Decompartmentalizing the Mission: Putting it all together
In the introduction to this series, I explained how I thought that people today tend to compartmentalize their lives. Because of this, we often compartmentalize what we consider the mission of God as well. In a previous post, I considered proclamation of the gospel as part of the mission of God as demonstrated and taught by Jesus and Paul. In the last post, I looked at their example of strengthening believers as part of their mission. Next I considered whether or not caring for the least was part of Jesus’ and Paul’s mission.
So, according to Scripture both Jesus and Paul considered proclaiming the gospel, strengthening believers, and caring for the least to be part of the mission that they were given by God. Furthermore, both of them taught others to proclaim the gospel, strengthen believers, and care for the least.
The mission of God is not one of these things; it is all of these things together lived out in the life of each of God’s children. Again, Jesus is the perfect example of this integrated approach to the mission of God:
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. (Matthew 9:35 ESV)
While Jesus was more than an example, he was certainly an example of living in the kingdom of God (even while living on this earth) and living as one sent by God. We must remember that in one of his commission instructions he told his followers, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21 ESV) Obviously, we cannot carry out every part of God’s mission in the same way that Jesus carried it out. Jesus’ mission of reconciliation included his death, burial, and resurrection as the son of God for the forgiveness of sin. We cannot do this work.
However, we are sent as ambassadors of God (those sent by God to others) serving as messengers of reconciliation. We can proclaim reconciliation to God in both word and deed. And, just as Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and served others in the love of God, we are to continue that same mission.
Similarly, Paul saw his mission as an integration of proclaiming the gospel, strengthening believers, and caring for people. While it is not in a nice neat package like the verse from Matthew above, in a passage at the beginning of Colossians, Paul exhibits all of these different aspects of his mission. (See Colossians 1:24-2:5.) He even says that he sees this complete (in the sense of integrated) mission as “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” (Colossians 1:24)
By proclaiming the gospel, strengthening believers, and caring for the least, Paul is continuing Jesus’ mission – the same mission given to him by God.
In the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and in the accounts from Acts and the Epistles of Paul’s life, there are many examples of each of these different aspects of the mission of God. Sometimes the authors focus on one or another aspect; sometimes the authors combine all three – as we’ve seen in the examples above. However, as I’ve come to see it, the mission of God always includes proclamation, teaching, and service – all three – even if one or another may be emphasized from time to time.
In the next post, I’m going to consider emphasizing one aspects or another and how this may positively and negatively affect the mission of God.
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Decompartmentalizing the Mission of God Series:
Decompartmentalizing the Mission: Caring for the Least
In the introduction to this series, I explained how I thought that people today tend to compartmentalize their lives. Because of this, we often compartmentalize what we consider the mission of God as well. In a previous post, I considered proclamation of the gospel as part of the mission of God as demonstrated and taught by Jesus and Paul. In the last post, I looked at their example of strengthening believers as part of their mission. In this post, I consider whether or not caring for the least – the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, etc. – was part of Jesus’ and Paul’s mission.
There are many examples in the Gospels of Jesus serving people, primarily by healing them or castint out demons. While Jesus often healed people in response to their faith, or he healed people who then followed him, there is at least one occasion in Scripture in which the people healed may not have followed Jesus:
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19 ESV)
In this story, although Jesus cleansed 10 people of leprosy, only one of them returned to thank him. Similarly, Jesus told his followers to serve others as well. On the night before he was crucified, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. He then told them:
You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. (John 13:13-14 ESV)
Of course, I did not use the obvious passage from Matthew 25 where Jesus specifically say that the righteous will be those who care for the least.
Similarly, caring for the least was part of Paul’s mission as well. On several occasions, he stopped what he was already doing to carry support to people in Jerusalem who were suffering because of famine or poverty. For example, this was his response to the request from Peter, James, and John that he take care of the poor:
Only, they [James, Cephas, and John] asked us [Paul and Barnabas] to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (Galatians 2:10 ESV)
Paul also instructed others to take care of the least as part of their mission. When he traveled through Miletus and spoke to the elders from Ephesus, he told them to work with their hands. Why? This is what he said:
You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:34-35 ESV)
Not only does Paul want the elders to work to support themselves, but also so they can help others. He even sees this kind of help for others as a way to obey Jesus.
Again, with both Jesus and Paul, helping the least through various means was a part of their mission.
