The Missional Church & The Attractive Church
Much has been written about the fact that God is by nature "missional" that God is a "sent" God in that Jesus was sent (John 1) and that the Spirit is now sent (John 14) to carry out the mission of the Father. Thereby the church is called to participate in this sending nature of God. The church is a "sent" people. This is a necessary corrective and challenge to a church that has been stuck in a "come & see" mire, one that has been labeled as "attractional." By this I mean that the onus is put on the seeker to come to the church to find out about God. And it puts pressure on the church to develop something that is good enough for people to want to come. This is a centripetal strategy because the efforts of the church are directed toward the center. In my book Difference Makers , I wrote: "I grew up a mile away from the church where my family attended, and I could see the steeple from my bedroom window. I spent more time in t...