Recovering our Focus

I've been reflecting on what it means to be a "sent" people - "as the Father has sent Me, so I  send you".

The church is not the sender but the one sent. This means that mission is not the province of a select few "missionaries", it is not just a component of the church, a part of what the church does, but the identity and heart of the church. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said, "The church is only the church when it exists for others." Similarly, Emil Brunner "The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning".

Having come from a church planting background to a long established church, the issue of mission takes on a different dimension.  Within church planting, it is assumed that mission is front and centre of all that we do. Everything is measured by mission. A key question is "What does it mean to be a 'sent' people to this community?"  Often, somewhere down the track, this stops becoming the key question.

I'm interested in your perspectives: Why is the priority of mission lost within churches?  How may it be recovered?

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Comments

[Stephen]

"Why is the priority of mission lost within churches?"

I will be less provocative - more measured - this time and ask whether it may be because we don't really understand what mission is.

If mission is all about telling someone at work that Jesus died for them or inviting that person to church or putting on big events, then I think churches soon grow tired and individuals lose their drive.

Perhaps mission must be understood far more as being a (alternative) way of life?

[Anne]

The reason the focus on mission has waned in churches is because we are losing the Truth of the Gospel. Many "practitioners" endlessly expound how it should be done but sadly it will never be done by talking about the best way, or, for that matter, using mission as a cover to introduce deceptive heresies. The only Way is Jesus according to the Word of God. Unless we recover what true Christianity is instead of wofting toward other false Gospels, then we can expect a dead experience. Paul gave many warnings about false teachers & we've got plenty of those in the church today. I would put Mr Moo from the last post in that category actually. It's interesting to me that many of these people are hiding behind a facade of "evangelicalism" but are in fact introducing other beliefs. Has anyone experienced this in churches? I think it is largely responsible for the decline in mission focus. I'd be interested to know your thoughts.

[Paul]

David, this and the previous post have stirred my thinking about what it means to be a missional church.

I just read an article by Kim Hammond on Rowland Croucher's website, http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/12863.htm , entitled, "Characteristics Of a Missional Church".

He concludes, "It's about a loving missionary God incarnating the world to save it. It's about mission being at the heart of the Trinity, and many in the church have forgotten it. The missional church is about getting back to the great commission and the great commandment. To go into the entire world while loving our neighbours as ourselves. (Matthew 28:19. 19:19) The missional church has the advantage of leaving behind traditions and politics however it must learn from its History that all new things can become old. It must keep asking; what does it mean to be the "called out community" to our culture?"

Whilst I am a little uncomfortable with a few of the conclusions, I find myself longing for the authenticity of church life described in this article.

[Jon]

Why is the priority of mission lost within churches?

B/c we prefer to be comfortable.

And, we are comfortable with being comfortable.

[beth]

Why is the priority of mission lost within churches?
'Priority' indicates a multiplicity of elements, which require ordering. As humans I think we get easily hooked on linear, taxonomic, and hierarchical ways of making sense of things. Trying to work out what is most important and then what comes next leads to power struggles and competing agendas (which at best is exhausting and fruitless and at worst is downright destructive.) So ubiquitous has my experience of these power plays been in church life been that sometimes in my darkest moments it's hard to imagine the church without them.
Jesus seemed particularly disenchanted with prioritisations, famously reversing these with "the first shall be last", the Samaritan's the good guy stories, "Love your enemies", and "come as a child" invitations. It seems that Jesus not only turns priorities base over apex, he operates in a different way altogether. A way that is to do with wholeness and being, rather than rating, judging, powering and ascending. Although the new testament writers see Jesus ascending, there is no top down conclusion to this. Jesus isn't presented visually or physically on top of the world ruling as the first and foremost. His ascension dissolves into the mission of the disciples, gathered worshipping and trembling. Even in Revelation, which paints a magnificent affirmation of Jesus as Lord, Jesus is both the Alpha and the Omega; first and last, not just first. Jesus' power is from amongst us, as demonstrated in the manifestation of the spirit in Acts 2. Do I dare hope that Jesus was serious and his world view realistic? It would seem that when we make mission one of many things, and then try with all our hearts and energies to put it front and centre we fail. Like many of Jesus' early disciples we want to have our cake (mission) and eat it too (comfortable 'attendable' church services-as Jon suggests.) Jesus' call is to live in the self-giving, loving life of God. Not to create 'mission' as an external thing that we do to others. Even in the sending of the 70 disciples out in pairs, a fairly overtly missional passage in Luke 10, they are sent to accept other people's hospitality and do life with them. Jesus told them not to even try to impose mission from outside a community. If it couldn't be from amongst a community, it wasn't on. To make mission a priority amongst other options doesn't seem to be on offer from Jesus. The Spirit is an infiltrator.

