Found this terrific video online describing what it means to be a “missional church.” Sound remarkably like what the Bible describes as “the church,” but I fear that we’ve fallen so far away from the biblical model that something like this actually sounds revolutionary.
Missional Grace: Transformed
All Tied Up
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
–Romans 12:1-2
Lord Jesus, I can’t; You never said I could.
But You can; and always said You would! – Jane Grey
In Romans 12:1-2, the Apostle Paul addresses something of what it means to be a Christian. We think it means to be all tied up in religious stuff – rituals, regulations, requirements. But that’s not it as all. It’s about FREEDOM. But interestingly enough, this freedom comes through dependence, not independence.
So much of what our culture values are things related to independence. We are all a bit like Frank Sinatra. Our theme song is “I Did it MY Way!”
The Christian motto, however, shouldn’t be anything like that sung by Sinatra. It’s not our way, but God’s. It’s not our strength, resources, knowledge, or ingenuity, it’s all about God. As an old confession of the church says, “In God we live and move and have our being.”
Biblical Christianity is not about independence. In fact the idea of independence was at the core of the biblical story of the Fall. “You will be like God,” the Tempter said in the garden (see Genesis 3). If you are LIKE GOD, you no longer need God. You think you can live independent of God.
Here’s the problem. We were never met to live independently from God. We were created to draw our strength from God. God is a GIVER and we are RECEIVERS. When we take God out of the picture (that’s called sin) then something happens inside us. Spiritually speaking, we die. That’s what it means to become disconnected from God as the source. So we end up spending our days trying to find something or someone to either fill the void or cover of the despair. We try to find something to put on ourselves that will give life some sense of meaning and purpose. It might be alcohol, drugs, or sexual fantasies. It might be going to church, acting religious, and doing good deeds. It may look good to bad to the world, but spiritually speaking, it’s still bankrupt because it remains a completely inadequate substitute for God.
When Jesus enters the picture (by faith) we are reconnected to God. In Christ we have a life source that is sufficient to meet all our needs. When Jesus animates our life, we begin to be changed from the insider out, rather than the outside in.
In Romans 12:1-2, Paul rejects independence and self-effort as a way of living life. “Present yourselves to Jesus,” he says. That’s a much better motto that “I Did It My Way.”
What is the difference between being conformed and transformed?
How might this difference inform our ministry?
If independence is not a appropriate world for the Christian, what words or phrases might be more appropriate?
Oswald Chambers once wrote, “The phrase we hear so often, ‘Decide for Christ,’ is an emphasis on something Our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him – a very different thing.”
What does it mean to “yield to Christ”?
How do we step aside daily and let Christ live His life through you?
What does this look like?
What might a church look like when it realizes its life comes from Jesus?
How can we stimulate this kind of lifestyle through our ministry?
Benediction
An Old Scottish Prayer of Benediction
Christ be beside me, Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me, King of my heart,
Christ be within me, Christ be below me,
Christ be above me, never to part.
Christ on my right hand, Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me, shield in the strife.
Christ in my sleeping, Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising, light of my life.
Christ be in all hearts thinking about me.
Christ be in all tongues telling of me.
Christ be the vision in eyes that see me,
in ears that hear me, Christ ever be.
Missional Grace: Finding Purpose
“I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24
In his book, Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, James Coleman writes:
With the advent of the space age, man (sic) is confronted with a new perspective of time and space, and the problem of finding meaning in his existence in a universe in which the earth and even the whole solar system may be no larger in relation to the whole than an atom is to the earth.
At the same time, materialistic values—based on the belief that scientific progress would automatically lead to man’s happiness and fulfillment—have proven sadly disillusioning. As a result, many people are groping about, bewildered and bitter, unable to find any enduring faith or to develop a satisfying philosophy of life. Despite their fine automobiles, well-stocked refrigerators, and other material possessions and comforts, the meaning of life seems to be evading them. In essence, they are suffering from existential anxiety—deep concern about finding values which will enable them to live satisfying, fulfilling, and meaningful lives.
Think about that phrase existential anxiety. Those two simple words point to the age-old fundamental questions of human existence:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What is my purpose in living?
These are not just individual questions – they are congregational questions.
Coleman writes from the perspective of a secular scientist of the mind (a psychologist). Yet he could have as easily been writing a theological dissertation on the effects of sin on the human psyche. Disconnected from God, the search for meaning becomes even more pronounced, while the answers to that search always seem just beyond our grasp. Part of our challenge, as we seek to “undo the disastrous effects of human sin on God’s good creation,” is to share with the world THE SOURCE for finding the meaning and purpose of life.
That’s the churches mission.
Sometimes fulfilling it will require words. We will preach the gospel. We will be vocal in our support of those suffering injustice. We will write letters, send notes, post blogs, teach Bible studies.
At other times it will be actions. We will feed the hungry. We will house the homeless. We will educate the unemployed so they can be better equipped to find jobs. We will visit the homebound and nursing home residents. We will help mom’s and dad’s become better parents.
Pause for a moment and discuss the cause that has brought your missional group together.
What specific need(s) does your group feel a specific sense of Christ-inspired passion to address?
In what way might the use of WORDS playing a part in addressing this needs? …actions?
Okay, so you know WHY you are gathering. You know the need – the disastrous impact of human sin you feel Christ wants to address though you. Now remember that you engaged in this ministry for no other reason than that the love of Christ compels you. He is our life and the source of our missional faithfulness. Our ethic is always “grace-based.” It proceeds from and is returned to Jesus, author and finisher of our faith.
That’s what Paul was saying in Acts 20:24. The central task of his ministry—and the overarching mission of the church—is that of “testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Human sin impacts people in many ways. The church is called to respond to these adverse impacts of sin, as we indicated, though both word and deed.
At its core, sin is expressing one’s independence from God. In the biblical story of the fall of humanity, the root of the temptation was to “become like God” (see Genesis 3:5). Of course, that just wasn’t going to happen. So, when Adam submitted to this temptation, it was his declaration of independence from God. The problem is that human beings were not created to live independently from God. We were designed to life from God, out of God’s provision of Himself, to meet our every need.
That’s how sin produces in us this sense of existential anxiety. Sin rejects any sort of dependency on God and sets us up as independent agents. But since the effects of sin are bigger than we are – we end up engaging in a search to find something or someone to grant our lives that sense of meaning that has been lost when we chose to disconnect from God. Some folks seek meaning for their lives in things like family, religion, or career achievement. Others may turn to things that are physically unhealthier, like chemical addiction or the fulfillment of certain sexual fantasies. Still, the root problem remains because the solution is still in the flesh (the term flesh in the New Testament usually refers to what we might call the self-life—life lived independently from God). The bottom line is that any fix that is not rooted in becoming reconnected to God through grace will only exacerbate the problem.
God’s solution was to offer us the chance to become reconnected to faith in Jesus Christ. When a person puts their trust in God’s grace through Christ, they are not just asking for fire insurance. They are declaring their dependence on God. When that happens, the life of Christ becomes their life’s source. The life of Christ animates their spirit and grants them a new identity. Living, then, becomes a process of discerning God’s will and discovering God’s provisions.
The New Testament has a great deal to say about what happens to us (how our life is changed) when we are “in Christ.” Read the selected verses below and discuss as a group what they say about how we are changed as people who find their life’s source in God’s grace. Discuss also how this might influence our understanding of our missional purpose.
Romans 5:1
Romans 8:1
1 Corinthians 2:12-15
Ephesians 1:3-8
Colossians 2:10
Missional Grace: The Exchanged Life
Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 43:31, TNIV
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” – Galatians 2:20-23
The lighting of a match and the ignition of a fuse will bring to mind of many the popular old television show and (more recently) movie trilogy know as Mission: Impossible.
The show began with IM Agent Jim Phelps playing a tape outlining some serious evil plot to overthrow (or severely hamper) our national security. Phelp’s and his trained operatives were the only hope to stopping the plot and setting things right. Of course any counter-plot from the IMF (Impossible Mission Forces) team would be fraught with danger. So much so that the tape offered the warning that if any members of the team were to be caught or killed, “the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.”
Sometimes, when we think of our missional calling we probably feel like an agent in the Impossible Mission Forces.
“Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to undo the disastrous effects of human sin on God’s good creation.”
Think about that statement for a moment.
What are some of the ways human sin is seen having an adverse impact on individual’s lives?
In what ways do you see human sin impact the larger society and cultures in which we live?
How might living out you call (individually and as a group) undo the impacts of human sin?
No doubt, the challenge seems awesome, overwhelming, and (dare we say it) impossible. Still, that is our calling. Quick! Will you accept the mission?
“This tape will destruct in five seconds!”
What we are called to do is completely beyond our potential. We are not smart enough. We don’t have the resources needed. Our plans and programs will never be enough. Still, God calls us. He has chosen the church to be the vehicle to affect this kind of change. How can this be?
In the Gospel of Matthew (19:26) we read these words: “With God everything is possible.”
