Incarnational Living

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of taking a graduate class at Wheaton College entitled "Developing a Missional Church."  It was an amazing opportunity to sit under great teaching and to grow deeper in my faith.  One of the things we talked about extensively was the missional-incarnational church.  I won't pretend to be anywhere close to the source of knowledge on this topic (and sometimes the words themselves are still a little confusing for me) but I want to share some of the things I learned. 

In its most basic form, "missional" simply means sent.  While this isn't a new concept, the word missional is relatively new.  God has called each of us to go out into the world and engage with the people and culture around us.  We can't spend our time hiding in the church or only hanging out with Christians; we are called to go and make disciples.  Going doesn't necessarily mean leaving your home and going to an exotic location, it means looking for the people in need within your sphere of influence. 

"Incarnational" is a little more complicated, but there are six incarnational discipleship practices that we explored that were modeled by Jesus during his time on earth:

1. Presence--How we (and the Holy Spirit who lives in us) are when we're with other people, identifying with others, and taking time to know their stories, their struggles and their history.
2. Proximity--How we will be geographically close to other people.  We have to get close enough to people to rub shoulders with them so that they see Christ in our lives.
3. Powerlessness--Coming into situations as a learner and with a dependence on those we are trying to reach.  We can't assume we know everything or have all the answers.  We can't be judgmental, arrogant, or unkind.
4. Prevenience--We must depend on God's presence that is already at work in people's lives and we have to look for the image of God in the people He has called us to reach out to. 
5. Passion--We have to be willing to engage in the pain of those around us which then activates our emotions and our compassion. 
6. Proclamation--We must boldly proclaim the name of Christ.

My challenge for today is to take some time to think about those God has called you to reach.  Who do you know that is marginalized?  Who do you know that needs the love of Christ?  Who is lonely and broken?  Take a step of faith and invite someone over to have dinner with your family, hang out with people who don't know the Lord, and be willing to strike up conversation with a stranger.  God is already at work in people's lives, but He longs for us to join him in that work.