Missional living is definitely a buzz-phrase that is all over the place these days. The fact that we need to label church buildings, missional, has since the beginning of creation been a tiny bit weird to me. come on, shouldnt all bodies of Christ be missional in their very core? why cant a church, at its very essence, yearn to connect their culture and area with the story of Christ as a missionary would in a different country? Isnt it what the church buildings is encouraged to do in the final charge of Christ in Matthew 28:19? Our own city deserves this brand of church. Austin church is slowly going to what our Creator instructed in the Bible.
Christ gives the command in Acts 1:8 saying, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 personifies this idea as, right before Jesus Christ ascends to Heaven, He directs the disciples on a exploration that would begin right in their local community. He begins with their origin of Jerusalem, and then broadens the call to the uttermost parts of the creation.
As Christians, we are not motivated to isolation, but to be missional followers of Jesus who are anxiously going out and going to areas right where they are with the gospel. We have gazed at this throughout history: God urges Abraham on a mission to leave his city and his people and go to the city that God would show him (Gen. 12:1), God motivated Moses on a journey to restore an enslaved people and lead them to freedom (Exodus 3:8-10), God moved Jesus on a journey to world to pull all things to Himself through the crucifixion (Colossians 1:20). And now God is sending people on a journey to engage homes, cities, tribes, and even nations with the story of Christ(Matt. 28:19 Mark 6:7 Luke 10:1 John 20:21 Acts 1:8). If we resist this call and continue to perceive the bodies of Christ like a private country club ” requesting that people resolve their performance, pay their fees, and walk to our sanctuary God will continue His story without us.