So, I’ve concluded that proclaiming the gospel, strengthening believers, and caring for the least are all part of the mission of God as demonstrated and taught by both Jesus and Paul. In the next post, I’m going to consider a few passages in which these three aspects of the mission of God are combined.
What would you like to add to my discussion of caring for the last as part of the mission of God?
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Decompartmentalizing the Mission of God Series:
Decompartmentalizing the Misson: Strengthening Believers
In the introduction to this series, I explained how I thought that people today tend to compartmentalize their lives. Because of this, we often compartmentalize what we consider the mission of God as well. In the previous post, I considered proclamation of the gospel as part of the mission of God as demonstrated and taught by Jesus and Paul. In this post, I look at their example of strengthening believers as part of their mission.
(As an aside, I recognize the irony of working through a series on “decompartmentalizing the mission of God” by separately consider various aspects of that mission. Please stick with me until the last post where I intend to bring it all together.)
I need to make one point before I jump into evidence. When I say, “Strengthening believers,” I’m talking about helping people who are already following Jesus to follow him better. This kind of “help” is called by many names in Scripture: discipling, strengthening, edification, etc.
While Jesus spent much time speaking with people who were not currently following him, he also spent significant time helping people who were already following him. For example, he often spoke in parables to the crowds and then explained his parables to those who were following him:
All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable… Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered… (Matthew 13:34-37 ESV)
In the previous post, I mentioned the “commission” passages as examples of Jesus instructing his followers of proclaim the gospel. The “commission” passage from Matthew also includes the command to help others follow him:
…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you… (Matthew 28:28 ESV)
Paul also spent time helping those who had already received the gospel and were already following Jesus. It is significant that (what we call) Paul’s second missionary journey was begun with a desire to return and help those who received the message during the first missionary journey:
And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” (Acts 15:36 ESV)
There are many passages in Paul’s writings where he instructs his readers to strengthen others as part of their mission. Here is one example:
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)
For both Jesus and Paul, helping those who were already following Jesus was clearly a part of what they considered to be their mission. In the same way, in both of their cases, they instructed others to follow their example in helping others follow Jesus. Remember that the type of help that I’m talking about goes beyond proclaiming the gospel. This is the kind of help that is offered to those who have already received the gospel, are already following Jesus, and are already indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
Whether we call this by the terms strengthening, edification, building up, discipling, or something else, it was part of the mission of both Jesus and Paul, and should be considered part of the mission of God today.
What would you like to add to my discussion of strengthening believers as part of the mission of God?
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Decompartmentalizing the Mission of God Series:
Decompartmentalizing the Mission: Proclaiming the Gospel
In the introduction to this series, I explained how I thought that people today tend to compartmentalize their lives. Because of this, we often compartmentalize what we consider the mission of God as well. In this post, I want to consider proclamation of the gospel as part of the mission of God as demonstrated and taught by Jesus and Paul.
(As an aside, I recognize the irony of working through a series on “decompartmentalizing the mission of God” by separately consider various aspects of that mission. Please stick with me until the last post where I intend to bring it all together.)
I’ve decided to use examples from the lives of Jesus and Paul because they are typically considered the quintessential Christian missionaries. Jesus, obviously, is the missionary par excellence, while Paul is the primary example of an itinerant servant of Jesus. I believe there were other servants of Jesus who traveled from place to place, but we do not know as much about them, and they are only mentioned in Scripture. So, I’m going to focus on Jesus and Paul.
This is what Mark records concerning Jesus immediately following his baptism and temptation in the wilderness:
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV)
There are many, many similar examples of Jesus proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
Similarly, there are many examples of Paul proclaiming the gospel. Here is one example:
And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:10 ESV)
There are indications from both Jesus and Paul that others were also proclaiming the gospel or were expected to proclaim the gospel as they followed Jesus. Jesus’ final statements (often called “commission” statements) are a good example of this. One of those statements relates specifically to “sending” (the root word of the English term “mission”):
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21 ESV)
Another statement specifically relates to proclaiming the gospel:
And he [Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15 ESV)
Similarly, Paul encouraged others to proclaim the gospel in Romans 10:14-15, and he praised the Thessalonians because of their proclamation:
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. (1 Thessalonians 1:8 ESV)
I’m giving the least amount of evidence or discussion to this part of the mission of God because it is widely accepted that the missio Dei includes proclaiming the gospel. (In fact, the disagreements usually stem from the question of whether or not other types of service are including in the mission of God.)
