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Treasure in Clay Jars: Patterns in Missional Faithfulness (The Gospel and Our Culture Series
If you saw a missional church, what would it look like? What patterns of behavior and practice would you find there?
Building on the ground laid by the book Missional A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Darrell Guder et al. 1998), Treasure in Clay Jars centers on case studies of nine missional congregations from across North America that are diverse in their denominational affiliations, worship styles, political stances, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The book explores eight concrete "patterns" common to these churches. Although the patterns may be different in each setting, they can be recognized in any congregation seeking to participate in God's mission in the world.
The team that authored this book believes that "missional" says something not so much about the activities of the church as its "The church does not exist for itself, but for participation in God's mission of reconciliation. . . . Mission is the character of the church in whatever context it exists." The congregations studied here are "clay jars," but each carries in its witness a remarkable treasure that points to God's power and purposes.
Lois Y. Barrett
Darrell L. Guder
Walter C. Hobbs
George R. Hunsberger
Linford L. Stutzman
Jeff Van Kooten
Dale A. Ziemer
Building on the ground laid by the book Missional A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Darrell Guder et al. 1998), Treasure in Clay Jars centers on case studies of nine missional congregations from across North America that are diverse in their denominational affiliations, worship styles, political stances, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The book explores eight concrete "patterns" common to these churches. Although the patterns may be different in each setting, they can be recognized in any congregation seeking to participate in God's mission in the world.
The team that authored this book believes that "missional" says something not so much about the activities of the church as its "The church does not exist for itself, but for participation in God's mission of reconciliation. . . . Mission is the character of the church in whatever context it exists." The congregations studied here are "clay jars," but each carries in its witness a remarkable treasure that points to God's power and purposes.
Lois Y. Barrett
Darrell L. Guder
Walter C. Hobbs
George R. Hunsberger
Linford L. Stutzman
Jeff Van Kooten
Dale A. Ziemer
186 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 2004
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November 19, 2015
1. How would you know a missional church if you saw one?
Guder’s book, Missional Church gives us some good theory. What is learned from the examples found in these nine congregations are eight patterns:
a. Discern Missional Calling/Vocation
b. Biblical Formation – all members are learning what it means to be disciples. Not everything we call discipleship is producing missional engagement.
c. Taking risks – stepping out of the norms of the dominant culture. They take risks regarding materialism, individualism, etc.
d. The Community – It is found in the way members behave toward one another, redemptive relationships.
e. Worship is a holy witness. The community celebrates. “We do not proclaim ourselves. We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.” The community has a likeness to Jesus shining light to the world.
f. Dependence on the Holy Spirit –
g. Points to the Reign of God – The kingdom of God is breaking through cultural and social boundaries. We have an eternal commitment to the glory of God.
h. Missional authority – there is a synergy between the
2. The title of the book comes from 2 Cor. 4 – “We have these treasures in clay jars.”
Strengths – anytime you try to pull together literature on the Church, it is often theoretical. This book shows how those theories may be put into practice.
Weakness – probably the greatest weakness is its local community base. It is not showing us how the church should be engaging the wider world. The missional church research seems to all be about the local church in its local context, not what God is doing abroad and out there in the wider world. Also, this book was a bit weak on the proclamation and evangelism.
3. The question about the church is not what it does, but what is the character of the church.
Jesus was incarnate in our context. These churches are not necessarily missional, but becoming missional.
Another weakness is the question of how a leader really lives this out.
4. A few of the churches studied:
• The Montana Church speaks a lot about what is happening in the USA in the immigrant community.
• The church in Detroit had a good impact as the people moved into the city. Their depth of their passion and their witness earned them the scorn of the community; they were labeled a “cult.”
