Chad M. Farrand

On this topic of “The Failing Economy of Church,” I want to post another idea. The word “sustainable” gets used (and abused) in many ways. When we talk about creating a sustainable missional community, I wonder if our motives are pure. I think that many of us seem to have this ideal vision of community that is self-sufficient and is able to be sustained for the “long haul.”

I just don’t know if that’s the point. I don’t think that we are necessarily in the business of creating communities as much as we are working towards helping people live out kingdom lives. Now, I think that is sustainable, but not profitable.

I would also say that our aim must not be to sustain one ideal of community, as much as it is to sustain a “way” of being a jesus person IN community. A local group of people will change and will die, naturally and we must have the ability not to tie our ego’s into this change, yet somehow become humble enough to allow death of community as a part of the ongoing, life-giving kingdom of God.

So when I talk about creating a sustainable community, what I mean is that we must help nurture a sustainable missional order that can help people live in an authentic Kingdom way.