As I think about my future as a pastor, my thoughts are always around the subject, "What does God intend to do through our church here in Selden, Long Island?"
I ask the question in that form because I hope to be able to spend several more years serving as the pastor of Hope and because I want those years to be as productive and powerful as possible for the Kingdom of God.
I suppose I could settle back and say to myself, "Hey, Rich, you've got only five or six years until retirement (or less, if I wanted to retire early), so take it easy and enjoy the fruit of your 25 years of service at Hope."
But the problem I have is that I am more excited right now about what God is doing and intends to do among us than at any other time in my ministry. For me it's almost as if all the years up till now were meant as a time of preparation rather than a time to prepare sail off into the sunset.
I recently attended the Allelon Summer Institute in Hamilton, Ontario because I saw a chance to start learning some new things about ministry. The overall subject was called the "Missional Church," a term that is being used more and more by people who are on the leading edge of how the Church engages our culture and community with the good news of God's kingdom.
A "Missional Church" is one that asks itself two basic questions: "What is God's mission in our world?" and "What does God intend to do through us, in our time and in our community, as His people?" Speaking of the church in this way is to suggest that it is time that we begin looking at what we do and ask ourselves, "How can we as God's people get beyond being simply a 'provider of religious goods and services' and begin to mobilize our resources to actively bring the gospel out to others who dwell beyond the walls of our 'sanctuary'?"
Too often we have acted like we are the ones who should determine and define the mission we carry out. We often think that the community needs to come to us if we are going to serve them in God's name. But the truth is, as my friend Robin Greenwood always reminds me, it is not the church of God that has a mission but the God of mission who has a church.
If that is true, then there's a big difference in the way we see ourselves and the mission we are engaged in. If we focus primarily on caring for ourselves and waiting for outsiders to come to us to receive the resources they need from us, we are missing the mission completely.
Early in his ministry in Galilee, our Lord Jesus sent out 70 followers into the villages where he intended to go. They had a single task, to proclaim to all that the "kingdom of God has come near." Jesus had no building to invite people to, and there were no "programs" for them to offer people. Their job was simply to "heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,
drive out demons." Jesus told them that it would be dangerous work, and they would not be welcomed by everyone, but those who did welcome them would indeed receive a blessing. They were to go as strangers into new places, ready to speak and do the work of God's kingdom, bringing his Shalom to everyone who would receive it. But if you look at what we do and how we connect (or not) with our community, that usually isn't the case, is it?
We are all members of the Body of Christ, gifted by God's Holy Spirit for the work of ministry, and we spend the largest part of our daily lives living in the midst of a culture that is usually not very "God-friendly." But the truth is that even we, when it comes right down to it, do not often think too much about what God might be able to do through us for the sake of His kingdom. And even when we do come together as a body, very often it is for our own sake rather than for the sake of God's mission.
I invite you to think, pray, and interact with me about this important question: "What might we do differently as God's people, both individually and corporately, if carrying out God's mission were our primary agenda as the church?"
In coming days I will share some of my thoughts on this question. Please join me by sharing yours.
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