think deeply • see differently • act faithfully
The gospel teaches us that the Church is the one and only foretaste of heaven now because she alone has a real participation in the life of God on earth…. This divine reality of foretaste and first fruits is the key to understanding the Church’s power and relevance.
Scot Sherman, “Why the Church?” in Looking Forward: Voices from Church Leaders on Our Global Mission. (MTW, 2003).
Mission must spring from a lead back into a quality of life which seems intrinsically worth having in itself. If we answer the question “why should I become a Christian?” simply by saying “In order to make other Christians,” we are involved in infinite regress. The question “to what end?” cannot simply be postponed to the eschaton…the life in Christ is not merely the instrument of the apostolic mission, it is also its end and purpose.
-Lesslie Newbigin, The Household of God, 147.
A couple of years ago Anna and I participated in an event called Earth Hour. The event provides an opportunity to stop using electricity in its various forms as a way of recognizing the need to give attention to sustainability or, as I would put it, the importance of caring for God’s creation. You can find more information about it here.
Wake Forest University dimmed all the lights on campus. We chose a simpler approach. We also recognized as a simple thing we could do on a regular basis in order to both simplify life and make it more enjoyable.
Here’s what we did:
It was such a wonderful experience, we’re thinking about doing it each week as part of our observance of Sabbath, an area of spiritual practice where we have plenty of room for growth!
During and after Earth Hour, a couple of observations came to mind:
The Gospel does not come to each of us in isolation. It comes to us through a particular book and through a particular fellowship….and that fellowship, like all human fellowships, has maintained its existence in history as a visible organization with visible tests of membership, with officers, rules and ceremonies. It is a false spirituality, divorced from the teaching of the Bible, which regards this visible and continuing Church as of subordinate importance for the life in Christ. ‘Those who have God as Father must have the church as mother.’
-Lesslie Newbigin, The Reunion of the Church, 29 (quoting St. Cyprian by way of Calvin, Institutes IV.1.1).
We are, therefore, about to found a school of the Lord’s service, in which we hope to introduce nothing harsh or burdensome…. But as we advance in the religious life and faith, we shall run the way of God’s commandments with expanded hearts and unspeakable sweetness of love; so that never departing from His guidance and persevering in the monastery in His doctrine till death, we may by patience share in the sufferings of Christ, and be found worthy to be coheirs with Him of His kingdom.
-Prologue, Rule of St. Benedict
We live in a manic age and in internet time. There is always something screaming for our attention. Cell phones mean that we are reachable at any moment in the day, by voice, text, or email. The internet has created a web of information that has become so large as to be almost useless or at least overwhelming.
It has never been more difficult to find a manageable rhythm of life, especially for those engaged in ministry. And so to those of us caught up into this whirlwind existence, the immensely sane words of Saint Benedict seem like a draught of cool water: We are, therefore, about to found a school of the Lord’s service, in which we hope to introduce nothing harsh or burdensome.
Nothing harsh nor burdensome. This not the way many of us would describe our life, our schedule, those commitments we have made to the work, family, church, friends, etc. Consequently, there’s a lot of wisdom in trying to order our lives in such a way as to give appropriate attention to each of these spheres and, ultimately, ordering our life so as to grow in Godliness.
Through the ages, Christians have used a rule of life as a personal compass to order their life for growth.
A rule is simply a pattern or rhythm of life (including spiritual disciplines) that is helpful in allowing us to grow as followers of Christ that is unique to each individual. A good rule should be realistic – this has to be something that is manageable – and, take personality, gifts and temperament into consideration.
If rule seems a little arcane or legalistic you could call it a “curriculum in Christlikeness” (Willard) or a game plan for spiritual growth.
There are three major sections to a life rule:
Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:30).
Resources:
This is the third post in our series about missional ministry. In the first post I defined what missional is. I defined being missional as, “at it’s heart being…about placing God’s mission at the center of the life of the individual and the center of the church’s existence.“ I argued that the church needs adaptive change–a change in strategy–to a missional model of church rather than tactical change (like altering church service times or simply adding a contemporary service).
In the second post I noted that it’s impossible to be missional alone. I noted that community is essential to missional ministry for four reasons: security, encouragement, accountability, and perspective. This week we ask the question: what role does prayer play in missional ministry?
In our exploration of missional ministry, we’ve used the account of the sending of the seventy-two as a foundation or starting point for our discussion. To recap, this is the first ‘sending’ of the church into the community for the purpose of the proclamation of the Gospel and the establishment of kingdom outposts in advance of Jesus’ visit to particular cities in order to preach. The account is found in Luke 10:1-11, which is reproduced below.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’
The missional vision for ministry–a vision which sees the church in a missionary encounter with culture–was certainly lived out by the early church.
The church of the early Twenty-First century is being called back to this approach. As we attempt to make the missional shift, one question plagues me. Does the church of the Twenty-First century have the character and the practices to be ample to engage in missional ministry in a Godly way?
I could ask the question another way: is the current church sufficiently rooted in Christ so that this shift will be more than simply a fad or a trend, but will be the product of deep repentance for missed opportunities, the product of a deep desire for the salvation of men and women, and the product of a profound wish for the church to be collectively faithful to the witness of Scripture in describing and envisioning the church as a missional community?
If this is to be the case then we have to ensure that the church places prayer front and center in its mission. It’s important to begin with a simple definition of prayer.
Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to his will, in the name of the Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.
Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q/A 98
In other words, prayer is talking to God. Sometimes we talk to those we love formally, and sometimes we talk with them informally. It’s the same with prayer. Sometimes we will speak with God using formal, set prayers. At other times we will simply tell him what’s on our heart.
Prayer is the fuel of missional ministry. More precisely, common prayer is the fuel of missional ministry. A missional church will structure its life together around common prayer. The form of prayer will vary with the tradition of which the church is a part, but what’s not up for debate is the primacy of prayer in the life of the church. Why?
The church that wishes to be missional must pay attention to the requirements of community and prayer before anything else. Failing to pay attention to this will derail a community as it attempts to make the missional shift.
When the government compels us to perform some act, we realize it. Some of us resent it. On the other hand, when big business compels us to perform some act it’s all the more insidious for its being cloaked in the language of choice and consumption. There’s just as much–if a different type–of force in both instances. One we curse; the other we laud.
There are two great days in our lives – the day we are born and the day we discover why. -John Maxwell
Can you identify both of those days in your life?
A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan executed next week. –George S. Patton
There was a time when pastor meant theologian, thinker. The church looked to its teaching elders to faithfully teach Scripture and to communicate the reformed tradition through teaching young and old about the faith through catechesis. In evangelical circles we’re losing something of this tradition. Increasingly we’re looking for pastors who are, before anything else, excellent non-profit leaders.
I don’t want to downplay the importance of pastoral ministry as it relates to the management and stewardship of the resources with which God has gifted the church. This is an important aspect of pastoral leadership. However, we do a disservice to the mission of God when pastors think of themselves primarily as people who run churches.
As important as leadership and management of the church are–and some pastors will be more gifted at this than others–it isn’t the central calling of the Christian minister. It’s also not the thing that a congregation needs most of all.
More than anything else, churches needs pastors who are committed disciples of Christ, devoted to studying the Scriptures, formed in the theology of the reformed tradition, and engaged in active thought about how the mission of God can best be pursued by communities of Christian disciples–churches.
There are five reasons that I think this is the case:
I fear that ministers are increasingly doing what they need to do to keep the church running and losing sight of this calling to be a theological guide to faithful life and ministry in a changing context.
Jeff Gissing 