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    Missional Fatigue: A New Kind of Christian

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    Stage 1: intense involvement in the start-up or ongoing ministry of a missional congregation (however defined), often as key leaders

    Stage 2: weathering the financial emergencies, ministry shortfalls, and discipleship pressures that inevitably accompany this kind of enterprise

    Stage 3: realizing that the stress of serving in a climate that one friend of mine called, “a miracle on the verge of a disaster every day” is never going to end

    Stage 4: identifying a gracious exit strategy, often explained as the need for better children’s or teen ministry

    Stage 5: transitioning to another high-quality church that is more family-focused.

    Stage 6: feeling somewhat guilty over abandoning the missional scene to do more conventional church

    I have absolutely zero evidence that this type of experience is widespread, but meeting several high profile examples has made me wonder if “missional fatigue” receives very little comment because of #6 above, those living with it may just not want to talk about it much.

    So, if you will spot me that this “new kind of Christian” is out there, perhaps this sort of fatigue might be inherent to any form of missional ministry simply because of the burdens that it involves: minimal financial support, aggressive newcomers attempting hostile takeovers, handling lifestyle issues, and the fact that the thing has to be invented almost a day at a time. Along the way, leadership is dealing with people who don’t know the Christian “script” and will not be ready to be the Sunday School Superintendant three months after their first visit.

    Seeing radical changes in the real lives of unchurched people is a wonderful thing, but dealing with it is also very draining because it involves so much more than packaged, programmatic measures. No wonder the characters on Law & Order: SVU keep mentioning that they are only allowed to serve in the unit for two years, although most of them have been around for much longer than that. Similarly, some hospitals put limits on the number of years a staff person can work in their trauma centers.

    What if we thought of ministry the same way, producing some questions about Missional Fatigue:

    1. Does it exist, and how widespread would you estimate it to be?

    2. Is this why half or more of church planting core groups generally end up leaving the plant to return to a more established environment?

    3. Could missional ministries anticipate fatigue onset and develop strategies to do something about it? What would that look like?

    4. Is all of this just a normal and natural life-stage issue that revolves around the needs child-raising, perhaps leading to the conclusion that we should build this assumption in our thinking so that the fatigued don’t need to feel as if they are betraying something? See 1 Corinthians 7 on the impact on marriage on ministry, for example.

    At the end of one conversation with an M-fatigue couple, I told them that their current sojourn in a mainstream church seemed like more of a seasonal than a permanent thing to me. I encouraged them to think this way and to look for opportunities to return to the “mission field” one day, perhaps when their children are older. I hope I was right.

    Your thoughts?

    About the Author:  Earl Creps has spent several years visiting congregations that are attempting to engage emerging culture. He directs doctoral studies for the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri (http://www.agts.edu).  Earl and his wife Janet have pastored three churches, one Boomer, one Builder, and one GenX. He speaks, trains, and consults with ministries around the country. Earl’s book, Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders, was published by Jossey-Bass/Leadership Network in 2006. Connect with Earl at http://www.earlcreps.com .

     

     

    When I visit casual contemporary and traditional churches these days I’m meeting what could be called “a new kind of Christian:” believers who used to attend aggressively missional congregations elsewhere in town. Often a thirty-something couple with two or three elementary age children, these transfers sometimes seem motivated to explain to me their presence in more inwardly-focused settings. In the telling of their stories some patterns have emerged...

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    1. Peter Hamm on Mon, August 13, 2007

      5. As painful as it might be, Earl, perhaps the particular churches in question are simply “not getting it right”, even though they may be trying like crazy to engage the culture… I think sometimes that those of us on the more “cutting edge” of “doing church” might assume that if someone seems to be doing really relevant, “cool” ministry that they must be getting it all right…

    2. Derek Vreeland on Mon, August 13, 2007

      I think the missional church trend is another example of a good and needed emphasis in the church that (for some) has gone to an unbiblical extreme.


      We need to be a “go and do” church certainly, but what do we do with the people that receive our missional efforts? I think that they need a community with something for their kids and youth. Beyond that, missional servents need small group community and community for their kids.


      So I think we need both what the “missional” and “attractional” folks are offering.


      Derek

    3. Jamie Westlake on Mon, August 13, 2007

      Perhaps someone can help more “mainstream” congregations become more missional, which is a mission in itself. Folks with the right attitude and heart can serve the cause of Christ wherever they are without “needing to apologize” for being a part of a mainline congregation. I would suggest to you that this young couple may already be in the “mission field” where God wants- a local church in need of inspiration, retooling, and innovation.

    4. Stewart on Mon, August 13, 2007

      Thanks for posting this. I’ve been thinking about the issue for some time. Me… mid 30s, married with two kids under 4 yrs. The “missional” conversations are really attractive in a lot of ways; however, the extremes in the movement just aren’t sustainable because of the children involved.


      I agree wholeheartedly with Derek’s last comment. We need “missional” and “attractional” to make a whole.

