

         Milfred Minatrea, who preached at Calvary on many occasions before I came to be the pastor, wrote a very practical book on the subject Shaped by God’s Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches (2004).  In it he offers some contrasts that might help us in our understanding of what it means to be a missional church.

       Mission-minded                          Missional

Sending & supporting                 being & doing

Representative                           participative

One expression of ministry         the essence of its existence

So, in summary, to be a missional church is about being God’s sent people to live his purpose in the world.

         (We need not worry about the post-Christendom reality.  We are reminded that the church in the first century, the church we read about in the New Testament, did not live during Christendom.  It lived in a time of persecution and paganism.  Yet, it was a time of great missionary advance.  It was a time of the Holy Spirit’s power in the life of the church.  That’s the story of the Book of Acts.  We find encouragement in knowing that as much as the world of the 21^st century resembles the 1^st century, we can rely on the same God).

         We are grateful that Calvary has been in the process of becoming a missional church for sometime now.  Calvary has always been a missionary church.  The church has been a faithful sending and supporting congregation leading the way for other churches throughout its appropriate eras since its establishment.  As we have moved into the 21st century and the world has changed, Calvary has not stayed stuck in the paradigms of the past but has taken large steps toward being a missional congregation.  As such, we see ourselves not just as a church that sends and supports missionaries but also as a people who are sent each day to be on God’s mission in our world.  There is a core group of people within Calvary who are missional, and thus, live missionally.  There are too many examples of this in our church to list in this blog post but we can list a couple of recent ones:

          Last Sunday we commissioned two teams of our members going to Kenya and the Amazon Basin.  The primary leaders for these two teams are not staff at Calvary.  We are grateful for church members who have stepped up to the plate responding to their passion for missions.  Our congregation responded with a special mission trips offering totaling $ 14,378.  I believe this was a way for Calvary to really become a part of those who are going from among us.

         Like these two groups, there are just as many, if not more, Calvary members going on their own mission trips to Germany, Paraguay, Africa and several other places.  These are not trips plan or led by Calvary staff but they are made by Calvary members.  These individuals and families demonstrate that going on mission is who they are.  They will do it as God calls them to do so whether the church leads it or not.

         This coming Sunday we will have with us a couple (one of whom is Calvary's own) who are serving in East Asia sharing briefly about their ministry there.

         Additionally, we are also grateful that the search committee for a Mobilization and Global Impact Pastor had its first meeting yesterday afternoon.  The committee elected Angela Sesin as chair.  During the summer the committee will engage in prayer and the development of a profile for the position.  The other committee members that the church elected are Ron Corbett, Tom Boone, Cindy Shartle and Jose Luis Cuellar.  We continue to pray for the committee as they engage in a search process that is Spirit led.  We are confident that whenever the committee is ready to present a candidate to the church, we will be ready to move forward with calling a pastor to fill this important position, if the congregation discerns that he/she is the person God has for Calvary.

         Calvary had been in a process of becoming a missional church several years before I came to be its Lead Pastor.  Personally, I am grateful for those leaders and church members that have followed the Spirit's leading in this process.  I am honored to have come on board such a church as Calvary.  My heart's desire is to see us continue growing in that process of becoming missional.  I am excited at the prospect of what God will do at Calvary as we move toward the 2012-2013 year.

Summer Excitement

               As we approach the summer there are some things about which to be excited and for which to be praying.


               The first one is the beginning of the search process for a Mobilization and Global Impact Pastor.  Last night at our Church in Conference, the congregation elected Tom Boone, Cindy Shartle, Angela Sesin, Luis Cuellar and Ron Corbett as the search committee for this important position.  Please pray for them as they plan to meet and seek God's direction in this process.


