So if you hang around FirstChurch much, you probably have heard us use this phrase "Servant-Missional" to describe ourselves. I was pretty excited when I got here and saw that word in the official mission statement. It's the big buzz word in church leadership circles.
But one thing became pretty clear to me as I talked to people here about it: We are really pretty confused as far as what that phrase really means.
Over the next week, I'll be posting a number of entries designed to help address this question.
Alot of people in our church, it seems, use the word "missional" to describe the very good stuff that our Mission Committee does. The basic idea is that we are a church that, among all the other things we do, ALSO does some very good mission work. So we are "missional".
Now let me right off the bat say that our church really does some great stuff in the community and in the world. In fact, I had a conversation with a guy who is an active member of a local Catholic church. And he told me that, "You Presbyterians really set the bar high in terms of community involvement." The people on our various mission committees are fantastic people with hearts of gold. And they are working their tails off to help out the local and global missions we support. That's all great stuff.
But there is another way of looking at what it means to be "missional." In fact, it may even be more helpful to start with a different word that I believe conveys the same concept.
Let's use the word: MANDATE.
A mandate (in terms of Christian Theology) is a directive or an order from God that must be obeyed. Our mandate is our obligation, our duty, our responsibility, our main task, our purpose for existence.
Which kind of begs the question: What is our mandate?
I think our MANDATE is pretty clearly laid out in a couple of key scriptures.
1. Matthew 28: 19-20 (The Great Commission) - my translation: "As you go, make disciples among those who are not like you."
2. Mark 6:9-10 (The Lord's Prayer) - Your kingdom come, Your will be done ON EARTH as it is in heaven.
3. Mark 12:30-31 - Jesus tells us that the 2 greatest commandments (on which everything else is built) are to Love God and Love your Neighbor.
Our Mandate (our marching order) is the wrapping together of those concepts. In sum, that means that we exist in order to Transform our Community. We transform it by going into the world and befriending those who are far from God. We transform it by removing any and all barriers that keep people from becoming followers of Jesus. We transform it by fighting to change the structures, systems, and problems that keep people from experiencing a healthy and whole life.
But the bottom line is this: We're not here for ourselves. Our Mandate makes it clear that we are here for those who are not a part of our "club."
So to truly be missional - we must completely and consistently align everything we do around that driving Mandate!
If this intrigues you (or bugs you) check out the link on the right (or click here) to a website called Friend of Missional
This is very helpful Scott. Very important for us to understand this to understand our vision and mission for the church. Question is, how can we get these articles in front of everyone? Only way i know to do it is put them in the newsletter. Do you think there is a way to get that done? it would be so great for DT folks to be reading this along with more SW people. It's a way to clarify and cast the vision of the church, which i believe is the way to draw the 2 campuses together. Just a thought. Maybe Rebecca can help get it in the newsletter? or maybe there's another better way to get the word out?
ReplyDeleteSo the purpose of the church is to serve others? Sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the community mission deacons, and I'm trying to see our role as facilitators to help the congregation do what you're talking about. So rather than just figure out the budget, we can try to create opportunities for service. I'm excited to keep the "Make a Difference Day" going and to increase the scope of that.
"The purpose of the church is to serve others?"
ReplyDeleteYes, but..
I would say it like this: "the purpose of our church is to do our part to fulfill the MISSION of GOD.
I think its important to plant that core value of service right along side the mandate to go make disciples. And I think it's also critical to plant service in the context of the Lord's Prayer - that we are working to make the world look more and more like the kingdom of God.
I constantly see churches describe themselves as "poised for growth". It looks like First Church is "poised for ministry". And that is so much more exciting!
ReplyDelete