Inviting Evangelism:The Gospel of Machiavelli

What does Machiavelli have to do with Jesus? Great question! Thanks for asking.
There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more difficult to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who would profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new.
In the above quote, written in 1516, one of the great (if nefarious) managerial geniuses of the past millennium describes the condition of today’s Church. 
            Today’s Church lives between times, which has always been so in an eschatological sense – God’s kingdom both here now and not yet fully arrived – but is now also true in a cultural sense: from “Christendom” to “post-Modernism,” from needing to be “attractional” to becoming “missional.” And, as Machiavelli astutely notes, transitions are difficult!
            Bishop Leslie Newbigin’s argued the need to reclaim our missionary zeal for the West and suggested creating a missionary encounter between a congregation and community. While retaining one’s theological tradition – (no watered-down Gospel!) – Newbigin counseled congregations to learn the language of the culture in which they live and move and have their being, learning the inner working and outer expressions of that culture, and able to understand at a depth level the yearnings of their neighbors.
            Newbigin’s challenge to our congregations is to live deeper into our missional calling to reclaim a Gospel zeal for the West be moving away from consumeristic models of church and moving toward holistic, service-oriented models of being the Christ community. He listed several symptoms of a healthy, missional congregation:
1)      The Sending of God – missional congregations understand, affirm and embrace (which are three, distinct, ever-deepening levels of Gospel engagement) that the God of heaven sends us into the world. How does your church cultivate a “sent-ness” among your people, or are folks mired in the quicksand of consumeristic religion?
2)      Incarnational Models of Ministry – missional congregations dwell among their neighbors, communicating in ways that connect, that relate, that invite others into a deep engagement with the brokenness of the world. How does your church “dwell with” your neighbors, or are you a kind of religious ghetto?
3)      Heightened Community –  missional congregations are relationally rich, a richness which flows from our participation in the Trinitarian communion – it is who we are! How does your church express relationships that are “really real” and invite others to do life together, or are there aspects of your congregation’s friendships that still swim in shallow waters?
4)      Hospitality Abounding – missional congregations offer radical hospitality and cultivate with intentionality and perseverance a welcome of others. Being a welcoming presence is not the job of the pastor alone but of the entire faith community! How does your church practice hospitality – (what percentage of your members are trained in the art and expectations of offering welcome?) – or do you allow strangers in your midst to remain distance, unnamed and unknown?

What on earth are we doing for heaven’s sake,
Brad Munroe