So, when we consider decompartmentalizing the mission of God, we should definitely include proclaiming the gospel as part of that mission. However, I do not think we stop at proclaiming the gospel. In the next two posts, I’ll examine whether or not Jesus and/or Paul included strengthening believers and/or serving the least as part of their mission.
What would you add to this discussion of proclaiming the gospel as part of the mission of God?
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Decompartmentalizing the Mission of God Series:
Community in Christ develops as we serve together
Dave Black announced yesterday that he is putting the finishing touches on a new book called Will You Join the Cause of Global Missions? If you read Dave’s blog, you know that he and his wife have been focused on proclaiming the gospel and strengthening the church in various countries around the world for the last several years. They do not do this work through any kind of missions organization, although they gladly work with many such organizations. Instead, they go around the world at their own expense, and they are including other believers in several churches around them in their efforts. (I know this first hand because I traveled with them to Ethiopia just over a year ago.)
In announcing his book, Dave shared a quote that I hope you will find encouraging and challenging (see the entry from Sunday, November 20, 2011 at 8:54 a.m.):
Jesus’ disciples enjoyed community simply because Jesus and not a set of dogmas was at the center of their life. They never tried to “build community.” They didn’t have to. Community was the result of being united in the Christian mission; community emerged naturally when they committed themselves to something bigger than themselves. And so it is in the church today. It is my personal observation that most Christians begin to enjoy genuine community only when they begin to serve the poor, evangelize the lost, and plant churches. The glue that unites them is the missional task of loving their neighbors. A shared sense of mission drives them to community. Their congregations are mission-shaped. Like Jesus, they literally go. For them the Bible, not tradition, is normative, and they hold themselves accountable to each other in love even while they work closely with the surrounding neighborhood, developing strong links between Christians and not-yet Christians.
If you have read much about the “missional” movement or about missions especially in the United States, you know that many (perhaps most?) efforts are quite sectarian in the sense that people tend to work together only with those who agree with them (on whatever “doctrines” they consider to be most important).
Dave’s statement above flies in the face of that practice. If he is correct – and I think he is – community in Christ is developed as we serve others in Christ’s name by proclaiming the gospel, building up other Christians (discipleship), and serving the least. Many today say that we cannot work in these ways (or at least in some of these ways) with other Christians with whom we disagree. I think this shows a desire (intentional or not) for community based on our interpretations instead of community based on Christ.
Certainly there will be difficulties and issues related to working with those who disagree with us especially concerning those beliefs that we hold dear. However, according to Jesus, our unity (even unity in mission) is important – perhaps necessary – in order for the world to know that Jesus Christ came from God the Father. (John 17:20-21)
Practically, how do we serve (in the various ways mentioned above) with brothers and sisters in Christ who disagree with us?
Decompartmentalizing the Mission of God
Theologians love to compartmentalize. We specialize in Old Testament or New Testament, theology or ethics. In fact, we specialize in different aspects of each of those compartments: the Pentateuch (Old Testament), the Prophets (also Old Testament), the Hagiographa (still Old Testament), Wisdom Literature (yep, Old Testament), Old Testament Theology (you guessed it: Old Testament). These are just a few of the sub-specialties with the sub-specialty of Old Testament Studies with the specialty of Biblical Studies, which could in term be a sub-specialty of several other specialties. Of course, the same could be said of New Testament or Systematic Theology or Biblical Theology or Church History or Ethics, etc.
This type of compartmentalization is not limited to theologians; other academic disciplines practice the same kind of compartmentalization. Businesses are compartmentalized. Churches are compartmentalized. In fact, I think the compartmentalization of theology, academia, businesses, churches, and other institutions arise from the fact that people tend to compartmentalize their lives.
Compartmentalization affects our understanding of the mission of God. (Of course, theologians have several sub-specialties related to the study of the Missio Dei also… and a Latin theological term as well.) Over the last several weeks, I’ve seen books, articles, blog posts, etc. discussing what is or what is not included in the concept of the mission of God. (Of course, this is not a new phenomenon.) From what I can tell, most of the discussion suffer from the same problem: compartmentalization.