• The Washington State FPCB church understands itself to be a mission outpost. I agree with their “missional calling…a witness of their quality of life together as much as … a service to real human needs and verbal witness to Jesus Christ.” (8)
• The IMPACT covenantal partnership is an apostolic association committed to their “six learning objectives,” including discovering God’s call, guided by a vision, demonstrating a quality of congregational life expressing the reign of God, open to the power of the Holy Spirit, engaged in the challenges of modern life, and equipping pastors and lay leaders. (13)
The Spring Garden church is “marked by a collective creativity and entrepreneurial spirit where the human and material assets of the congregation – money, business expertise, artistic ability, academic degrees, communication and relational skills, time and energy – are viewed as assets to be invested without fear for the reign of God.” This produces an “optimistic climate that combines innovation with careful, prayerful decision-making.” (25)
The Brooklyn congregation embraces Mother Teresa’s mission “to be present with the poorest of the poor.” (27)
5. The culture of a church is imparted by the leaders/founders of the church. For example, Henry N. Lewis, founder of the Holy Ghost church repeated the a simple culture-creating mantra for the congregation, “Love Everybody.” John Perkins taught a simple pattern taken up by one of the churches embracing a call to community development: “relocation, reconciliation, and redistribution.” (34) This culture is created as the congregation “seeks to be what it believes.” (36)
6. Hunsberger explains the “jars of clay” title as he outlines the “vocation of the congregation.” He uses the “we” statements of affirmation that give identity to the congregation. “We are Matthew 25. We have this ministry. We have this treasure.” These statements, through repetition and practice, become congregational attitudes. They shape the identity of the congregation as a missional church, engaged in something bigger than themselves.
7. For ten years I have been teaching on vocation in a seminar entitled, “CallingQuest.” I was warned early on to be careful because the term “vocation” had been mis-used and distorted in modern times. While the term originally had meaning which carried with it a holistic responsibility to the broader community, it has become either purely religious work or a purely secular career. No longer is it about a relationship or a life lived in honor of the One who called. Hunsberger courageously engages this “call” with clarity on behalf of congregations that recognize their call; “The people of God who are summoned to participate in God’s grand purpose for the world.” (38)
8. I see part of our challenge is to overcome the problem we have in the Western Church that identifies church activity as “free time activity.” (63) Like “Stormfront,” this book outlines the challenge of the Church in the West oriented toward “meeting needs.” The expectation in discipleship too often is that it will be “fun, easy, entertaining, and will meet my needs.” The resistance we experience as we raise the difficult questions and the cost of discipleship, including the necessity to be a learning and reading community, must be faced head-on. The voluntary aspect of the call to be disciples should not be removed, however neither should the challenge to respond to the call be reduced. It is mandatory. We must be willing to present the full message of the gospel, as a missionary call as well as a salvation message.
9. Living as a contrasting witness in community is costly discipleship. We must model engagement with the world as a contrast to the world’s natural pattern, rather than allow ourselves to be modeled after the world. “This engagement happens both through specific words and deeds performed in the world and through the witness of being a presence in the world, different from the world, inviting questions, challenging assumptions, and demonstrating a life not of the world.” (83 – from Missional Church p. 117)
10. The Greek word for church is a word for “public assembly,” not a private gathering. We are called to publicly assemble and proclaim truth into the public arena, like a town meeting. We are called to live our lives in public and for the public. This is not a private calling, but a very public one. The word “liturgy” actually means “public works project.” When the church gathers and presents its liturgy, it should be something of public significance. It should present the kingdom of God in the public sphere intentionally. The city on a hill that should not be hid is an example for the watching world to see and perhaps follow as they build the wider community. Just as the mountain of the Lord becomes chief among the hills and all nations stream to it, the people in the broader community will say, “come, let us go to that public works project and we will be taught the ways of God for building community.”
