I’m doing a synchroblog on what missional living looks like, and certainly the missional emphasis has a lot of synergy. Much has been discussed on this from speakers, bloggers, and authors, and I got caught in a missional tangent.
My question on the topic – Is anything inevitable?

Have you watched the show Kitchen Nightmares? This world famous chef named Gordon Ramsey is invited to restaurants by their owners to help save their business. It will be a restaurant with a lot of potential, but for various reasons is not getting enough business, going in debt, and just in need of serious expert assistance.

From my limited exposure to Gordon, I have noticed a profound connection between the patterns on his show and the church.

Chef Ramsey initially orders a meal, and usually hates it. He observes the staff, the chef(s), and how the business is run the first night with patrons. On the second day he starts to critique the owner who is sometimes the chef, and by the time he leaves they have re-invented the restaurant image, changed the menu, and drastically altered things for the best, but here are some reoccurring themes that I have noticed.

- The owner fully recognizes the severity of fundamental problems and serious financial debt, but they are obstinately prideful and arrogant about change.

- Even though they acknowledge in word the need to implement changes, they choose to do the exact same thing week after week.

- The business is going down the tubes, but they are unwilling to make drastic and major changes in practice, and only when faced with a spark like Ramsey do we see a paradigm shift.

- The owner will have the inflated ego causing their image, and need for control, to overshadow the success of the restaurant.

- Gordon’s changes initiate overwhelming customer satisfaction, and in spite of that, there were a couple chefs who tried to cook old crappy menu items.

- Gordon always focuses on ownership (leadership), because if they think and do wrongly, then the staff and restaurant will follow down the same wrong path.

- In interviews with staff, they often state that there are problems they have recognized for a long time, but their opinion is not respected or even allowed to be given to the owner. This goes back to the issue of prideful leadership, and we all have blind spots, but leadership without genuinely listening to those around them will cause serious consequences.

Obviously my analogy breaks down in a few places, not the least of which is that Gordon is a really mean guy who is nothing like the Holy Spirit. But it’s worth noting that he is much harder on the owners who are unwilling to listen to his expertise. It’s also clear that there are so many churches in transition and hearing from God, or other churches that are already thriving on a missional level, and we should acknowledge those beautiful communities here and abroad.

If we know anything from church history it is that God keeps moving, and sometimes people have difficulty changing and keeping up. Initially they may have a good thing going, but somewhere along the way the wheels come off, and rather than making painful but necessary changes, it is easier to hold onto something that isn’t about God anymore, when it’s about their ego, and the monument to themselves. There is something inevitable about this pattern. A pattern from human nature with any type of arrogant leadership, and repeated in church history.

Experts will make a prognosis about the percentage of 15-30 year olds who don’t like Christians for the wrong reasons, and what changes?

Studies will tell us that we have a crisis taking place when on average it takes 86 Christians in America one year to make a single disciple for Christ, and even when they start “going to church” we aren’t making disciples anyway (REVEAL).
(Willow is trying to make radical changes, BTW)

86?! Seriously?

Missional living from the church is radical at its core, nothing new, but whole-heartedly revolutionary not just in word, but by definition, in deed. Jesus had these kinds of sincere actions when hanging out with prostitutes, and loving the unlovable.

He exemplifies beautiful missional living, and it will be different for everyone.

He didn’t talk about it once a week, but was simply around those untouchables. He ate with them. Does your church vibe reflect that? If it does not, then it will be inevitable that God will move on without you, and sooner or later, your pews will be empty. That could very well be a reflection of leadership, but their arrogance in refusing to move with God does not totally get you off the hook.

Inevitability.

God is speaking. Who is listening? Some will, and some won’t. Nothing is inevitable. But if churches do not start doing more than talking about missional changes, and start radically amending the heartbeat of what kind of community they will be, then inevitability will be the natural result.

It will.

Christians will miss out. They will be “left behind.” Other won’t be. I hope I can change and follow Jesus. To live as he lived. Minimizing the missional heartbeat of the kingdom in post-Christendom will be fatal to any community of disciples. It starts with leadership.

Here are some other really good blogs on what missional living looks like for them:

Jonathan
Ben
Blake
Alan
Dave
Bryan
Jeromy
David
Tim

Cheers.