               The second one has to do with an emphasis we are calling "Summer of the Family."  While our fall and spring semesters focus on equipping, this summer our weekday focus will be family enrichment.  We are calling it “Summer of the Family.”  We hope these opportunities will foster healthier families.  We hope that as a church family we can have opportunities to interact across generations (kids, students, parents and senior adults).  We also hope that our extended church family can grow in fellowship toward one another.  Some of these events will be church-wide.  Others will seek deeper interaction within the Classic and Contemporary congregations or within the Spanish Language congregation.  We will start this emphasis with Adventure Week.  This year’s approach will be more like a family VBS and will include classes for parents.  The other two church-wide events are the Fourth of July Tailgate Party and a Swimming night at the end of the summer.  There will be four events for adults, students and children that relate to the Classic and Contemporary services: a movie night, a potluck dinner, a field day and a bowling night.  Anybody is welcome to these four events but the core group will be from the English language congregation.  (The Spanish language ministry will have family enrichment classes during these Wednesdays).  We will conclude this emphasis with a conference for women led by singer/author Michelle Pillar.


          Please pray for these events, plan to participate, encourage others to be a part of them.  Let's grow in fellowship as a church family so that we can serve God and others better!

Mobilization and Global Impact Pastor

            Over the last couple of months, I have featured our pastoral staff on my blog.  This weekend I’m asking you to pray about a pastoral staff vacancy we have had for two years.

             Three years ago, Calvary had eight full-time pastors on staff.  For about a year now, we have had 6 full-time and 1 part-time pastor.  We are grateful for the willingness in the current staff to take on additional responsibilities during the lack of 1 1/2 pastors.

             Our vacant position on our staff is the Pastor for Mobilization and Global Impact.  This is the pastoral position that oversees local and global missions.  For the last two years, Pastor Rolando Aguirre has been overseeing the regional missions aspect.  The global aspect has been done by various people on staff and by some lay leadership.  This global aspect is being done at a minimal level, such as short-term mission trips but not in the establishing and nurturing of long-term partnerships.  However, as the Spanish Language Ministry grows and other pastoral needs increase, it is important that Pastor Rolando be relieved of that responsibility.  It is also important that we have someone who can give more strategic, long-term direction to our global missions involvement.  As our summer mission trip participants return at the end of this summer, it will be important to have someone give meaningful follow-up to their work.

               In the last two years, the overall attendance, membership and financial giving at Calvary has slightly, but steadily, increased.  We are grateful for that measure of health in our congregation.  We have determined that we desire to continue being a missional church.  As we move forward with the vision God has given us, it is important that we prepare to call a Pastor for Mobilization and Global Impact.  This position has been funded in our budget already.  Although, that does not automatically mean that we can afford to fill it, the cash flow over expenses over the last year or so, does demonstrate our ability to fill this vacancy.

              The personnel committee is bringing a recommendation to our congregation in Church Conference tomorrow evening to select a search committee and start the process of filling this vacancy.  The stewardship committee has endorsed this recommendation already.  What is necessary now is to pray for a process that is led by God, for the selection of a search committee, that God will lead the committee and that the church find His person for the job, and that our congregation continue to grow in budget giving.

              Please make plans to come to Church in Conference tomorrow.  Also, prayerfully consider names that you may want to submit for this search committee.  Committee members must have been members of Calvary for at least one year.  The committee must have an adequate ratio of men and women.  Calvary employees and their immediate families may not serve as members of a pastoral search committee.

               By the way, you can access the reports and documents to be presented for the church in conference from our webpage:

http://www.calvarymcallen.org/

Marcus Rodriguez, Pastor for Families with Students

            We are blessed to have Marcus Rodriguez as our Pastor for Families with Students.  Marcus is originally from the Rio Grande Valley and a graduate of UTPA.  He and his wife Hannah love the Lord and love teenagers.  Marcus also enjoys fishing, photography, and video editing, among other things.  The Rodriguez’ are the proud parents of Bethany (see photo above) and Lydia who recently arrived (see photo below)!

