Mission Dazed-and-Confused

Hmmm. Today, I spent the better portion of the day as the invited leader for a charge (two churches) retreat. We started the day with prayer and Bible study. I handed out sheets with three passages printed - Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 2:42-47, and Mark 12:28-31. I asked them to reflect on two questions: "1) What does this passage say about the Church (universal)? and 2) Does our church look like this? Why or why not?" There was some lively discussion in the three groups. Overall, they seemed pretty clear that they were not fully living out the Great Commandment, the Great Commission, or the example of the early church.

We spent some time talking about their current ministries, pruning ministries that didn't meet the church's mission, and about their congregational make-up. The group in the room represented the church in terms of age, class, etc. We took a lunch break, and then came back to work. I asked them to organize their ministries into three categories: nurture, outreach, and witness. By far, the majority of their ministries were "nurture" ministries, and internally focused. I asked them if their church reflected the community demographics. They initially agreed, but after further discussion, discovered that, no, they in fact did not reflect the community.

I asked them if they were committed to reaching the people in their community that they currently weren't reaching. Each person said yes. I asked them how other people in their congregations would respond. There were mixed feelings. Could they convince the rest of the congregation that reaching their community was important? They were convinced that it was.

I then asked them what they were willing to give up in order to make that happen. Earlier in the day, some dissatisfaction regarding worship was voiced (wanting it to go back to 1950's traditional worship), as well concerns about children conforming to the ways of the church. When these concerns were raised again (in the context of this discussion), I raised the point that, though they have said with their lips that they want to embrace the community and live out Christ's mission for their church, their actions did not align with their lipservice.

Unfortunately, this charge is not an exceptional case in United Methodism, or mainline denominationalism. More often than not, this charge is a microcosm of countless congregations. I have served congregations that paid lipservice to their mission, and continued to expect people to walk in the doors and join them in what they were already doing. Conform, but don't be who you are. We want you here, but don't rock the boat.

We're confused about the mission of the church. We shouldn't be. Jesus made it clear: we are to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Anything less is eventual death. If we don't keep the mission in front of us in all times and places, we get sidetracked, and we turn inward, focusing on maintaining the institution, rather than fulfilling God's mission. God help us!

But it doesn't have to be that way. Stay mission focused. When you evaluate existing ministry or consider developing new ministries, ask how it fulfills the mission. If it doesn't, don't do it! There should be no reason to be dazed and confused about our mission. Let's stay focused, and people will come to know the love of God for themselves.