[Don]

Beth, my emphasis on "mission" is that life is mission and mission is life.

God so loved the world that he sent his Son to die for our sins. Mission is God's only passion and it should be ours. I don't believe that we should make mission "one of many things" but the ONLY THING. Mission should be at the very core of our being, both individually and as a community.

I don't think that this means that the only activity we involve ourselves in is 'Bible-thumping', but at times, even this is good. No, but I believe that it does mean that in every aspect of our interaction with people, who have yet to come to God through Christ, regardless of the methodology we employ, mission should be the foundational principle governing our interactions and relationships.

My concern is that if we believe that any secondary principle, such as the 'social justice' approach will deliver the same result, we fool ourselves. It's my observation that, with time, secondary principles eventually take over and become the primary principle. Mission becomes secondary and even forgotten. We just have to look around at organisations (churches) that have gone down this road. Today, many don't even know what the Good News is, let alone tell others about it.

The primary motivation of the Luke 10 account to which you refer is that "the harvest is so great, but the workers are so few". It was this passion for harvest (mission) that motivated Jesus to commission 72 disciples to prepare for the harvest. It governed their interaction with the people they met, and if there was a negative reception to their mission, they were not to modify the mission, but cut their losses and move on.

[Stuart]

I like your comment Don:

"My concern is that if we believe that any secondary principle, such as the 'social justice' approach will deliver the same result, we fool ourselves. It's my observation that, with time, secondary principles eventually take over and become the primary principle. Mission becomes secondary and even forgotten. We just have to look around at organisations (churches) that have gone down this road. Today, many don't even know what the Good News is, let alone tell others about it."

I find this very challenging, but at the same time it really stirs me inside. We live in a world where we see many 'good' things done, things that make a real positive difference. However if the motivation isn't to reflect and directly or indirectly point people to Christ, then why do we do it? In the end of the day as Christians our mission is to glorify God by living for Him and reflecting Christ to others, always being driven in how we can witness to them; always being ready to explain Jesus' impact in our own lives.

If we do 'good' things like social justice or feed the poor or show hospititality or love the unlovable etc without the intention of reflecting Christ and wanting to share about His impact in our own lives then why do we do it??! To feel good? To show how good we are?? It's like the cause becomes the focus instead of the motivational reason for why we do it - Witness Jesus' love to the world and spread the Good News! How tragic for hungry stomachs to be fed but with their spiritual ones to go on craving due to lack of spiritual food. I wonder how much more of an ETERNAL impact some really 'good' and worth while international and local programs would be if they used their good influence to point others to the hope of Jesus? I wonder what would happen if more churches did the same intead of succumbing to the tolerances of this world and watering down Biblical truth that will lead people to a saving faith in Christ? At what cost are we willing to dampen God's Word being spread into this world!!??

Is it too far to say that Satan is using "worldly good" things or programs to take our focus away from spreading the good news? In churches maybe we are allowing Satan to plant thoughts in our minds that we are being loving to others if we accept or tolerate unconfessed sin in the church. If we are to allow the Good News to filter through this world and our lives, then we need to FIGHT for it, beacuse we live in a manipulative world that uses the disguise of 'good' things to dampen the Good News of Christ.

In saying all that I feel really challenged to being more strategically and intentionally evangelical in my work place. We are called to be the salt of the world. I feel I need to be far more salty! It also makes me think about what organisations I support. Are they driven by their 'good' cause or are they driven by witnessing Christ to the lost through their good cause?!! There is a big difference!

[beth]

