What is the Difference Between Missionary and Missional?
Posted by C. Holland on Mar 29, 2010As much as I try to plan ahead with my writing and to focus on certain topics, I’m still surprised how often a germ of an idea for a blog post seems to come out of nowhere. I’ve mentioned before about the search terms used that direct people here, and as usual I was taking a peek at the recent ones. While I seriously considered asking the readers of this blog the “best job for a missionary leaving the field” (yes, an actual search term in the last few days), another search term caught my attention.
So, considering all the recent discussion about the definition of “missional”, I present you with a search term that I posit as a question and look forward to your answers in the comments:
“What is the difference between ‘missionary’ and ‘missional’?”
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March 29th, 2010 at 10:38 am
are you asking about connotation or denotation?
almost an M´s last blog ..The volume of silence
March 29th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Generally, ‘missionary’ is used as a noun and ‘missional’ as an adjective. Though that’s probably not what you’re looking for…
I suppose I’d argue the two words can be used somewhat interchangeably, depending on with whom you’re speaking. The word ‘missional’ seems to have “come into its own” only recently. It also seems to be used in many situations in which we used to use ‘missionary.’ For example, I remember writing a theology of mission in graduate school (before “missional”), and I wrote, “God is a missionary God.” Seems today that might be frowned on by some?
[If you can't tell, I don't really see the point in having "invented" a new word to explain something that should have been understood long ago.]
From one missionary who prefers not to use ‘missional.’
JamesBrett´s last blog ..giving: love means action
March 31st, 2010 at 10:13 am
@Almost: Connotation.
@James: I see that they’re used interchangeably, too, and I guess it’s why I’m puzzled.
The way the majority of the conversations seem to be going is that missional is (I’m paraphrasing, not actually quoting anyone) “thinking and acting like a missionary in your hometown/place you currently live.” If this is the case, then is a missionary someone who is missional in a foreign field or different part of their own nation?
March 31st, 2010 at 11:11 am
i would guess so? though i wonder, then, if the missional church will begin to “frown on” missionaries in the traditional sense? i am one, and i kind of frown on it a bit…
JamesBrett´s last blog ..a year in review
March 31st, 2010 at 11:21 am
@James: I’ve been sensing for a long time that the definition of “missionary” needs to be (and slowly is being) rewritten for the 21st century. There’s still need for foreign missionaries, perhaps expectations need to be rethought, especially in light of all the “missional” hubbub.
April 1st, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Interestingly enough, I have lately been hearing missional more often in reference to foreign missions, and missionary more often in reference to someone who sees themselves as a missionary all the time, whether they are in a foreign field or not.
An (overly?) optimistic approach, and that of my sending church, which spends most of its budget on supporting missionaries (usually foreign): “missional churches” are churches that are highly committed to missions, both foreign and local. Typically, they consider every Christian to be a missionary, and have a special emphasis on how people are missionaries – foreign field being a common example.
I currently work in secular nonprofit, and “missional” just means that something describes or represents our mission accurately. As in, the piece I designed the other day is very “missional.” It’s strange to hear my (nonChristian) coworkers using that phrase.
Rosalie´s last blog ..Commitment. It’s Hard.
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:03 am
Missional = people who talk about God’s mission.
Missionary = people who are actually involved in God’s mission.
April 2nd, 2010 at 5:07 am
eric, that’s really funny.
c. holland, when we finish serving in tanzania, i think we’ll be heading to asia, where we’ll open a business in order to do mission — rather than accepting / begging for funds from churches and individuals. i really like the idea of no one being able to say, “of course you teach that stuff, you’re paid to.”
JamesBrett´s last blog ..finding purpose in resurrection
April 2nd, 2010 at 10:07 am
@Rosalie: I’ve heard the opposite of missional that you describe (missions is in our own backyard). I’m glad to hear that people are beginning to see themselves as a missionary despite not living abroad. I viewed my last secular job in the States as a mission field, and at the time that confused a lot of Christians I knew.
@Eric: Yeah, it is funny.
@James: Interesting you mention this as I’ve been pondering two things lately: 1) full-time tentmaking (we’re half tent/half fundraised) and 2) how to befriend non-Christians in your field when they equate “missionary” with “agenda” (or, you’re paid to make me convert).
