Is Missional a redefinition of Evangelical?

Is Missional a redefinition of Evangelical? April 15, 2013

Something I have been pondering suggests a potential pitfall for missional dialogs that repeat the pattern established by Evangelicals and their predecessors. As demonstrated by my friend Steve Knight and his networks, I believe this is a faulty assumption, but I am concerned about the direction the missional conversation might take.

Is Missional another way to place the primary mode of Christian expression a ‘bring them in for Jesus’ end that Evangelicals have established?

Or put differently,

Is the goal of Christian expression the gathering of individuals to intellectual, confessional or behavioral assent to normative statements established by a Christian majority?

I’m concerned about both equally. I believe Christianity, like Judaism before it, is more about doing the teachings of Jesus more than a collecting of adherents. The onus is on the actual deeds performed in the former as opposed to consensus in the latter.

So Emergent folks, what do you have to tweak in my noggin?


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