Step Into the Chaos

The movie World Trade Center offers us a picture of what it means to be a missional leader: the world is in chaos, everything has collapsed, countless souls are trapped. The only thing to do is head into the mess. The missional leader is that lone Marine who climbs into the rubble with a flashlight shouting “Tap or yell if you can hear me!” and exhorting those who would join him, “Once you step up there’s no going back.” Leadership in this environment is not for the faint of heart.

To this type of world Alan J. Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk posit The Missional Leader (Jossey-Bass, 2006). Most any church with the proper patience, perspective, and point man (or woman) can become missional. The authors offer perspective without too many “oughts,” which is good considering the book’s premise that “oughts” defeat growth.

The book first describes this new term “missional.” Leaders no longer view themselves as heads of a hierarchy, and church members no longer look only to the “professional” Christians to get the job done of reaching and caring for their communities. Missional leaders are more interested in cultivating community than controlling outcomes through programs and buildings. Such congregations are beginning to breathe in the same air and dream incredible dreams because they are learning to allow God’s Word and his Spirit to lead them rather than agendas, budgets, and traditions. People who would never have dreamed of taking leadership roles are discovering purpose in the community of believers.

Essentially, in this model, the leader is a facilitator skilled at bringing out the deeper issues among the community. Rather than providing solutions, he asks good questions and embraces, rather than resolves, tension. The missional leader seeks to cultivate the congregation’s imaginative power rather than attempting to shape it into a pre-determined form.

As a missional leader, my heart and my community are ground zero.

The authors offer some real life examples: One such group “began to meet with other Christians in their neighborhood rather than drive to programs all over the city. They asked each other about what was happening in their lives, the sense of being driven by forces out of their control, their hunger for belonging, but having neither the time nor the capacity to develop it. In the midst of these questions, they engaged Scripture and began asking what was happening in their own community and neighborhood.”

But while it all sounds nice—and perhaps what New Testament churches practiced—the authors are quick to point out that “this was not an easy journey.” For the missional leader, cultivating people rather than administering strategy takes time, and lots of it. Roxburgh and Romanuk offer delightful insights through the eyes of sociologists. They temper academic fervor (read charts and tables) with mystical insights. They force the reader into thoughtful introspection. The leader’s ability to press forward through uncertainty is only as good as his heart for God’s purpose in his or her context.

The second part of the book focuses on critical evaluation. Would-be missional leaders are charged to take stock of what they know, open themselves up to criticism by staff and congregation, turn this feedback into an action plan, and commit to follow it. The objective is to cultivate a unique environment shaped by the narratives and needs of the community.

One example: “When Southside Church in Vancouver [British Columbia] began about 10 years ago, it settled into a struggling community. One theme that emerged … was that this community had no real identity, no points of connection or gathering.” So, “the church would create a context of celebration and gathering for this dispersed community of mostly welfare recipients who often felt powerless.” Over the next decade, this group of believers built hope and connection into an otherwise transient community.

For all its idealism, The Missional Leader paints a realistic picture at least of what life could look like among churches willing to enter the chaos and make lasting change little by little.

Adam Miller is associate editor of On Mission magazine.