Missional Meanings

It seems to me that there are different categories when it comes the missional conversation:

• Programmatic Community Transformation (Externally-Driven Church by Rusaw)
  
• Using Contextualization for Church Effectiveness through cultural relevance (Decoding the Missional Church by Stetzer)
  
• The operating around a clear mission for the church (Church Unique by Mancini)
  
• Organic, grass-roots church life that has no resemblance to traditional churches (Hirsch, Frost, Cole, Halter)
  
• A pure pattern for church life based around pre-Constitinian church life (Hirsch, House Church movement)
  

I believe that the work we are doing at Allelon is seeking to articulate something different than all of these. We building the communication around the theme of developing a people who participate with God in His life which is incarnational in nature. Through this incarnation reality, God enters our world by the Spirit through the practical act of dialogue between the people of God and the context. 

This is distinct from the development of culturally relevant patterns of church life that will attract people from the context. `This is much more than doing something for our neighbors or sharing the Gospel message. It is the offering of life on life, a relational engagement of a people with people.