What is "missional" all about?

I love the word "missional" because it carries an apostolic seed. When we love God, experience Him, prophetically hear and see what He wants to speak to us and show to us, then His heart for others (His desire for reconciliation with the outside world) becomes a part of who we are.

Our heart begins to beat with His. His dream becomes our dream, His love for the world is imparted to us, and we begin to love as He loves. We become an apostolic people in the simplicity of being sent ones; on His mission of love and reconciliation. It is no longer just about us, or our little community of faith.

This term "missional" is being used in a lot of different ways, and that can add confusion rather than clarity. I found the following quote (from an interview with Alan Hirsch) and video (of Michael Frost speaking at a Presbyterian Conference) to be helpful in explaining the original heart behind the word "missional". The video is about 50 minutes, but well worth the watch. Let's start with the quote:

Fred: Can you explain to Wineskins readers how you think adopting a distinctly missional-incarnation approach will find a faith community emerging from mission, rather than mission emerging from a particular expression of church?

Alan Hirsch: Quite simply because when you adopt an missional-incarnational approach to engaging our world, then you are forced to a go-to-them, hang-out-with-them approach to mission before you ever get to ask the question, “What is church for this people group?” The problem is that we usually frontload our idea of church into the missional equation. And while the reality of the Church as God’s community is a vital, non-negotiable, part of the Christian faith, the forms that the church must take are almost entirely to be guided by the cultural context of the church. If this were not the case, the Paul’s argument in Galatians is flawed and we all should be adopting Jewish forms of church, including circumcision! Ouch! The church follows mission and not the other way around.
(From an interview in New Wineskins)