Absolutely all for not dampening the power of God in the world, but isn't that a bit like thinking we could hold back a Tsunami? What power could I possibly have to water down God's power? As Gamaliel wisely says to the Jewish council in Acts, "If God's in it, you can't stop it anyway, and if God's not in it, it won't last." I'm not naive about the freedom God has given humans to shut doors on God given opportunities; certainly experienced a lot of that in my life and ministry. But I have to affirm even in the midst of that, I have seen the power of God remain unfettered. Resurrection is real and powerful, and even when we miss God's opportunities, or we think the truth is being suppressed, God is not disempowered, and by the endless creative resources and undying passionate love of God, the mission of God's goodnews is never done, dead or doomed. The 'be salty' metaphor that Jesus gave his followers is one of irresistible hope, because salt doesn't get stronger or weaker in saltiness, it is simply chemically/ ontologically salty. We can't try to be more than what we are! There is such grace in Jesus salt desciption of us. The only choice about our saltiness is whether we keep it stores away in a sealed container (possibly church?) or we spread it around all over the place.
Again, absolutely all for not dampening the power of God in the world, but I also hear Jesus speaking about feeding the hungry, restoring sight to the blind, liberating the oppressed as integral component parts to the goodnews. Speaking truth without merciful generous redemptive action might just as easily be watering down the goodnews. To say "God loves you, but you have to stay hungry until Jesus returns, or you die of hunger and go to heaven" is an insult. How careful we need to be that we don't make our acts of compassion and instrumental tool to manipulate people into what we think they need to believe/do. Justice is not a means to an end.
I wonder if the church over the centuries has spent too much energy 'other-ising' the world, seeing the world as opposition to the goodnews, rather than as the object of God's goodnews mission.
God loves the world, and is not against it. "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." How deeply God has invested himself in the world through the incarnation of Jesus. If I am to be a follower of Jesus, I guess I am to be similarly invested in the world.

[David Chatelier]

Great discussion. These are exactly the kind of issues that I hoped would be raised by my questions on what is mission and how do we prioritise and engage in it.
At the same time as Stuart posted this: "If we do 'good' things like social justice or feed the poor or show hospititality or love the unlovable etc without the intention of reflecting Christ and wanting to share about His impact in our own lives then why do we do it??! To feel good? To show how good we are?? It's like the cause becomes the focus instead of the motivational reason for why we do it - Witness Jesus' love to the world and spread the Good News!" I received this email from a Pastor friend of mine in Queensland: "You may already know about this but each year the Senate decides which Medicare procedures are eligible for funding. Guy Barnett, the Liberal Senator from Tasmania, has moved a disallowance motion to stop Medicare funding for second trimester abortions (14-26 weeks gestation). It will be debated and voted on in the Senate on September 17.
It is vital that we support Senator Barnett by showing Senators there is strong public support for change.
Please go to www.makeastand.org.au/ for more information, to see what you can do and let others know.
In His Service,
My Pastor friend has no explicit proclamation of Christ in his call for us to support Senator Barnett's motion, but he signs off "In His Service" because he sees his stand as being part of his service of God.
I began this post by saying that I've been reflecting on the words of Jesus, "As the Father has sent Me, so I send you". It is primarily through the reading of the gospels that we discover what it means to be a "sent" people. The Nazareth manifesto (Luke 4:16-21), the life and ministry of Jesus, the sending out of the disciples (Luke 10:1-23) all give us clues about what it means to be the peopel of God in His world. But, for me, the clearest summary of mission is found in Romans 15:16-19 word+deed+signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit.

[Julia]

Don and Stuart - while not wishing to sound melodramatic, I have found some of your recent posts on this blog pretty disheartening, in particular your comments regarding the secondary importance of social justice in sharing the good news of God. I think that to take out social justice and say that "mission" (which I think you define as simply being verbal evangelism) is more important creates an unbiblical dichotomy. Mission is not just about telling people that they have a sin problem. It is about physical, social, emotional AND spiritual change. Have a look at the book of James and I think you'll agree that he has some pretty strong words to people who simply talk the talk of Jesus but didn't walk the walk.

Jon - your comment was so articulate and spot on. We are too comfortable with being comfortable. Hence, a social gospel, which involves more than telling our friends in our spare time that Jesus is Lord and challenges us to make serious economic and political change to our earth, somehow is so threatening that it is accused of somehow watering down the gospel.

Beth - all I can say is, I agree.

Sorry if this sounds negative, but I really do think that this blog has done a dis-service to the mighty power of the Gospel for social change on our earth. For more thoughts on this, visit www.forge.org.au to discover about a great network of people (including our very own Daren Cronshaw) in Melbourne are determined to see the Good News of Jesus make both a social and spiritual impact in our world.

[David Chatelier]

Unlike Julia, I welcome the exchange of divergent views. They assist me to think through and refine my views (or maybe I'm just happy that people take the time to comment!!!)

[Julia]

Sorry David if it came across as though I was trying to squash divergent views. :( Maybe I was too quick to speak and should have chosen my words a bit more carefully. I think it's awesome for us all to have our own opinions and to use this blog to share them. My response was generated more out of a sense that one view point (ie. the value of social justice) was being unfairly disqualified from the conversation. I hope that people will take my thoughts with a grain of salt!! :)

[Don]

Julia, I think you may have read more into my words than I intended.