So, what is included in the mission of God? Proclaiming the gospel? Edifying believers? Serving the least? One? Two of the three? All three? Something more or something less or something different?
What is included in the mission of God? In many cases, I think the way that I’ve seen people answer that question reveals the affect of compartmentalization. What would happen if we decompartmentalized the mission of God?
Over the next few days, I’m going to examine various passages of Scripture related to the mission of God and, hopefully, work toward decompartmentalization. I hope to primarily examine the lives of the two greatest missionaries in the New Testament: Jesus and Paul.
Is there additional evidence in Scripture besides the passages that I’m going to examine. Yes. Certainly. I’m only presenting this series as a starting point in (what I hope will be) a broader discussion on decompartmentalizing the mission of God.
I hope you decide to join me on this journey. Perhaps you’d like to begin by offering a quick answer to this question: What is included in the mission of God?
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Decompartmentalizing the Mission of God Series:
Replay: Demonstrating the heart of God
Three and a half years ago, I wrote a post called “Demonstrating the heart of God” as part of a “missional” sychroblog. This was my second post in a four month long synchroblog. In this post, I was supposed to answer the question, “Why am I missional?” Of course, many people continue to argue and debate and disagree and study the meaning of the word “missional.” It’s my desire to simply demonstrate the heart of God.
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“Demonstrating the heart of God”
This post is part of the “Missional Synchroblog” organized by Jonathan of “Missio Dei“. Jonathan has proposed that we each publish one post per month over the next four month concerning four different topics: 1) What does missional living look like to me? (see my post “Living the love of God“) 2) What attracts me to missional? 3) Where is God calling me into mission? and 4) My best missional story. Since this is the second month of the synchroblog, the topic is “Why am I missional?”
Several years ago, when Jeremy was only about 7 or 8, I was sitting on the sofa with him one Sunday afternoon watching television. He took the remote controls and starting flipping through the channels. Eventually, he came to a professional football game. Now, you should know that Jeremy has always loved football. And, we had gone to high school football games and college football games together. We had also watched college football games on television often. But, since I had never enjoyed professional football, we had never watched an NFL game together.
But, when Jeremy saw there was football on the television, he stopped flipping through the channels. Over the next couple of hours (and few years), Jeremy fell in love with professional football. That afternoon, he asked me several questions about the NFL game, because many of the rules were different from the college games that he had seen before. I had to admit that I did not know much about the different rules.
As Jeremy grew to love professional football, something interesting happened to me. I started caring more about the NFL. Nothing changed about professional football, except now, someone that I loved cared about the game and the league. Since Jeremy cared about professional football, I started caring as well.
We do not have to read through the pages of Scripture long before we find out that God cares about people, especially the least, the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the prisoners, the sick, the oppressed, the widows, the orphans, and the foreigners. God cares about them. Someone I love cares about these people.
When we read the Book of Jonah, we see that God cared so much for the city of Nineveh that he sent Jonah to warn them about his judgment. When Jonah finally went to warn the Ninevites (the enemies of Israel) to repent, they did… and Jonah pouted. In fact, Jonah cared more about a plant that withered than he cared about a city of thousands of people that was about to perish.
As much as I would like to condemn Jonah, I have to admit that I often have his attitude. I care much more about the things that directly affect me – no matter how minor those things are – than I care about the things that God cares about – especially the least and the lost people of the world. So, in reality, if I were to answer the question, “Why am I missional?” I would have to say, “Many times, I’m not missional”.
But, I know that God has called me – an all of his followers – to take his gospel and his love to the least and the lost of this world. Yes, this includes the good news of Jesus Christ. This is extremely important. But, as Jesus told his followers, what we do for the least, we also do for him. If we see a lost and thirsty man, and only give him a glass of water, we are not fulfilling our responsibilities of demonstrating God’s heart to see people redeemed to himself through Jesus Christ. However, if we see a lost and thirsty man, and only tell him about Jesus, neither are we fulfilling our responsibilities of demonstrating God’s heart. As Jesus showed us, we demonstrate God’s heart by giving him both the gospel and also a glass of water.
Why am I missional? Because God cares for people. And, because of my love for God, I can’t help but demonstrate the heart of God toward other people – unless, of course, I hinder what God is doing in my own heart.
Edification and Mission Again
Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” has written a very good post called “Edification Necessarily Leads to Mission.”