    5. Tony Kummer on Thu, August 16, 2007

      This is a great article. This whole pattern of settling down might be significant on many levels. It almost seems like the passion of the 20s is just a phase for many people.

    6. Kelly on Mon, August 27, 2007

      This article takes my breath away.  Almost 18 months ago leaving a church I served as worship leader for 15 years. We called ourselves “cutting edge”, “missional”, all labels apply ,church, depending on book or conference pastor had been to.  But in reality I’m not sure we were any of them just always on the edge of financial, emotional, leadership disaster.


      Been meeting in our homes since leaving, but now people want a building, they all say it’s because of kids. We’re mostly 40’s with young kids, teens.


      I love Jesus and his idea of church, but am honestly terrified of going back in and getting sucked back in to all the work.  I didn’t realize there might be others out there like me.

    7. Oliver on Mon, August 27, 2007

      sign, Kelly, there are thousands like you.  What frustrates me is that this is a problem with the leadership.  I know that many people don’t like my comments, and some of them have been removed from time to time, and I admit that at times I get bombastic, its something I am working on, but I just get so frustrated because the Leadership of churches thing they have to be missional, and cutting edge, and next week it will be something else, and the whole time they are just mindlessly plowing into a disaster.  Jesus said that pastors are suppose to be good shepherds, and they are not being good shepherds when they run their churches this way.  I too am part of a home church, simply because we got timed of all the nonesense going on.  Another suggestion may be to join a mainline denominational church, I’ve noticed sitting in a lutheran service recently that there was none of the insantiy, but rather a quite mediatative spirit that I enjoy after the pop-church mess I had come from!

    8. Leonard on Mon, August 27, 2007

      Oliver,


      Thanks for the adjustment of the tone.  Can I suggest that you also use one e-mail adress that works.  In the past I have tried to dialog with you off line but you have posted under a few differnt e-mail address all of whch bounced back. 


      So many people as described in Earls piece simply have done little to enlarge their strenth but have enlarged their loads.  This is a certain recipie for disaster. 


      Find a place of worship that strengthens you.

    9. Rev. Cynthia Williams on Mon, August 27, 2007

      Your article makes me think that that many churches (and this one I serve may be in danger of doing that) are still in the programmatic mode but using the word missional but still being driven by the creation of decentralilzed, maybe unmanageable programs. They burnout.


      I do not know what ministry or church is supposed to be anymore.

    10. Randy on Mon, August 27, 2007

      It is simply refreshing to hear that someone out there is aware of this issue. I do not necessarily consider myself missional, but I do want to be faithful to God’s blueprint for the church. There certainly may be room for debate about leadership and health in this environment. We are two years into this, working full time, young family, fundraising, planning for a church launch in the next 6-9 months (moslty financial driven). I constantly feel that we are on the verge of great things or disaster. And everyone has expectations of you (financial partners, mission organization, churches), not to mention your own expectations to exit a traditional, dying method of church that is doing little to reach the world for Christ. I just cannot return to that environment, yet believe strongly God is attempting to raise a church (es) that will truly trust and live out the bibical mandate. However, I feel like I am in a vice. Is this normal (the fact that I ask this question makes me wonder have a lost my marbles?) or something else going on? P.S. I recognize my level of sacrifice (by choice) on this journey exponentially surpasses anything else I have chosen to do in the past as a pastor. Is this putting everything on the line or mere foolishness? Has anyone come out on the other side of this experience to see things restore to balance and better spiritual health and influence? I would ESPECIALLY love to hear from those who have taken the journey.

    11. Victoria on Tue, August 28, 2007

      The funny thing is, I am the opposite.  I cannot stand to be in a large congregation, and I have actually moved smaller on many occasions:  a church gets too big, and three things happen to us. 1.   My Asperger’s son can’t stand the press of the crowd in the sanctuary, and as his class becomes larger, the teachers have less patience for his little quirks—he just doesn’t “fit” anymore.  2.  As the congregation takes in new believers, certain codes of conduct and dress are allowed to slide.  Not that I am a prude, but if the church does not teach their new believers right from wrong, how will they grow?  I got livid at our last congregation when I was told, “The Holy Spirit will teach them”.  If that is so, why did Paul need to write instructions to all those churches?  So we were made to tolerate curse words in the halls, running by the teens, parking lot petting, and underwear protruding from embarrassing places.  And, again, we were gone!  3.  I get downsized!  The things I volunteered at get taken over by more professional people—sometimes for pay!  I do not feel needed anymore!  If you want to give my job to someone better, then please find me another job where I can feel needed and wanted.


      If you want to keep people in the “missional” congregations, teach the word, live the word, expect the word, and include everyone in all of the work.  It’s when a few folks do all the work that there is burnout.  When even the children, junior highs and teens each have a part in the work—from the youngest to the oldest, and there is Biblical mentoring of new believers, that things really happen.

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