April 2nd, 2010 at 10:19 am
i did missions in china for 3 years, as a schoolteacher. it was marvelous. i had a real job, but still plenty of time to form relationships and start bible studies. i loved it.
i’m full-time supported now — half by churches and half by individuals. and i don’t really like the way the money stuff works. but we’re also doing development work. so i’m personally viewing (in order to feel better) my job as being development in the area of agriculture. and i think that’s how i’m viewed so far in geita. we’ll see how it all works out.
JamesBrett´s last blog ..finding purpose in resurrection
April 2nd, 2010 at 11:06 am
Yes, funny, also sad and true, at least where I live.
@James: I’m interested in the issue you brought up about how we come off to nationals. My family and I are moving to SE Asia this year. We have a unique opportunity to use the BAM and traditional models simultaneously.
I’m curious, how does a Tanzanian saying “of course you teach that stuff, you’re paid to” affect your witness there? I have heard this from other missionaries serving in central and SE Asia. I am wondering if the existence of that attitude is a sign that we need to change our model, or is it simply another way that the Gospel is being apposed as Christ sad it would be?
Does there attitude come from national pastors and “missionaries” who they’ve encountered who are paid from out-of-country money? I know this is the case with others I talked with.
April 2nd, 2010 at 11:44 am
honestly, eric, i haven’t had a tanzanian say that to me. and i don’t know that i will. here, i don’t think my being paid will be a big issue to people accepting Christ. rather i think it will be a big issue to all the church leaders wanting support (likely from the states — which we do not do within our system) or worse yet, it will be the excuse people give for not living obedient lives — “well, you’re paid to live that way, and to say those things. i’m just a regular person.” like a paid individual has super powers and extra incentives.
and maybe i should clarify, i don’t believe it’s wrong to be paid to be a missionary; i just think it carries some baggage i’d like to do without. but i feel the exact same way about paid ministry in the states. i don’t think (unless God right out tells me to) i’ll ever accept a paid ministry / missions position after this commitment. i want my money to come from somewhere other than my ministry — i don’t like tying the two together. that’s just me.
i also never heard the same said outright in china — or anywhere else in asia that i visited. but it was intimated a few times in china. kind of a “you’re not even paid to teach us Bible; you just believe it’s the right thing to do?” i had several students who, after becoming Christians, admitted that it wasn’t studies that really interested them in God in the beginning. but that a teacher would invite them into his home to watch football (soccer) or would take the time outside of class to learn card games or tell stories. if i had been paid to be an evangelist, i don’t know that their reactions would’ve been the same.
i’m not sure that i answered your questions. but i’m happy to have another go at it if i haven’t. also, i’d be interested to know about what you guys intend to do in asia. if it’s something that would be better shared over email (and you’d be willing), you can find my email on my blog under the ‘partners’ page.
JamesBrett´s last blog ..finding purpose in resurrection
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:08 pm
In this video, Keller gives a good explanation of what a missional church looks like and how it is unique (http://www.youtube.com/user/almostanm?feature=mhw5#p/f/1/EMolvODsM-c). The missionary, as I see it, is actively seeking to cross-culture to take the gospel to a new or other people group. With Winter’s discussion of cross-cultural ministry and Hirsch’s re-labeling and shining attention on the m0, m1, m2, & m3 categories, it seems likely that there will be more merging of usage here.
One distinctive that I think will continue in connotation or usage is based on how people interpret Matthew 28:19. Three options include:
1. Go and make disciples…
2. Make disciples as you go…
3. Go, make disciples as you go…
A missionary label will be placed on the first interpretation, missional person label on the second, and a lack of clarity in the third. That’s probably not a bad thing.
I appreciate reading at the end of Rosalie’s comment about use of the word missional in a secular context. There is so much to learn from that.
almost an M´s last blog ..JADED Reviewed
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:27 pm
@almost an M – Even though there are three interpretations out there of how to interpret the “go” in Mt. 28:19, there is only one that is grammatically correct. The first participle πορευθέντες, is attendant circumstance aorist preceding an imperative aorist main verb. According to Wallace (Ex Syntax), virtually all instances in narrative literature of a aorist participle plus aorist imperative involve an attendant circumstance participle.
