Our Mandorla Mission: Living Out Fresh Expressions of Church
Col. 3:16; Luke 19:10; Luke 15:4-6
This week as I have been preparing for Advent, I have been thinking about how awed I am that God’s son became one of us. The babe born in Bethlehem arrived as prophesied; He who was royalty put on flesh, surprising all when he arrived as a quivering newborn in a humble stable. The One who possessed all power laid that aside for our sake. Jesus said his mission on earth was to search for people who didn’t know God. He told a story one day about a lost sheep; the path it was on led it away. Away from the Shepherd who knew it so well. Away from a flock where it belonged. Away from the safety and goodness of the pastures prepared for it. It’s very difficult for sheep to face life alone, and harder yet to find their way home.
This is what Jesus’ heart was like. As the good Shepherd, He can leave his 99 sheep because He knows they’re in his fold, secure, and receiving every benefit. His focus is drawn toward his lost sheep. He loves and knows each one who has wandered or run off toward what looks like greener pastures. Those sheep are constantly on a shepherd’s mind. When he wakes up in the morning, or lays his head down to sleep, his lost sheep occupy his thoughts. He wants them to come home, to return to the flock and experience the lavish goodness he has prepared for them.
Jesus’ mission 2,000 years ago was like that of the shepherd in the story he once told. He came to seek and to save lost people because some then, as now, had no knowledge of God; others had head knowledge but no changed heart. There were also plenty of rebels, scoffers, and outright skeptics. But none of these things lessened Jesus’ eagerness to find them, to spend time in their neighborhoods, to share a meal at their kitchen table, be playful with their children, or pitch in with the day’s chores. Jesus met people where they were and answered their questions, challenged their assumptions and told stories that left a lasting impression. He did something else too: every time he spent time with people he spoke about eternal things. And because he’d listened to them, and spent time among them, they paid attention to his message. He said things like: Forgive one another. Don’t long for what your neighbors have, and you don’t. Remember that God knows your needs and is watching over your life. Make sure you honor the Sabbath, which God’s given for your benefit. Do not doubt, but believe. All that I tell you is true and will come to pass.
Today you and I are called to be God’s messengers. We’re the 99 sheep who’ve known Jesus’ love, healing, provision, and goodness for many years. There’s so much we can tell others. I have an image for us that shows how we’ve often gone about that as Christians, called “The Attraction Model”. The first circle is the “world”, the middle one is the “church”, and the third one is “God”.
This is what Jesus’ heart was like. As the good Shepherd, He can leave his 99 sheep because He knows they’re in his fold, secure, and receiving every benefit. His focus is drawn toward his lost sheep. He loves and knows each one who has wandered or run off toward what looks like greener pastures. Those sheep are constantly on a shepherd’s mind. When he wakes up in the morning, or lays his head down to sleep, his lost sheep occupy his thoughts. He wants them to come home, to return to the flock and experience the lavish goodness he has prepared for them.
Jesus’ mission 2,000 years ago was like that of the shepherd in the story he once told. He came to seek and to save lost people because some then, as now, had no knowledge of God; others had head knowledge but no changed heart. There were also plenty of rebels, scoffers, and outright skeptics. But none of these things lessened Jesus’ eagerness to find them, to spend time in their neighborhoods, to share a meal at their kitchen table, be playful with their children, or pitch in with the day’s chores. Jesus met people where they were and answered their questions, challenged their assumptions and told stories that left a lasting impression. He did something else too: every time he spent time with people he spoke about eternal things. And because he’d listened to them, and spent time among them, they paid attention to his message. He said things like: Forgive one another. Don’t long for what your neighbors have, and you don’t. Remember that God knows your needs and is watching over your life. Make sure you honor the Sabbath, which God’s given for your benefit. Do not doubt, but believe. All that I tell you is true and will come to pass.
