There’s a lot of talk these days about “missional,” and it’s growing. When I predicted back in January that 2007 would be “the year of Missional,” I think there were a number of my readers wanting to know where to nominate me for the “obvious remark of the year” award.
But something really is happening, and there’s a change in the wind. This time last year, “missional” was not a widely discussed topic, and although it’s a common subject in the circles of people who regularly read here, it hasn’t hit the mainstream in the way it’s about to… and it is about to. The subject is still on the rise, from almost nowhere six months ago. What I mean is that today, the minimum number of daily references is roughly equivalent to the 6-8-week total of a year ago. Observe:
Do you see what I see?
Well … not that I’m saying that you’re making up stats, mind you. I just re-read myself. I’m a dolt sometimes. What I meant by that is … I think that in our culture when someone says, “Oh look, this is the next new thing.” people start flocking to it. It’s the result of our intense consumerism.
Sorry about my horrid oversight …
that’s a good point – – that much of that trend is likely people picking up on a new cool word and not necessarily using it properly … HOWEVER, his point remains, even *if* only a fraction of those instances are being used positively and appropriately.
Interesting that some of the “discernment” sites think that “missional” is just a new code word for “emergent” so that Brian McLaren can continue to deceive the masses.
Irony is, some of us (like me) prefer “missional” because (A) it comes will less baggage (at least for now), and (B) it’s more descriptive of a directional change, esp. thanks to the efforts of Meigs (www.friendofmissional.org) and Smulo (www.missionalapologetics.com).