(e)mergent Voyageurs

For those who enjoy my Friday Art Reflections, I apologize for (again) skipping it. However, recent events in our neighbourhood take precident. Last night, local police descended on our block like we rarely see. As I stepped out on the front steps to see what was going on, I realized they were stopping only 100 meters or so from our house. Before long a crowd gathered along the police tap that had closed down the street, so I wandered up to find out what was going on.

It turns out that a 20 year old man, who I have since learned is a local gang member, was shot on the sidewalk near a busy cross street. I later learned that the young man was in stable condition, but was refusing the cooperate with police. That last bit of information made my heart drop- a refusal to cooperate generally means retaliations. Seeing the cautious tension of the neighbourhood today, it seems the rest of the community is fearing the same.

Over the last year we have seen gang activity in our community (Winnipeg’s West End) increase. Typically gangs function between two major areas in our city- the West End and the North End- migrating back and forth depending on police activities, “business”, etc. When we first moved here five years ago, they were firmly in our neighbourhood (in fact, our house had been one of the city’s worst gang houses prior to being abandon and restored). However, after a year or so, we saw the shift towards the North End. It seems the tide is turning again.

While I am grateful that Canadian cities have been able to keep a (relatively) firm hand on the number of guns that hit the street- usually resulting in a much higher rate of stabbings and beatings than shootings- we are not sure this will last for much longer. Poverty, racism, and substance abuse are just a few of the major contributors to gang violence. However, even the simple increase in male illiteracy can be tracked along side petty and then violent crime. As a result, fewer people choose to live here (with many locals fleeing), businesses dry up and, sadly, churches disappear or become bunkers.

There are a few note worthy exceptions to this urban church abandonment, such as the incredible commitment of New Life Ministries, but I fear our response to this crisis is the very antithesis of what Christ calls us- commands us to be. Being missional quickly loses its “sex-appeal” when the implications of what it demands of the Body of Christ becomes clear, but the power of the Spirit discovered in the sacrificial obedience drive us further to those places where God is already at work.

I am not trying to be judgmental or to inspire guilt. I stand convicted of this message too, having resisted those next steps to further obedience beyond the comfort of the familiar. Neither am I suggesting that every Christian should end up here. I have said it before, but I feel it needs to be said again- given the tragic imbalance of Christian involvement, proximity, giving, etc. when considering the abandon places of our world, clearly many Christians are failing to hear and/or respond to the commanding call of our Lord, to whom we (should) have given over our live and our rights to His purposes.

And so I say this not to blame or guilt or judge, but to articulate what I hear so strongly in my heart today:

The blood on our streets is blood on our hands. Unless…

Emerging Church, Missional

A great deal of discussion on the blogosphere these days has been about ecclesiology. This is such a crucial topic, as I believe that the emerging missional movement is define more by its ecclesiology than by its theology. Recently, my friend Len sent out a question to several people about the interplay or relationship between ecclesiology and missiology (the first reply is posted on his blog here). While I am not confident about the hasty answer I sent his way, it has had me thinking a great deal.

As many people talk about the ecclesiology of the emerging missional church they make the common mistake of over simplifying it down to “how we do church”. While there are elements of that in ecclesiology, it robs it of its deeper meaning and purpose. I began to wonder if the Church is the medium for the Message- that is, as Christ embodied the Truth and we are His Body, then our very embodiment as the Church is defined by the nature of Christ (Christology) and His ultimate purpose (missiology).  In that respect, the medium is the Message, at least on one level.

When I consider ecclesiology in respect to missiology and Christology I begin to see how intrinsically these three elements are tied together. I am not sure if we can say that one precedes the others without robbing them of their complex interconnections, though it can be helpful in understanding how we are shaped together. Therefore, as I seek to understand what it means to be the Church, I look first to God, first as Trinity, then specifically to Christ and His Lordship. Out of this it seems to me that the Missio Dei is vitally central to God’s nature, shaping my own missional emphasis, both as an individual and as a member of the Body. It is out of this that my ecclesiology is formed.

Do you think it is right to see the Church as the medium for the Message? How does your ecclesiology find formation? Be sure to head over to Len’s site and interact there too.

P.S. Check out the new addition to my sidebar- a fully editted “Exploring The Community Coming To Be Known As Missional” in PDF format. Check it out.

Emerging Church, Missional