Today you and I are called to be God’s messengers. We’re the 99 sheep who’ve known Jesus’ love, healing, provision, and goodness for many years. There’s so much we can tell others. I have an image for us that shows how we’ve often gone about that as Christians, called “The Attraction Model”. The first circle is the “world”, the middle one is the “church”, and the third one is “God”.
For a very long time now, the primary way people hear about God is inside a church. They’re invited to come or may find their way on their own. Once inside, there’s a structured program designed for people who are already Christians, to worship God for about an hour. Several things surprise first-timers. They have to sit on uncomfortable long benches, like in they have in some courthouses. A program handed to them has unfamiliar religious words like doxology, epistle, and tithes. People stand up and recite things together. There’s music playing at one point; you’re surprised by a round plate being passed to you. It’s obvious that payment is expected but you have no idea what amount. Then there’s the singing… that can be a shocker. An organ may be played, which is a totally new experience. You’re told to stand up and you have no idea what the tune is or what a bunch of the words mean. The sun comes in through colored windows, which does makes it feel peaceful.
In the Attraction Model people go to worship services. It’s assumed that at some point they‘ll have an encounter with Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, be forgiven, and walk in newness of life. They will buy a Bible and start reading the huge, complex Word of God. They will learn on their own about the wide range of core Christian beliefs. Has that happened here? Or in any other churches? I’m very doubtful because churches are shrinking and doors are closing. I think we all recognize the shortcomings of this passive approach. It’s also narrow. The assumption we are operating on is that people who are far away from God will come into the church building, if they want to connect with God.
I want to tell you about a different approach called "Fresh Expressions". This movement invites God’s people to see themselves as not only believers but also as those who are sent out. They will use new and creative ways to connect with people who are not religious. They create safe spaces for people to explore who Jesus is, allowing relationships to form in natural ways. They won’t follow a step-by-step formula. What they do is full of intention, but free from an equation. It’s purposeful without being mechanical. It meets people on their turf, not ours. Fresh Expressions trains people to think and pray and live like missionaries in the ordinary, everyday experiences of life.
In the Attraction Model people go to worship services. It’s assumed that at some point they‘ll have an encounter with Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, be forgiven, and walk in newness of life. They will buy a Bible and start reading the huge, complex Word of God. They will learn on their own about the wide range of core Christian beliefs. Has that happened here? Or in any other churches? I’m very doubtful because churches are shrinking and doors are closing. I think we all recognize the shortcomings of this passive approach. It’s also narrow. The assumption we are operating on is that people who are far away from God will come into the church building, if they want to connect with God.
I want to tell you about a different approach called "Fresh Expressions". This movement invites God’s people to see themselves as not only believers but also as those who are sent out. They will use new and creative ways to connect with people who are not religious. They create safe spaces for people to explore who Jesus is, allowing relationships to form in natural ways. They won’t follow a step-by-step formula. What they do is full of intention, but free from an equation. It’s purposeful without being mechanical. It meets people on their turf, not ours. Fresh Expressions trains people to think and pray and live like missionaries in the ordinary, everyday experiences of life.
Here’s a diagram with six circles used to train people in the Fresh Expressions concept. The process starts where all healthy relationships start: with listening. As time passes, trust grows. Then there’s an invitation to go beyond simply hanging out. They find some way they can love and serve others together, side by side. When there’s a natural opportunity, they talk about Jesus and encourage them to ask questions. Some will become interested – and it will lead to new life in Christ. When they join a community of believers, that is how God’s church expands. Then, it’s time to do it all again, finding someone and start listening and caring.
With Fresh Expressions you’re trained to think like a missionary. You may not have to go halfway around the world, though - just halfway down the block. When you go hang out and listen, you’ll soon realize how many people want to learn about Jesus, but have no interest in going inside a church. There’s nothing wrong with pews, lovely stained glass, or stately organ music. But requiring people who don’t know Jesus to come inside a church building in order to find Christians who can answer their questions about God is definitely not what Jesus told us to do! We are sent out, to be a peculiar (not normal, not weird) people, able to speak truth and show grace. We can have our faith convictions and share them in civil, respectful ways. N. T. Wright once said that, “Civil discourse isn’t the answer to everything, but uncivil discourse isn’t the answer to anything.”
