God's Mission, Not Ours
Jesus' final words to his disciples were: "...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." Acts 1:8 The disciples were about to embark on the adventure of their lives, yet at that time they had very little understanding of their role, the purpose of the mission laid before them, or the means. To modern ears, that doesn't sound like very good leadership on Jesus' part. Where were the strategic plans? The financial backers? The measurable goals? According to the scriptures (Acts 1:6), the disciples still seemed to believe Jesus was going to overthrown the Romans and set up a new government. They were doomed to fail by our standards!
Yet, a few days later, the Holy Spirit came as promised and everything changed. In a short time, the disciples were scattered all over Palestine preaching, doing miracles, healing the sick, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, fulfilling Jesus' prophecy. Later, as Paul and other leaders came on the scene, the focus became building strong, networked communities of faith all over Asia. However, the early church's reliance on the Holy Spirit for leadership and power did not diminish.
In these times, we are again discovering the unique role the Holy Spirit has in guiding the Church towards God's mission to the world. There really is no substitute for what Jesus promised in Acts 1:8, in spite of our best strategies for "reaching people" and regardless of how big our budgets are. However, there are a few questions worth exploring. Have the Church and missionary organizations around the world become so enamoured with their ability to organize results, that they have lost the simplicity of being guided step-by-step and empowered by the Holy Spirit? How can we learn to live in the reality Jesus promised in Acts 1:8? What would that mean for us in our vocation and as leaders? How would that change the way we view personal evangelism, outward expressions of the local church, and missions in other contexts around the world?
I intended starting another blog to explore some of these issues, but it probably makes more sense to just explore them here. Of course, the place to start is looking at what mission and its variations might look like from a kingdom perspective. This means looking at our activities as the Church and as disciples of Jesus as subject to the reign (or authority) of God rather than our own organizational constructs. Obviously, this is not the first century and we can never reproduce what the disciples experienced after Pentecost. However, we can seek to become the kinds of people who receive direction and power from the Holy Spirit and learn to see each other as part of the same family, with the same Father. The kingdom levels the playing field; there are no "experts", just those who listen and act accordingly.
Yet, a few days later, the Holy Spirit came as promised and everything changed. In a short time, the disciples were scattered all over Palestine preaching, doing miracles, healing the sick, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, fulfilling Jesus' prophecy. Later, as Paul and other leaders came on the scene, the focus became building strong, networked communities of faith all over Asia. However, the early church's reliance on the Holy Spirit for leadership and power did not diminish.
In these times, we are again discovering the unique role the Holy Spirit has in guiding the Church towards God's mission to the world. There really is no substitute for what Jesus promised in Acts 1:8, in spite of our best strategies for "reaching people" and regardless of how big our budgets are. However, there are a few questions worth exploring. Have the Church and missionary organizations around the world become so enamoured with their ability to organize results, that they have lost the simplicity of being guided step-by-step and empowered by the Holy Spirit? How can we learn to live in the reality Jesus promised in Acts 1:8? What would that mean for us in our vocation and as leaders? How would that change the way we view personal evangelism, outward expressions of the local church, and missions in other contexts around the world?
I intended starting another blog to explore some of these issues, but it probably makes more sense to just explore them here. Of course, the place to start is looking at what mission and its variations might look like from a kingdom perspective. This means looking at our activities as the Church and as disciples of Jesus as subject to the reign (or authority) of God rather than our own organizational constructs. Obviously, this is not the first century and we can never reproduce what the disciples experienced after Pentecost. However, we can seek to become the kinds of people who receive direction and power from the Holy Spirit and learn to see each other as part of the same family, with the same Father. The kingdom levels the playing field; there are no "experts", just those who listen and act accordingly.
posted by Mike Bishop at 7:49 PM
7 Comments:
This is hard to sum up, and it make not make sense, but...
After divesting of my commitments to structure-first, and instead conceiving of things as mission-first: I think I can now pray, "Let your Kingdom come...here in my neighborhood, however you see fit" and actually mean it.
It doesn't have to look how I want it to look. It's all God's thing, now, and I'll just hope and pray and be out there.
Like I say, not sure if this makes any sense, but it really IS a first. I'm not praying, even in the back of my mind, for any preconceived construct of success. I think that's good.
Okay, that's supposed to be "Brant", not "Teapot Sue", though I like my daughter's sign-in name better.
Please stick with Teapot Sue, Brant. That would be awesome.
I shouldn't, because:
"Identity theft is a serious crime."
-- Dwight Schrute, 2007
Oh teapot sue is so cute. Tell her I love that name:-)
some absolutely terrific questions. i think we have hoisted a reliance upon methodology over and above one upon the Holy Spirit. our focus on bottom-line results (those that these organizations can "tick" off on their monthly reports) may come from the pressure to justify "mission" dollars invested one way or another. seems there's just way too much of ourselves to lose when the light is shone upon our agendas and exposes all that we do under our own power in the name of the Kingdom.
I am still brought back to some of Eckblad's story and the issue of true empowerment (and the lack or misappropriation of it). the route of simplicity in surrender, submission and the reliance you are talking about seem at once as elusive as it is compelling.
I think I remember Neil Cole quoting a Korean pastor who, after visiting some of our churches, said, "I can't believe how much you are able to acomplish without the Holy Spirit."
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