If I am to be “transformed” or if the community I am a part of is to be a transformational agent to the wider world, then I must be willing to go and be led to places that I have not been. We as a community must be willing to be “transported” and “reformed” into a new place and a new way of witness in this generation. If this is to happen, the Church must be willing to “constantly critique and intentionally reshape its vision, common life, teaching, organization, obedience, witness, and ministry on the basis of its hearing of the Word of God.” (172)
Guder’s book, Missional Church gives us some good theory. What is learned from the examples found in these nine congregations are eight patterns:
a. Discern Missional Calling/Vocation
b. Biblical Formation – all members are learning what it means to be disciples. Not everything we call discipleship is producing missional engagement.
c. Taking risks – stepping out of the norms of the dominant culture. They take risks regarding materialism, individualism, etc.
d. The Community – It is found in the way members behave toward one another, redemptive relationships.
e. Worship is a holy witness. The community celebrates. “We do not proclaim ourselves. We proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord.” The community has a likeness to Jesus shining light to the world.
f. Dependence on the Holy Spirit –
g. Points to the Reign of God – The kingdom of God is breaking through cultural and social boundaries. We have an eternal commitment to the glory of God.
h. Missional authority – there is a synergy between the
2. The title of the book comes from 2 Cor. 4 – “We have these treasures in clay jars.”
Strengths – anytime you try to pull together literature on the Church, it is often theoretical. This book shows how those theories may be put into practice.
Weakness – probably the greatest weakness is its local community base. It is not showing us how the church should be engaging the wider world. The missional church research seems to all be about the local church in its local context, not what God is doing abroad and out there in the wider world. Also, this book was a bit weak on the proclamation and evangelism.
3. The question about the church is not what it does, but what is the character of the church.
Jesus was incarnate in our context. These churches are not necessarily missional, but becoming missional.
Another weakness is the question of how a leader really lives this out.
4. A few of the churches studied:
• The Montana Church speaks a lot about what is happening in the USA in the immigrant community.
• The church in Detroit had a good impact as the people moved into the city. Their depth of their passion and their witness earned them the scorn of the community; they were labeled a “cult.”
• The Washington State FPCB church understands itself to be a mission outpost. I agree with their “missional calling…a witness of their quality of life together as much as … a service to real human needs and verbal witness to Jesus Christ.” (8)
• The IMPACT covenantal partnership is an apostolic association committed to their “six learning objectives,” including discovering God’s call, guided by a vision, demonstrating a quality of congregational life expressing the reign of God, open to the power of the Holy Spirit, engaged in the challenges of modern life, and equipping pastors and lay leaders. (13)
The Spring Garden church is “marked by a collective creativity and entrepreneurial spirit where the human and material assets of the congregation – money, business expertise, artistic ability, academic degrees, communication and relational skills, time and energy – are viewed as assets to be invested without fear for the reign of God.” This produces an “optimistic climate that combines innovation with careful, prayerful decision-making.” (25)
The Brooklyn congregation embraces Mother Teresa’s mission “to be present with the poorest of the poor.” (27)
5. The culture of a church is imparted by the leaders/founders of the church. For example, Henry N. Lewis, founder of the Holy Ghost church repeated the a simple culture-creating mantra for the congregation, “Love Everybody.” John Perkins taught a simple pattern taken up by one of the churches embracing a call to community development: “relocation, reconciliation, and redistribution.” (34) This culture is created as the congregation “seeks to be what it believes.” (36)
6. Hunsberger explains the “jars of clay” title as he outlines the “vocation of the congregation.” He uses the “we” statements of affirmation that give identity to the congregation. “We are Matthew 25. We have this ministry. We have this treasure.” These statements, through repetition and practice, become congregational attitudes. They shape the identity of the congregation as a missional church, engaged in something bigger than themselves.