His post reminds me of a post I wrote a few months ago called “Which is important for the church: edification or mission?”
Edification, as part of the process of helping people follow Jesus, should lead to many things, including (as Eric says) proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to others.
Eric writes:
If edification has its intended outcome, we will all mature in Christ. Part of that maturation is desiring for others to know the Jesus who is transforming us. As Christian maturity goes up, a desire for others to come to Christ ought to naturally rise as well.
The author of Hebrews tells us in 10:24, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” Edification leads directly to love and good works. What more loving work can there be than proclaiming the life-giving news of Christ crucified and resurrected?
I think the intended outcome of edification is a group of people who are maturing in Jesus Christ. Maturity will certainly include a propensity toward proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What do you think?
The attractive gospel of Christ’s love in action
Dave Black is back home in the farmlands of southern Virginia after spending a few days at the seminary here in North Carolina. And, since he’s back home, he’s blogging. And, since he’s blogging, he’s challenging me (and others) to follow Jesus Christ “in word and deed” (to quote Paul, James, and John).
This time, Dave is talking about his New Testament class’s discussion of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Specifically, he wrote about the “descent-ascent” (down is up) motif found in Philippians 2:5-11 (and Philippians 2:1-4?).
This is what he said (on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 5:50 p.m.):
I obviously don’t have all the answers, but I am blown away by the patterns we find in this passage. When Jesus poured Himself out He founded a radical new community. He didn’t set up a new program but modeled a new way of living that showed us what the kingdom looks like. If you look at the early church you cannot help but be struck by the impact made by the Holy Spirit as He transformed the apostles and their followers into other-centered servants. Little wonder their churches had such an impact. Their mutual interaction showed Christian love in action, and there is nothing more attractive for the Gospel than that. Each year I have the privilege of traveling to countries where the church is truly salt in the midst of a disintegrating society, not (as in the U.S.) a pious subculture of conformity. Everything — every single thing! — we do should reflect Christ’s self-abnegating spirit.
In a nutshell, reading Philippians is downright dangerous. It can easily get you into trouble. You will no longer be able to depersonalize the poor or needy of this world or shift your responsibility for global evangelization onto someone else’s shoulders. Your lives will begin to shout the Gospel. And, as Phil. 2:5-11 shows, it’s definitely a story worth telling.
I keep being struck by the image of those early Christians, changed by the Holy Spirit and demonstrating the love of Christ in action to their family, friends, neighbors, strangers, foreigners, even their enemies. This “love in action” is what first attracted people to the gospel. This “love in action” was a demonstration that what these people were saying was true.
Our lives should be a demonstration that the gospel (we say) we believe in is, in fact, true.
Christians giving to other Christians in response to some service
This is the fifth post in my series on Christians and giving from the perspective of Scripture. (See the introduction post here.) I’ve already stated that giving directly to those in need is the most prevalent method of giving by Christians in the New Testament (either by example or instruction). There are also a few examples of Christians giving indirectly to people who are in need. Similarly, there are a few examples in Scripture of Christians giving to those who are traveling from place to place to proclaim the gospel or strengthen churches.
Finally, there are a couple of examples of Christians being encouraged to give in response to the service of some other Christians who are not traveling but are in the same city as themselves. The first example from Galatians is more broad in its context, so I’ll start with it:
One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. (Galatians 6:6 ESV)
The other passage teaches something similar in response to the service of elders:
Let the elders who rule [lead] well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17 ESV)
Similarly, Peter indicates that elders should not serve others only because they receive support, which indicates that some type of gift was often given to elders:
[S]hepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain [or, “not for monetary gain”], but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. (1 Peter 5:2-3 ESV)
In each of these instances, someone is sharing or giving something to another believer in response to some service. I think the order is important here: the service is performed (probably continually performed), then the gift is given. I think it’s also evident that the gift is not expected or promised, but is given freely and in gratitude. It’s also important that this type of giving is not limited to elders, but should be offered to any who consistently and continually serve someone or some group.
What would you add to this discussion of Christians giving to other Christians in response to some service?
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Giving and the Church in Scripture Series:
1) Introduction
2) Christians giving directly to others because of need
3) Christians giving indirectly to others because of need
4) Christians giving to other Christians who are traveling from place to place
5) Christians giving to other Christians in response to some service