It is true that my understanding of the mission to which Jesus assigned his disciples was to be disciple makers.

Matthew chapter 28, verses 19-20, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Jesus gave this Great Commission to the Apostles shortly before He ascended into Heaven. The Great Commission essentially gives what Jesus expected the Apostles, and those who followed them, to do.

In the original Greek, it is interesting that the only specific commands in Matthew 28:19-20 are "go," and "make disciples." The Great Commission instructs us that while we are going throughout the world, while we are going about our daily activities - we are to make disciples. How are we to make disciples? By baptising them and teach them all that Jesus commanded. "Go," and "make disciples" are the commands of the Great Commission. "Baptising" and "teaching" are the means by which we fulfil the "making disciples" aspect of the Great Commission.

Many understand Acts 1:8 as part of the Great Commission as well, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Great Commission is enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to be Christ's witnesses, fulfilling the Great Commission, in our cities (Jerusalem), in our states and countries (Judea and Samaria), and anywhere else God sends us (to the ends of the earth).

It is this commission that started the Christian church and by which the church has spread into all the earth. For this reason, it is known as the Great Commission.

As a Christian, Jesus is talking to me. As I have made Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, the command is to me. In coming to the cross of Christ, I have been raised to new life in Jesus. Because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5).

Jesus' life in believers cannot be hidden under a bushel. "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). Believers testify of this great love God has shown, and their lives are a testimony because their deeds have changed. They have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18). The joy of being pleasing to God (righteousness) is a testimony to all.

In knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are a witness of Him. Having believed, we were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

If you have the testimony of Jesus in your heart (His Spirit) then He was talking to you in the Great Commission. He assures that He has all authority in heaven and on earth (verse 18), and that He is with you (verse 20).

Our good deeds, quoted above in Matthew 5:16, are the outgrowth of of our new life in Christ. It is new life that motivates us, not the good deeds.

Therefore, when we interact with people, our wittiness is a new or changed life. They see, indeed, are the beneficiaries of our changed life in the form of the good deeds we do.

However, good deeds alone do not allow us to fulfil the great commission. We need to "teach" the commands of Jesus.

[beth]

What I should really be doing is finishing off a book review on 'Slavery in Early Christianity' by Jennifer Glancy, but the parallels between her discussions of slaves (who were named and treated only as bodies) and our struggles to rightly appropriate mission in verbal and incarnational ways are challenging me. One of the issues Glancy exposes is the ancient Greco-Roman dualism of Body(bad, temporary and disposable) and Soul(good eternal valuable). Slaves were only bodies (no souls to be taken account of) and so could be treated without any ethical consideration (leading to violence and violation). Clearly this is outside of a Christian understanding of who we are. The Christian witness is to people who are wholly embodied. Jesus, the centre of our faith, is the incarnate (embodied) one. Not just God in a body or having a body, but the Word become flesh. Part of our need to remind our society of the responsibility to embryonic life (as Senator Barnett is trying to do) is because a Christian understanding of a human is one who is -not has- body, at whatever stage of development. Down the other end of life, the resurrection is a bodily thing, not just an immortal soul ethereality. Just as seeing people as only bodies led to destructive pracitices, so too might concern only for 'souls'. The Christian witness stands in opposition to the Ancient Greek construction of an immortal soul. The big councils of the early centuries fought hammer and tong against any heresies that were built on a dualistic disintegration of the human person, or consequently the Christ. So anything short of a holistic evangelism (in any configuration-neglecting verbal proclamation, social justice, relational health, intellectual integrity...)runs the risk of falling back into something that is a ancient greek philosphical corruption of the consistent biblical witness.

[Stuart]

As a result of reading the blogs after my post there's a couple of things I would like clarify.

1) I agree with Beth's notion that God is sovereign and that His will can not be frustrated by humanity (proverbs 19:21). However when it comes to our saltiness, according to Matt 5:13, as the salt of the earth, Christians can lose their saltiness IF we don't have God at the centre of our lives. We are also called to be the light of the world, but if we put ourselves under a blanket how can God reflect Himself to the world through us? We can not expect God to use us powerfully if we don't ensure we have our individual relationships with God as our number one priority in our lives. Everything else will flow from there IF we obey Him... which is the big challenge to all of us. I liked Beth's reminder that we need to get out of the salt jar. That can be scary, but something we must encourage one another to do. As Jules rightly said we all to some degree do lots of talking and no action. But I think it's fair to say we all have certain areas of our lives where we struggle more to follow God than other areas. That's why we need to encourage one another and be sensitive to each other's background, experiences, perceptions and struggles. That in itself is so challenging! :)

2) I never said that social justice or doing 'good' is unimportant and shouldn't be an extremely important focus of ALL Christians. It's through these things that we communicate God's love to the world. Afterall He did die for the world as Beth pointed out. Evangelism is clearly not just about verbalising the Good News. More often then not it's about showing it! I said that we need to ensure that witnessing God to others should be our main driving force, not the cause itself. Faith without works is dead, but we must faith in the right thing. I think it's easy for ALL of us to get sidetracted and lose sight of what should be our driving motivation, sometimes by very good and nececssary things.

