Land of a Thousand Hills

I am a priest in the Anglican Church of Rwanda. So, as you might guess, I have an interest in things Rwandan. In light of that, let me recommend a new coffee that comes from the hills of Rwanda. It is "Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee(LTHC)." LTHC is grown in Rwanda and shipped to a small plant in Atlanta that is a minstry of an Anglican Church there. A pound costs $10. It is free trade, so the profits go back to Rwanda. The farms that grow the coffee are made up of both Hutus and Tutsis. A central aim of the farms is foster reconciliation between these groups as they work together in the aftermath of the genocide in 1994. Beyond this, $1 of the price of the Coffee foes to the PAUL RUSESABAGINA HOTEL RWANDA FOUNDATION. Rusesabagina is the man who was spotlighted in the recent film Hotel Rwanda. He saved 1200 lives by offering refuge in the Hotel he managed. His foundation serves orphans of the 1994 massacre. Another dollar of the cost goes to the INYAKURAMA MICRO FINANCE FUND. This fund was developed by Bishop John Rucyahana -- one of the leaders instrumental in the formation of the Anglican Mission in America. If you are new to micro-financing, this is a way of giving small loans to to individuals and families to launch there own businesses. This model has emerged as one of the most effective ways to spur development and provision in global south nations. This fund specifically supports widows of the 1994 massacre.

Here is the website: http://www.landofathousandhillscoffee.com/

Check it out -- you can order it online.

MISSION COMES BEFORE THE CHURCH 2

Mission -- the missio dei -- is trinitarian. Our understanding of who God is as trinity is not rooted in abstract philisophical reflection on who God is or should be. The trinitarian understanding emerged in history as God unveiled himself in space and time. God's self-revelation is missional at its heart. We know God because of God's acts. God's acts are about creation and redemption (or re-creation). Those are missional things. Hence to know God is to know him through his missionality (is that a word?).

This is why the church is missional. Not because it is a better way of doing church. It is because of who God is. This is why mission comes before the church -- because God comes before the church and God is missional. What God is doing in the world (i.e., the unveiling of his kingdom) is larger than what God is doing in the church. The church -- like the incarnate Son -- is a sign and witness of the Kingdom.

The tricky thing is to figure what this looks like. One thing I am beginning to think -- and this will be controversial -- is that much of the emerging church is not missional in the sense that I understand missional. In many cases, the emerging church still sees the church as coming before mission and that new forms are better ways of doing what it is that christendom churches do -- make better disciples, have more effective community, experience real transformation. But these are byproducts of entering into the mission of God.

Think of the 12 disciples. Jesus did not set out firstly to form a community that would form disciples. He firstly set out to be a sign and witness to the Kingdom (i.e., do mission). He invited people to join him in that mission. It was through joining Jesus in his mission that a community formed around Jesus and the mission of Jesus expanded through this band of missionaries. It was a community. They were transformed. But these things came as by products of joining the mission of Jesus.

I have a lot to learn about this -- and if I am living it at all I am just taking initial baby steps. But I am praying that I will learn to live missionally and then learn how to lead a community of faith in that direction. God help me as I work on it.

MISSION COMES BEFORE THE CHURCH

I am finally, after over a month, inspired to post again. My friend Alan Creech is posting on his blog about what it means to be a missional church (very good stuff -- check it out).

I have been pondering this idea again. In the process I read a quote from Geoff Maddock of Communality -- a missional church in Lexington, KY. In an article about the emerging church Geoff said this, "...mission comes before the church. It is when we go into mission together to love and serve the world that the church is born."

"Mission comes before the church." I think this is spot on. Think of the book of Acts. St. Paul did not set out to plant churches in the sense we think of. He did not go out to form communities. He went to do kingdom work -- preach the gospel, make disciples, serve the poor, be a witness for justice, etc. What emerged from this work was communities of faith. The communities existed to sustain the mission of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom is bigger than the church. The kingdom is what God is doing in the world. The church -- the people of God -- exist to be a sign and witness to what God is doing, i.e., to the Kingdom fo God. That is what it means to be missional.

I/we at Saint Patrick's are trying to figure out what this looks like. Here are some examples:

-Example One: A guy in our community discovers a neighbor who plays banjo. The St. Pat's guy is guitarist and fiddler. He goes next door to jam. The St. Pat's guy begins a friendship -- treats the neighbor like a, well, a neighbor. He brings the presence of Christ and begins to discern what God is already doing in that home. He is a sign and witness of the Kingdom of God. That is mission.

-Example Two: A group from St. Pat's discover a need in the neighborhood. A man who is confined to a wheelchair needs a spring cleaning done on his apartment and needs a ramp built so he can get into his apartment. A group plans to do this work on a weekend morning. Some will clean, some will build, some will watch kids, some will bring food for a common meal after the work. Mission and community coming together. That is mission.

The church moves into the world to do mission. As people join the mission the church expands. This is what it means to be missional. It is not a fresh way of doing what has been done for centuries in North America. It is re-framing of the whole concept of how the church relates to the Kingdom. Of course, I would argue it is what is envisioned in the New Testament.

Cheers!

P.S. -- I will get my comments deal back up.