Because “go” is a attendant circumstance participle, it takes on the mood of the main verb, μαθητεύσατε, which is imperative. Thus, the only way to properly understand the command is as an imperative – “Go”, not “while going” or “as you go.”
April 3rd, 2010 at 3:57 am
@Eric and James: If I can chime in, FWIW here in my field in Western Europe, being an American missionary is a HUGE impediment to both the Christians and non-Christians here.
Non-Christians are reluctant to continue developing a relationship of any kind once they ask why we’re here, no matter how I phrase it or even if I haven’t brought up anything spiritual with them. Their culture has taught them to be wary of any outsider, that especially religious ones have an agenda to be feared. Were I able to take a “regular” job here, my Christian beliefs eventually being evident wouldn’t put them off as much because there wouldn’t be the fear of “you’re being paid to convert me”.
The impediment to Christians here are several: due to the fundraising model they mistakenly view American missionaries as hyper-rich so they’re reluctant to contribute financially to any ministry despite being very well-off themselves, they misinterpret that if we weren’t being “paid” to do this we’d not volunteer in ministry, and they do use the “you’re paid–I’m just a regular person” to justify their avoidance of participating in any ministry work, Bible study, etc.
The last one is toughest as they feel we’ve made scripture memorisation, Bible study, etc. part of our lives only because we’re paid; they tell us “normal” people with “regular” jobs can’t be expected to do those extras. One hour a week at church is too hard a sacrifice for them now! Were we working a secular job alongside them and still able to read the Bible, etc. it would be a more helpful example.
April 3rd, 2010 at 4:18 am
@Almost: Thank you for the video; I think it’s the clearest and most accessible definition I’ve seen/read yet. I’ve struggled with the “be a missionary in your own backyard” definition as I find many Christians have bizarre and/or varied interpretations of what a foreign missionary actually does. Keller avoids this issue completely. Actually, there are quite a few missionaries in my own field I’d like to show this to as they seem bent on avoiding assimilation to this culture at all costs.
April 3rd, 2010 at 4:24 am
“Their culture has taught them to be wary of any outsider, that especially religious ones have an agenda to be feared.”
this makes me think. because, in general, the chinese are about as xenophobic as is possible. i may have experienced even more mistrust, if i had been working primarily with older people. but, serving as a university professor, most of the relationships i made were with either university students, or a few teachers (some of them rather open-minded). i only helped with one church plant that consisted of couples (old enough to be) with children. and i came into that process late — helped to train leaders and facilitate a withdrawal of leadership more than the initial evangelism bit.
JamesBrett´s last blog ..finding purpose in resurrection
April 3rd, 2010 at 5:00 am
@James: The older people in this culture would be the most mistrusting and would see conversion as denying their culture completely. This field can be xenophobic too, yet has a mostly positive attitude about Americans–until spiritual beliefs come into the equation. I have had a direct email that said, “Don’t bring your American religion here; we have our own.” I find a lot of the nationals equate evangelicalism as specifically American, so it’s an extra hurdle to overcome.
April 3rd, 2010 at 9:29 am
@C Holland – I have several missionary friends in Spain and France who echo the same struggles. I commend you for continuing to find any way you can be both “salt and light” and tell people about Christ in this dark place.
April 3rd, 2010 at 9:55 am
Christianity was definitely viewed as part of american culture in class. it’s an american religion as far as most were concerned. but it was interesting — the school expected me to teach some Christianity as part of my american culture classes. you could get in somewhat serious trouble for proselytizing, but come christmas and easter, and the class was reading aloud from the bible, and asking me to tell more stories about Jesus.
JamesBrett´s last blog ..missionary trading cards
April 3rd, 2010 at 10:47 am
@Eric: Thank you. I tend to see both my field and the rest of Western Europe as a future harvest that is just now being prepared and planted. We pray it will experience revival in our lifetime.
@James: “Religious Education Class”, as it’s called, is still expected here in public schools for now. It is a limited window that allows for general instruction and tends to include a smorgasbord sampler of “all faiths”. But it has been an opportunity for pastors and parachurch (like the Gideons) to get to share about God.