I hope I have clarified my blog. I understand one's views may be misunderstood through emails and blogs so if things don't sit well with us on something, it maybe good to ask for clarification... which might even be the case for this latest blog of mine :)

[Anne]

Hey Julia, did you know that Michael Frost who is involved in Forge Missions has a link on his church site to full frontal nudes? Is this part of social justice? Are Forge Missions happy? Michael's part of them! Have a look at http://www.theartsanctuary.com.au/ & click links, then www.thisisme.com.au
Michael's church is "formally constituted as a church under the auspices of the Baptist Union of NSW" so the site says. Hmmmm, bit worrying I think. Michael's big on social justice & seems to be on a mission to become a Catholic of sorts!

[Fellow traveller]

Professionally, I should have a love for words, but when I read the discussion about mission vs evangelism above, part of me is sad that words exist. But as it's all we have in this context, I'll add my bit.

These days I feel more at home outside the church than in it. It is only the strong voice of God in my life that keeps me searching and seeking to be graceful to 'the church'. I sit in the pews, and here people talk about 'them', 'the other', the 'unbelievers'... Asking how do we 'evangelise' or 'missionise them'. And I just feel more and more lonely and isolated as my brokeness becomes a topic of conceptual discussion.

In my experience of working cross-culturally, it wasn't by enacting social justice or through evangelising that peoples lives, communities lives were changed. It wasn't just the malaria drugs I gave my colleagues to keep them alive, but this was a work of God. It wasn't just the bible studies shared together that made the biggest difference, but this was also a work of God. The biggest impact on my life and on those around me, was in the sharing of stories, in being real about who we were, where we had come from (both individually and as cultures), and in having the grace to recognise each other's humanity and the image of God in us.

To bring that back to eastern-suburban Melbourne. Why have we lost the vision of mission? My feeling is that it's because mission requires us to be real, and it's not always comfortable. Mission isn't something that we do, it's what we are. It requires us to be with people. In my experience doing has just been a tool to create spaces for being and sharing our lives.

I don't want you to missionise me or evangelise me if you see me as different to you. Don't tell me I'm loved and accepted by God unless you are willing to love me. I don't have all the answers, but neither of us do. Will you let me share the searching with you?

Will you walk alongside me in my brokeness, not to give the answers, but to share the journey?
Will you see me not as a statistic of illness, abuse, or injustice, but as a person longing for freedom and wholeness?
Will you accept me not as an 'other', but as a friend with my own story as a fellow traveller through life?
Will you see in my journey my attempts to find love, my longing for God, not just my failures to find it?

Each time you offer someone a drink, something to eat, clothing, company, shelter from the storms, the bible says you are doing it for Jesus. Mission? Evangelism? Social justice? How about we just meet people where they are at and share a bit of the journey. In my experience, being missional is not always comfortable, but it has been life giving.

[David Chatelier]

Hey, Fellow Traveller, I'm glad you are travelling with us. I love your personal emphasis. It reminds me that too often theological discussions become about propositions, points and perspectives rather than about persons. But the other thing you remind me about is that AUTHENTIC mission (in whatever way it is described) is less about what we do and more about how we are present with others. So thanks...

[Stuart]

Thanks Fellow Traveller for your thoughts. It's a good reminder that what we are to do is love others as God loved us. And that is simply living life with others through the ups and downs, walking beside them and allowing others to walk beside us.

Your post reminded me of the importance of being prepared to make yourself vulnerable. I think this a very valuable and precious thing, not to mention courageous. One thing it highlights the willingness of someone to show they are not afraid to say to someone else they are not alone in their struggles, and two it highlights how God works in our lives to heal our brokeness. When I look back over my life and think of the people God brought into my life to meet me where I was at, be sensitive to my situation and walk with me; I just can't help but say thankyou to God.

Thanks again for your input... it has really reiterated to me the foundation of sharing God's love to others... through authentic, vulnerable and trusting relationships.