7. For ten years I have been teaching on vocation in a seminar entitled, “CallingQuest.” I was warned early on to be careful because the term “vocation” had been mis-used and distorted in modern times. While the term originally had meaning which carried with it a holistic responsibility to the broader community, it has become either purely religious work or a purely secular career. No longer is it about a relationship or a life lived in honor of the One who called. Hunsberger courageously engages this “call” with clarity on behalf of congregations that recognize their call; “The people of God who are summoned to participate in God’s grand purpose for the world.” (38)
8. I see part of our challenge is to overcome the problem we have in the Western Church that identifies church activity as “free time activity.” (63) Like “Stormfront,” this book outlines the challenge of the Church in the West oriented toward “meeting needs.” The expectation in discipleship too often is that it will be “fun, easy, entertaining, and will meet my needs.” The resistance we experience as we raise the difficult questions and the cost of discipleship, including the necessity to be a learning and reading community, must be faced head-on. The voluntary aspect of the call to be disciples should not be removed, however neither should the challenge to respond to the call be reduced. It is mandatory. We must be willing to present the full message of the gospel, as a missionary call as well as a salvation message.
9. Living as a contrasting witness in community is costly discipleship. We must model engagement with the world as a contrast to the world’s natural pattern, rather than allow ourselves to be modeled after the world. “This engagement happens both through specific words and deeds performed in the world and through the witness of being a presence in the world, different from the world, inviting questions, challenging assumptions, and demonstrating a life not of the world.” (83 – from Missional Church p. 117)
10. The Greek word for church is a word for “public assembly,” not a private gathering. We are called to publicly assemble and proclaim truth into the public arena, like a town meeting. We are called to live our lives in public and for the public. This is not a private calling, but a very public one. The word “liturgy” actually means “public works project.” When the church gathers and presents its liturgy, it should be something of public significance. It should present the kingdom of God in the public sphere intentionally. The city on a hill that should not be hid is an example for the watching world to see and perhaps follow as they build the wider community. Just as the mountain of the Lord becomes chief among the hills and all nations stream to it, the people in the broader community will say, “come, let us go to that public works project and we will be taught the ways of God for building community.”
If I am to be “transformed” or if the community I am a part of is to be a transformational agent to the wider world, then I must be willing to go and be led to places that I have not been. We as a community must be willing to be “transported” and “reformed” into a new place and a new way of witness in this generation. If this is to happen, the Church must be willing to “constantly critique and intentionally reshape its vision, common life, teaching, organization, obedience, witness, and ministry on the basis of its hearing of the Word of God.” (172)
February 8, 2014
This book is the result of a research project on various churches and their missional practices. The book lists 8 patterns:
1. Missional Vocation
2. Biblical Formation and Discipleship
3. Taking Risks as a Contrast Community
4. Practices That Demonstrate God's Intent for the World
5. Worship as a Public Witness
6. Dependence on the Holy Spirit
7. Pointing Toward the Reign of God
8. Missional Authority
The book does have some interesting comments regarding the American consumerism and how it manifests itself in churches.
1. Missional Vocation
2. Biblical Formation and Discipleship
3. Taking Risks as a Contrast Community
4. Practices That Demonstrate God's Intent for the World
5. Worship as a Public Witness
6. Dependence on the Holy Spirit
7. Pointing Toward the Reign of God
8. Missional Authority
The book does have some interesting comments regarding the American consumerism and how it manifests itself in churches.
July 12, 2011
"A missional Church is a church that is shaped by participating in God's Mission, which is to set things right in a broken, sinful world, to redeem it and to restore it to what God has always intended for the world."
"We are all sinners, reconciled to God and to one another is celebrated and demonstrated weekly at...church. "
"We are all sinners, reconciled to God and to one another is celebrated and demonstrated weekly at...church. "
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November 21, 2008I'm leading a book discussion at my church for this book. I'm hoping it will clarify what it means to be a missional church, and I'm hoping the short series of discussions will help build community internally.
November 10, 2009
Helpful in seeing the variety of detail in missional case studies-- none of these churches looks like the other.
December 3, 2014
The gospel and our culture network has produced better collaborations elsewhere with pretty much the same ideas. As the two stars indicate "it was ok". I can't say I really enjoyed it though.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews