Understanding our Mission

There is a worn out cliché whose message really illumines the problem of the modern mainstream church:  “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”.   If we do not prayerfully focus on hearing what it is God is calling us to do and to be, we will invest our resources in efforts that may have little lasting significance.  The “falling for anything” part I name as the self-preserving and self-promoting gene that dominates our individual and corporate sprits.  Without intentional focus on an alternative (i.e. holy) mission, this will be our default mission – to survive and thrive.  I worry that this is happening in the mainstream church by both clergy and lay leadership. Almost by default, people who are concerned with their churches adopt a mission to "preserve and/or expand" the ministry and reach of the church. In my own church the underlying concern and priority is "how can we continue to grow while preserving the good that we've enjoyed up to this point?" 

This sentiment isn’t in and of itself bad.  It’s when it takes center stage and becomes the defining assumption and paradigm for the church’s activity and attitude that we have a problem.   My argument is that this mission, this purpose should not be taken for granted as it is. This self-preserving and self-promoting spirit is neither directly biblical or Christ-like and should not be the core motivation of life or ministry.   Why?  Because, the preservation of the church and the promotion of the church are prerogatives of the Holy Spirit, not the people of God. The prerogative of the people of God is to follow their leader, Jesus Christ.   When we take on the wrong yoke, we may very well head in a different direction from our Lord.  

The basis for the church's mission is obedience to Christ and faith in the power of God. This may mean that we are called to things that seem to threaten our preservation or seem counter to promotion. It may mean that our numbers dwindle rather than swell.  Following Jesus may mean we become less popular in the eyes of mainstream society rather than regaining a top spot in the status of our culture.  Following our mission may mean we die before we live.  It may mean we have the cross before Easter.  The promise is that if we are obedient and we follow Christ as the church, the preservation and promotion of the Church will result according to God's timing and manner.   So why don’t we leave God to God’s work and focus on our work?  Put simply, we don’t have enough faith.