What’s at play, here, is not our meager resources (our wisdom, knowledge, experience, ingenuity, finances, resources, etc.) Rather God’s limitless power is the source from which we work. It’s not what we bring to God that matters, but what God brings to us. We work out of the overflow of God’s grace (God’s “fullness” as we read in John 1:16-18).
On his blog, Mark Robert’s writes:
As believers in Jesus Christ, we have been drafted into the unique mission of God. To be sure, we cannot make reconciliation with God occur. That’s God’s job and he has accomplished it marvelously. Yet He has chosen us to be his agents of reconciliation who share in his mission of healing all creation (2 Cor. 5:18-21). Because we experience intimate fellowship with God through Christ, we are also partners with him in his mission in the world. (emphasis mine)
What we are talking about here is what Hudson Taylor called “The Exchanged Life”.[i] Hudson was convinced that when a person came to Christ, they become a “new creation.” Their old identity was put to death and they were born again with a new source for living.
Read Galatians 2:20-23. As a group, outline the “exchanged life” process that Paul is writing about. Discuss how these verses should impact our sense of calling and missional faithfulness as a individual, congregation, and missional group.
The concept of “the exchanged life” is also express is Isaiah 40:31. Most English translations refer to those who wait on the Lord being able to “renew” their strength. The Hebrew word translated “renew” is ????? chalaph (khaw-laf’) which means to change, substitute, alter, change for better, (and) renew to show newness. All these words imply the idea of an exchange. So the verse could also be rendered, “Those who wait on the Lord will exchange their strength for Hthe Lord’s strength.”
When thinking about the (humanly) impossible idea of undoing “… the disastrous effects of human sin on God’s good creation,” in what ways does this idea of “the exchanged life” give you hope and encouragement?
In what ways can your group continually (intentionally) remind yourselves that your resource for missional faithfulness comes from God?
Missional Grace: Living FROM Not FOR God
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only [Son], who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. – John 1:16-18, TNIV
In his book The Emerging Church, (Zondervan, 2003) Dan Kimball describes the missional church “as a body of people sent on a mission who gather in community for worship, encouragement, and teaching from the Word that supplements what they are feeding themselves throughout the week.” Kimball’s words offer us of several important concepts we need to keep in mind as we move forward to fulfill God’s mission in the world.
1) We are not called to live FOR God. It’s better than that. We get to live FROM God. We live out of the overflow of God’s grace in our lives.
2) BEING always precedes DOING. To live out of the overflow of God’s grace, we must continually be called to intimacy before action.
3) Our CONNECTION with God that strengthens our relationships with one another and our passionate love for God’s world. It is out of this connection (intimacy) that we discover our unique spiritual gifts for ministry.
As we begin our next step together as a missional congregation, we need to remember that the mission is God’s, and God will continually provide all that is needed for us to accomplish God’s mission. That being the case, we must continually remind ourselves of this connection so that the ministry might flow FROM God THROUGH us.
At the very start of the Fourth Gospel, we are given a reminder of this theological underpinning. In John 1:16, the author writes that what we have received from God comes out of the fullness of Jesus. In the Greek, that word fullness is ??????? pleroma {play’-ro-mah} which means:
1. that which is (has been) filled
2. that which fills or with which a thing is filled
3. fullness, abundance
4. a fulfilling, keeping[i]
When you think of that phrase “out of his fullness we have received,” what do you think that means?
What does this mean for you own sense of calling?
What do you think it means for our calling as a church?
In the following section, you will see two grids[ii] representing our two options for living a missional lifestyle. We can live FOR God, from our strength. The Bible refers to this style of living as “the Flesh.” Or we can life FROM God; out of the “fullness” God has provided us in Jesus.
Living FOR God (In “the Flesh”) Living FROM God (In Christ)
Performance Living Dependence Living
religious formulas, checklists, actions steps relation, revelation, response
Self Resourced Missional Living God Resourced Missional Living
God mission in my strength God’s mission by God
Asking God To Bless Our Efforts Asking God to Reveal His Will
We are the source of God’s work God is the source of God’s work
We are the root and result God is the root and result
We accomplish the mission FOR God. God accomplishes it through us
Discussion Questions:
What are the potential dangers of living in “the flesh”?
What might the outcomes be in our ministry if it is based on our resources?
How might the outcomes be different if we live out of the “fullness” of Christ?
In what ways is our congregation prone to live more in “the flesh”?
In what ways do we live out of the “fullness” of God?
[ii] Adapted from information in “The Grace-Life Discipleship Workbook” (produced by The Association of Exchanged Life Ministires).
