Sorry about the bad mix of languages - but I've been thinking for a while about the whole idea of missional balance as it relates to church - particularly "modality" (what we often call "local church"). Because whilst I don't think there is a need for "sodality" (so called para-church in some quarters) to be missionally balanced - in fact I think their(/our) job is to be missionally specialised. There is a need for balance at local church level.
The balance is two-fold in my opinion.
Word - Works
One of Kez's first memorable sermons (and she has given us several) was on this Word/Works balance - we cannot simply swan about being nice people and expect people to get this salvation lark (I think I paraphrase her reasonably accurately). Glen in one of his wedding blogs puts a little more flesh on the word side of this. Neither does this salvation lark make any sense unless we live it out and make a difference (works).
Local - Global
This is a longer standing issue - the church has historically always tended to myopia on this - and I am not just talking about distance in miles. I would see Local / Global as cultural & homogenous group related.
A scale
I like pictures so I find this graph useful:
My agency (WEC International) is a specialist mainly in the Global Word quadrant - not that we or anyone can split up the work of the kingdom so easily and neatly. In fact some of our neatest frontier church planting projects are a blends of word/works. (Children in crisis or Ex addict Church planting for example)
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