            Marcus’ ministry is directly with students in Middle and High School but also includes students’ parents and adults who volunteer in student ministry.  The student ministry consists of Sunday morning Bible Fellowships at two different hours ministering to students whose families attend any of our English or Spanish language services.  The midweek experience for Calvary students of all ages is called “Remedy” and is essentially a worship service with a teaching time led by Pastor Marcus.  Annual/seasonal events in Calvary’s student ministry are Katalyst (an intense discipleship weekend), Camp Zephyr (a summer camp experience), Congreso (a student ministry conference), and occasional mission service experiences throughout the year.  In addition to student ministry, Marcus also oversees our webpage design and maintenance.  On occasion Pastor Marcus supplies the pulpit in the English language services.  God has used him every time he preaches and we are grateful for that.

            Please pray for Pastor Marcus and his family as they raise their beautiful daughters and as they go into a busy summer that includes Camp Zephyr and a trip for Marcus to Kenya with a Calvary group.  May God continue to use Marcus as he ministers to our students and their families.

Gary Faris, Pastor for Spiritual Development

Gary Faris is our Pastor for Spiritual Development.  Gary is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Pastor Gary came to Calvary after serving on staff in several churches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  His favorite verse is Ephesians 2:10,  ^"For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

  Rosario, Gary’s wife, is an avid runner and a great cook.  They have three children: Chelsey (13), a Fossum Falcon, who really enjoys playing sports for Fossum.  Her favorite sports are soccer and basketball; Andrew (11) and Michael (10) who love basketball and want to change their school mascot to the Garza Rhinos (currently it’s the Garza Unicorns and they don’t like that).

            Gary’s primary role is to give leadership to our adult discipleship ministry.  This includes English and Spanish language Adult Bible Fellowships (mostly on Sunday mornings) and the EQUIP ministry on Wednesday nights.  The former is the group ministry where new comers and members can build community and grow in discipleship.  The latter is a training venue for current and potential leaders.  Gary provides advisory support to the Spanish language EQUIP ministry, which goes by “Instituto.”  He also provides support to Feature, a monthly women’s luncheon.  Additionally, Pastor Gary oversees the church membership records and supervises food service at Calvary.

          We are grateful for Gary's experience, thorough knowledge, and reflective thinking skills as it applies to church ministry.  We also appreciate the cross-cultural experience that Gary and his wife bring to ministry.  We pray that God continues to bless the Faris family.

Susan Sosebee, Pastor for Families with Children

We are grateful for Susan Sosebee who is pastor for Families with Children.  Susan recently celebrated her 15^th anniversary as part of the pastoral team at Calvary.  She is a native of the Rio Grande Valley.  Susan and her husband Danny, both Texas A&M graduates, have three children: Jacob who lives with his wife and baby in Progreso, Rachel who lives with her husband and baby in San Antonio, and Seth who is a student at Texas A&M University.

Susan’s ministry includes leading the Children’s Bible Fellowship ministry on Sunday mornings providing for preschoolers and children during the 9:30 am and 11:00 am hours and for preschoolers for the 12:30 pm hour.  Additionally she leads “The Grove” on Wednesday nights, which provides several options to our Calvary children to learn about missions, grow in discipleship, memorize Scripture and participate in children’s choir.  Some of the exciting annual events in children’s ministry include Adventure Week and Camp Tejas in the summer and the Sixth Grade Retreat.  Our entire children’s ministry integrates children that relate to the English and Spanish services.  In other words, we do not have separate classes and events for children whose families attend the English or Spanish services.  This requires careful balance and hard work by Susan and her team but it fosters our one-church vision.  We are grateful for Pastor Susan's commitment to this vision.

Susan also is in charge of all the screening for staff and volunteers who work with minors at Calvary.  This is an extremely important role because it is our intentional effort to make sure that all those who work with children and students in our church (babies through 12th grade) have been properly screened.  Our desire is that our children be taught and cared for in a safe environment.  In order to protect our minors from predators and others who might potentially harm our children, it is necessary that everyone undergo screening, background checks and periodic training.  This includes, the Lead Pastor, all the pastoral staff, paid workers and every single volunteer that relates to minors in any setting related to Calvary ministry.  A commitment to this by each of us is a commitment to the safety of our children.  If you are working with minors now or desire to do so, please contact Pastor Susan to make sure you are up to date in your screening and training.