Missionally MInded

It is a conversation at many events, prayer meetings or conventions that I attend.  It is the topic of a growing number of books these days.  Many conferences on the church today include a keynote speaker on the subject of being 'Missionally Minded'.  Whenever I see a pattern like this in a sector of society, I start to wonder what God is up to; why does He have everyone talking about it.  There must be a reason. 

Most often when subjects like this come up on everyone's radar, Jesus is trying to get the attention of His bride.  He wants her to pay attention to the message and adjust our course to align with His heart.  Being on mission is certainly on the heart of Jesus - it always has been.

For a long while the church has focused on good things that mostly have to do with looking at herself.  Things like worship, spiritual gifts, church growth and equipping people to do a better job when the church is gathered.  When missions (different than being missional) is highlighted, it is still about us in our churches giving money and praying for new frontiers, but it is most often not common people doing the work, they are to support it.  These are not bad things and we need to be reminded of them, but losing a missional perspective can quickly kill the momentum of the church and I believe we have been stalled for sometime, at least here in the West.  

But what would happen if everyone were actually doing life missionally, right where they lived.  I know Jesus is urging His bride to live in a reckless, missional manner as He did.  Just think about how He lived and how He mentored His followers to live.

- He pushed the religious limits (calling leaders 'white washed tombs' won't win you friends in those circles).

- He sent young, immature, rookies into the fray of wolves (think about the Garasene Demoniac in Mark 5 or the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8)

- He pushed untested disciples to cities Jesus Himself had not yet traveled (cf Matt. 10 & Luke 10)

- He followed the Spirit of God and wasn't Politically Correct

The list could go on.  Jesus certainly was wild in how He lived out His life in the presence of many witnesses.

The New Testament tells us that the common everyday believer (that is you and me) are to be Jesus' witnesses everywhere they go (Acts 1:8).  Every believer is an ambassador (2 Cor. 5:21ff).  We are all part of the royal priesthood designed to proclaim just how great Jesus is (1 Peter 2:8-9).  You and I are to go through life helping people to become more and more like Jesus, baptizing them once they come to Jesus and teaching them everything Jesus taught us about Himself and how to live out our faith (Matthew 28:16-20).  These are the basic purposes that every believer is to excel in.  These qualities are to be normative for followers of Jesus.  

Unfortunately, these things have been reserved for the more elite saints.  For those who are 'called' to do these things.  But this wrong understanding of Scripture is quickly losing traction.  We must stop being 'me' or 'us minded' and begin to be missionally minded, following the example of the Jesus Himself.  Jesus' example of living was to imitated by everyone.  Jesus was able to multiply fish and bread to feed multitudes and I don't know of anyone who has been able to do that, but we can be hospitable, looking to see the needs other people have and to have compassion on folks when they are in pain.   

No matter what our vocation is in life we are to be on mission.  The mission includes loving people well, treating them with respect, encouraging them in life, modeling a life that brings glory to God, and speaking to them with words that point them to Jesus.  We need to become passionate again in our faith.  We must begin to follow the example of living that Jesus gave us.  He was always looking upon people with compassion.  He constantly and patiently mentored His followers to see the needs in people and then meet then as you can.  This was stretching to them, exhausting to them and painful for them - as it was for Jesus.  

Being missional is who every believer is to be.  Keeping our minds missional is and will always be a challenge.  But why?  I'll share some thoughts about that next time.