So 20 years later I look back on this chapter of my life – and it is with the fondest memories. We didn’t achieve what we set out to do – to ignite a church planting movement across Oz – but we did force the church to look at its own approach to mission. At that time it was ‘seeker services’ and the like as the ‘methodology of mission’ (Leslie Newbigin would turn in his grave…) and the focus was on getting the people back in the building so they could be wooed over by a convincing presenter. Sometimes that methodology was effective but it relied on people with relationships outside of church, an invitation to a gathering and then a speaker with enough wow to win people over.

Most of us couldn’t pull that off – even if we tried. And the beauty of the missional focus was that we no longer had to perform in that way. As the language of mission and the word ‘missional’ began to enter mainstream, the things we had been calling out in the early 2000’s suddenly became self evident. These days everyone is ‘missional’, but ask around and you will get some curious understandings of what word means. How a word that is derived from the latin ‘missio’ = ‘to send’, could ever be interpreted as an instruction to ‘come’ is beyond me. But I guarantee you that this paradigm is still prevalent in many of our churches.

What was the ’emerging missional church’ in Australia? I believe it was a prophetic movement that burned bright for a time, that explored and re-thought much of our theology, but that did its best work when it was calling Christians to embrace their calling as sent people. A few of the early missional projects lingered for a while and i think one is even still going, but by and large many of us packed up and went back to ‘normal church’. And we went back not because the form is necessarily better or superior – more just inevitable in some ways. As a group grows it needs to meet regularly. When?… Hmmm. Sunday is prob best… morning or afternoon? 9.30 works well… And rather than trash one person’s home on a regular basis let’s hire a venue… Seats? Oh yeah, rows will work best – we can fit more people in… Oh and who will look after the kids?

I could attend any manner of church these days and not care less what form the Sunday gathering takes. It needs to be a form that fits that community and is representative of that particular church’s way of being. What I notice is the language used and the way mission is thought of amongst the people. As an untethered pastor at the moment, I sometimes cruise the pastoral job ads (feels like wandrering in an Op Shop) wondering if I might discover something that fits me and that looks good one me. What I have noticed is that in the job descriptions very few speak of the missional role that the pastor needs to have. The emphasis is on solid biblical teaching and caring for the flock… I don’t finish reading those adverts. I believe in good biblical teaching and caring for the people, but I believe the pastoral leaders are the ones who will set the tone for mission in the local community.

A sentence such as: As a pastoral leader you will help XYZ Baptist church engage in mission with it’s local community, sending people back into their workplaces and neighbourhoods equipped and empowered to be the presence of Jesus. Martin Robinson said it so well in his book ‘Invading Secular Space‘

“What would it look like for a church to function in such a way that the primary goal of church life was not to attract more people into attendance and membership, but to produce people who had a profound sense of their personal relationship to God, their resource in Christ and could take that reality into the world with them” p.111.

In my pre-missional days I focused heavily on establishing activities that would seek to ‘reach out’ to people beyond the church – regular programs – craft groups, Alpha, youth groups etc. What I learnt in the EMC time was the value of simply living my ordinary life and being myself, and listening for the whisper of the Spirit to step up when the moment arose. My sense now is that there is a place for programs that are genuinely effective and that bless and serve the community, but if the programs are dragging people away from their ordinary lives then they may need rethinking.

I am grateful for a theological experience that forced me to think about the gospel as broader and more holistic than simply Jesus dying for my sins. I did have a very truncated view in the early years and it was driven by a ‘heaven / hell’ schema. These days as my understanding of the kingdom of God has matured I feel like I am better able to give people a broader and truer explanation of what God is doing in the world and how they may be involved.

II was honoured to take over the national directorship of Forge when Al & Deb Hirsch left for the USA, but the distance and challenge of leading the movement in the wake of a charismatic initiator meant it was always going to be a difficult prospect. I worked in this role for a couple of years, before resigning and Phil McCredden stepping up. As I moved out of the Forge years and back to local church ministry at Quinns Baptist, it was with a sense of that time having come to an end. In my mind the ’emerging missional church’ had served its purpose and while we hadn’t catalysed a movement like we had aspired to, we had shaken the foundations of the church and caused it to reflect on how it went about its business – even what it’s ‘core business’ was.

So 20 years on I feel blessed and privileged to have shared in the leadership of such a valuable movement, even if it was only for a time. Not everything needs to run forever – in fact it’s much better to do your job and when your job is complete to move on. Moving back to a small local church and a part time business after being involved in the leadership of an inspiring and innovative organisation was a challenge – part of it was the anonymity of it all. Most of us lost touch over time as we wove our way back into ministry in various forms, but any time there is opportunity there is also great joy in a reunion. At the recent Exponential conference – the first conference I had spoken at in 15 years – it was great to share dinner with Al Hirsch and know that both of our hearts are still beating strongly for the mission of God in this world.

I don’t know what the lasting impact has been on those who were part of the churches in that time, but I do know that I have never been able to see the world in the same way again, and that my calling to simple backyard mission work is enough for me to devote the rest of my life to. For that I am grateful beyond words.