Refelctions on the Mission of Christ for His Church and the World

Mission Week at Durkeetown provided me with space to reflect on this thing we so casually refer to as the "Great Commission." I use the word "casually" because too often I do see a lack of intensity as it relates to our "sentness." My hope for my own life and our congregation at Durkeetown is that a renewed passion, ignited by a renewed vision for God, would shake us to fresh obedience. After all, the eternal joy of the human community is worth begin shaken for.

Here are a few insights the Spirit gave to me during Mission Week. I pass them on to you for the encouragement of prayer and obedience. I also would encourage you to write our your reflections and include them in a response to the blog.

Francois Turcotte (Quoting David Powlison) suggested this strategy for Christ followers to use in engaging non-Christ followers with the gospel:

  *  Listen to their story - this requires patience and love


  *  Empathize with their story - this requires reflecting on your own condition prior to salvation

  *  Retell their story redemptively - this will require you being thoroughly gospelized and filled with the Spirit.

I wrote this note to myself as a way of potential practice in application: A good way to practice this is by using the three step process while you watch TV or a movie or listening to a song. You can also do it as a small group or with friends.

Francois also kept using the phrase - "love your community to Jesus." I thought about the  difference betweeen "to" and "for" because it would be normal to say, "love your community for Jesus." I would suggest the difference is found in zeal. Loving them to Jesus means that I spend my life being the "fisherman" that Jesus calls me to be regardless of the cost. I would be like the men who wanted their friend to be healed so they cut a hole in the roof and lowered him down to Jesus (Mark 2:1-5). This is more than loving their friend "for" Jesus. They loved him "to" Jesus.  

Craig Querfeld:

"Missions is moving people from their agenda to God's agenda (quoting Henry Blackaby). We had a great discussion with Craig over leadership development in the church and helping people in their discipleship embrace the mission of Christ. First priority though was praying for God to change the agenda that most people live with.

Ed Hart:

"Jesus never commands us to do something He has not enabled us to do" - Matthew 28:18-20

"The place where the gospel engages us to do the mission of Christ is that walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh" - Galatians 2:20

Ed gave us five principles for walking in the Spirit:

  *  Living the gospel is living with an earnest expectation to exalt Jesus in all things, whether by life or by death (Philippians 1:20)

  *  Living the gospel is living with an others orientation for their joy in Jesus (Philippians1:21-26)

  *  Living the gospel is living with an eternal point of view about everything in life. You cannot be any earthly good unless you are heavenly minded (2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Colossians 3:1-4)

  *  Living the gospel is living with the realization that God is sovereign over all things (The Whole Bible)

  *  Living the gospel is living in the power of the indwelling Spirit. This is normal Christian living - yielding to the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:16-26)


Pray as Durkeetown is being challenged to engage the gospel more deeply so that we live the Spirit filled life in faith and obedience to the commission Jesus has given us.

Pray specifically for the "Durkeetown Seven" - Abbie, Zeke Neigh, Cheyenne Robinson, Emily Jenks, Bekkah Neigh, Kaite Fish, Zach Prater. These seven came before the church and declared their intentions to do cross cultural missions. Pray for them and for others.

Pray for Chris Miller who is going to start a soccer ministry that he hopes will connect with Latinos in our local area.

May God help us to bring the presence of Jesus Christ where ever we go. Let us love people to Jesus.

The Battle with Self Rejection and Gospel Perception

In quoting catholic author Henri Nouwen, Dallas Willard observes: "Self rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved". Being the "Beloved" constitutes the core truth of our existence" (Renovation of the Heart - pg. 101).

There is a simplicity in that statement that allows me to consider the one most damaging and difficult issue I face in my own discipleship - "self perception." Earlier in the same chapter Dr.Willard wrote under the heading - "The First Move Back from Ruin": "As we first turned away from God in our thoughts, so it is in  our thoughts that the first movements toward the renovation of the heart occur."

There is an obvious disconnect with many Christ followers (like myself) between knowing spiritual truth and living as if we really know spiritual truth. My discipleship has been deeply challenged as of late by God ordained messengers who look a lot like people I know and sound like them as well.  My responses often begin with self rejection (I must be a failure) and end then with poor gospel perception (Why me God?)

I found a nice cure to all of this in a Psalm that WIllard suggests at the beginning of his chapter on Transforming the Mind...

                 Psalm 16:8 - I have set the Lord continually before me;
                Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken

One of the harder realities that I must admit and perhaps all disciples of Jesus should admit is just how deep our self idolatry exists. When I begin to reject myself and lose sight of my position in Christ as a "much loved son" - it is because I am setting myself before me and not setting the Lord before me. The idolatry of self is a serious matter to overcome because this particular idol is a very cruel taskmaster. It would remove God and put me in front and deceive me into thinking that I know what is best in any circumstance or in any given situation. Unfortunately, like all idols this particular idol is dishonest. While it may stroke my ego it kills my joy because if I am out in front of life - I will always be shaken.

So here is the thing I must do and hopefully you as a disciple must do: keep checking the ideas that are governing your life. I can move away from self-rejection and poor gospel perception as I become a commitment to having the Lord set continually before me. Practically that means both repentance of self-worship and an embracing of the gospel which when rehearsed reminds me that I am loved by an eternal God who not only died for me but lives for me.

Battle well the enemy and if you, like me, are barely standing, take serious the words of our brother Paul in Ephesians 6:10 - "Finally, be strong in the Lord adn in the strength of His might!"