Author J.R. Briggs shares several ideas about how we can move from simply hanging out with someone to helping them connect with Jesus. His first suggestion is to engage in the serious business of humor. One way to put people at ease and build trust and credibility is do use humor to help people see were more normal than they might originally imagine. A few years ago, Briggs’ 68-year-old neighbor told him he planned to visit church next Sunday. He’d only been in such a place for a wedding or a funeral, and one other time before he went off to Vietnam. He was clearly a bit nervous and wanted: to know some of the rules for church, like when he was supposed to stand or sit or kneel or sing or pray. So Briggs used a favorite line: “Don’t worry. We only have one rule at our church - no perfect people allowed.” He clearly felt a rush of relief and in his excitement blurted out, “Well, shit, I guess I belong then!” His eyes then grew big as he realized he just cursed in the presence of a member of the clergy. He apologized, but Briggs just said, “Hey, you’re imperfect, great! That means you can come on Sunday!”
One-liners may not work for you, and that’s fine. But if you can get people to move from laughing at Christians to laughing with them, that’s a pretty good start. Try to put people at ease because talking about spiritual matters or going to church makes some people very uncomfortable. You can lower their anxiety with some lighthearted comments.
Here’s another idea: speak with creativity to cultivate curiosity. There are words used frequently by Christians, like Bible, prayer, discipleship, gospel, worship. These are good words, important words, but could there be creative, contextual ways to communicate the same thing? Instead of church we could say, “Jesus community.” Rather than say “prayer,” we could describe it as “talking with Jesus”. When it’s our goal to help others know more about God we need to use clear and creative language sometimes. We want them to stay curious and keep asking questions.
Another possibility for engaging others in ways that can lead them toward an interest in faith, or God, is to ask thoughtful and meaningful questions. Have you ever had someone in your life who asked you an important question and then looked you in the eyes and really listened? How many times have you asked bland, generic questions like, “How are you doing? Did you have a good weekend? Have you heard the forecast for this week?” Come up with far more interesting questions you’d like to ask others, like: “If you could ask God two questions, what would they be?” “When you hear the word ‘Christian’, what comes to mind?”
I want to wrap up with a true Fresh Expressions story. The owner of a tattoo parlor invited people with a missionary heart to hang out. There were regulars that came, for another tattoo or just for the company. The Fresh Expressions owner and others spent a lot of time listening. After a while when there was some trust, they began asking some creative questions. That led to deeper conversations. There was some good-hearted joking going on, too. And you can be sure there were no churchy words being used.
Let me fast forward. Imagine you’re leaning in to look at video, and in it there’s a man whose arms are covered in inky patterns, with large gauges in his ears, dipping bread into a cup as he received Holy Communion for the first time. In the background you can hear persistent zapping as needles penetrate skin. But over that sound is a voice saying, "This is my body, broken for you." There was a new life and new ink under the same roof.
Jesus‘ mission was to seek and to save the lost, each one known and loved. They were constantly on his mind. Now we are Christ’s messengers, and we have so much we can tell others. We know that most churches are declining and what we’ve been doing hasn’t expanded God’s kingdom. The attraction model of inviting people to church and simply assuming they’ll become passionate Christians does not work. But there are many other fresh expressions of church that you and I can be part of - we need only come together, pray, and invite God to lead us into our neighborhoods. That is our Mandorla Mission, for God works mightily when there are sacred overlaps. These are green spaces, where our lives meet up with others - where they are living. We are to go to them, with love as our only motivation. God will show us how and when and where we can be part of Fresh Expressions in our world.
