Transformational

"The objective of all of my work is that it is missional. A better word might be transformational, that both people and places are transformed by the work that I do."

That's a quote from Shannon Hopkins.

One of the challenges with so many discussions is defining the language. Over the years I've seen numerous conflicts arise simply because opposite sides were defining key words differently. I've also seen a lot of language change meaning over the years with some words become sharply defined while others seem to grow more and more meanings and thereby adding to the confusion and conflict.

Talk to a lot of people about being missional and you're likely to receive the good old glazed eyes look. Hey, my spellchecker can't figure it out either. I learned quickly to be careful who I used the word around. If I think they will struggle with the word I just don't use it.

I like the comparison in the quote above. I don't think that missional and transformational are interchangeable but I think that used properly, transformational can do a better job of expressing the missional thought.

So I need to ponder this a bit more. Are people and places transformed by the work I do? My first thought is yes, but transformed in what way? I can just as easily have a negative impact on people and places so I want to be careful to think about what kind of transformation my work should help bring about.

I have been on a "Jesus authored..." kick lately so let me try that on for size. Does my work bring about Jesus authored transformation to people and places? Yeah, I know, I just played tricks with the language and am thereby falling into the very thing I railed against at the beginning of this post. Oh well, I'll try it out for awhile and see how it fits.