Mission answers this question- why does the church exist? Really, most churches have the same mission statement. Usually it’s some version of love God, love others and go make disciples. Jesus came up with the idea, so it seems to have stuck.
So, where does it go wrong?
Tony Morgan articulated it well, “anytime something trumps Jesus in its mission, the Church suffers…” What are some examples we see in churches we work with?
Methods. Whether it is working or not, this is how we continue to operate. We are going to do what we do and hopefully some people catch on, either way, we’re not changing. This is the way we’ve always done it (music, order, style, location, insert other here).
“We are a family.” I love a church that truly acts like a caring family for everyone. However, my colleague, Amy Anderson, once commented, “being a family isn’t the mission, helping people to Jesus is the mission… feeling like a family is a by-product of being on that mission together. It’s not the mission.” Right on.
Social justice. I’m amazed at the work the Church is doing on the front lines, in some of our most charged issues in our culture. It is courageous and truly loving our communities well. They are bringing dialogue, healing and raising issues to areas we’ve turned a blind eye to. However, it’s not the mission. It is an outflow of the mission. If we champion social causes but place Jesus on page two, we’ve missed it. Keep bringing the needed change but double down on Jesus.
Then what?
Ask yourself, who is it that you’re trying to reach? Who is your mission field? Where has God placed your church? It’s counter intuitive, but churches that narrow their focus actually do a better job of reaching everyone. If you could hand pick the next 100 people that walked through your doors, who are they? How old are they? What’s their spiritual condition? Where are they coming from?
Everyone and every generation has a part to play, this is not an exclusive discussion. Who are you connecting with that is not like you? Can you identify 3-5 people in your life that you’re genuinely a great friend or neighbor to? Engaging with them as Jesus would?
People are not projects. It’s a two way learning that happens when we engage in new relationships. We have as much (and often more) to learn. May we all learn how to be better friends to the people around us.