With Fresh Expressions you’re trained to think like a missionary. You may not have to go halfway around the world, though - just halfway down the block. When you go hang out and listen, you’ll soon realize how many people want to learn about Jesus, but have no interest in going inside a church. There’s nothing wrong with pews, lovely stained glass, or stately organ music. But requiring people who don’t know Jesus to come inside a church building in order to find Christians who can answer their questions about God is definitely not what Jesus told us to do! We are sent out, to be a peculiar (not normal, not weird) people, able to speak truth and show grace. We can have our faith convictions and share them in civil, respectful ways. N. T. Wright once said that, “Civil discourse isn’t the answer to everything, but uncivil discourse isn’t the answer to anything.”
Author J.R. Briggs shares several ideas about how we can move from simply hanging out with someone to helping them connect with Jesus. His first suggestion is to engage in the serious business of humor. One way to put people at ease and build trust and credibility is do use humor to help people see were more normal than they might originally imagine. A few years ago, Briggs’ 68-year-old neighbor told him he planned to visit church next Sunday. He’d only been in such a place for a wedding or a funeral, and one other time before he went off to Vietnam. He was clearly a bit nervous and wanted: to know some of the rules for church, like when he was supposed to stand or sit or kneel or sing or pray. So Briggs used a favorite line: “Don’t worry. We only have one rule at our church - no perfect people allowed.” He clearly felt a rush of relief and in his excitement blurted out, “Well, shit, I guess I belong then!” His eyes then grew big as he realized he just cursed in the presence of a member of the clergy. He apologized, but Briggs just said, “Hey, you’re imperfect, great! That means you can come on Sunday!”
One-liners may not work for you, and that’s fine. But if you can get people to move from laughing at Christians to laughing with them, that’s a pretty good start. Try to put people at ease because talking about spiritual matters or going to church makes some people very uncomfortable. You can lower their anxiety with some lighthearted comments.
Here’s another idea: speak with creativity to cultivate curiosity. There are words used frequently by Christians, like Bible, prayer, discipleship, gospel, worship. These are good words, important words, but could there be creative, contextual ways to communicate the same thing? Instead of church we could say, “Jesus community.” Rather than say “prayer,” we could describe it as “talking with Jesus”. When it’s our goal to help others know more about God we need to use clear and creative language sometimes. We want them to stay curious and keep asking questions.
Another possibility for engaging others in ways that can lead them toward an interest in faith, or God, is to ask thoughtful and meaningful questions. Have you ever had someone in your life who asked you an important question and then looked you in the eyes and really listened? How many times have you asked bland, generic questions like, “How are you doing? Did you have a good weekend? Have you heard the forecast for this week?” Come up with far more interesting questions you’d like to ask others, like: “If you could ask God two questions, what would they be?” “When you hear the word ‘Christian’, what comes to mind?”
I want to wrap up with a true Fresh Expressions story. The owner of a tattoo parlor invited people with a missionary heart to hang out. There were regulars that came, for another tattoo or just for the company. The Fresh Expressions owner and others spent a lot of time listening. After a while when there was some trust, they began asking some creative questions. That led to deeper conversations. There was some good-hearted joking going on, too. And you can be sure there were no churchy words being used.
Let me fast forward. Imagine you’re leaning in to look at video, and in it there’s a man whose arms are covered in inky patterns, with large gauges in his ears, dipping bread into a cup as he received Holy Communion for the first time. In the background you can hear persistent zapping as needles penetrate skin. But over that sound is a voice saying, "This is my body, broken for you." There was a new life and new ink under the same roof.
Jesus‘ mission was to seek and to save the lost, each one known and loved. They were constantly on his mind. Now we are Christ’s messengers, and we have so much we can tell others. We know that most churches are declining and what we’ve been doing hasn’t expanded God’s kingdom. The attraction model of inviting people to church and simply assuming they’ll become passionate Christians does not work. But there are many other fresh expressions of church that you and I can be part of - we need only come together, pray, and invite God to lead us into our neighborhoods. That is our Mandorla Mission, for God works mightily when there are sacred overlaps. These are green spaces, where our lives meet up with others - where they are living. We are to go to them, with love as our only motivation. God will show us how and when and where we can be part of Fresh Expressions in our world.