People get ready

It struck me early this morning that we don't teach our people enough about engagement with the world, we appear to teach about keeping away from it (especially if some Christians I meet are typical).

We don't teach people about being servants, but major on them being 'safe', that is kept away from hell and the separation from God that this is (for eternity).

But being a Christian isn't about buying (or even receiving free) a ticket for salvation, it's about looking like Jesus, acting like Jesus and submitting to God's Holy Spirit so that where we go, Jesus is!

We don't do stuff to bring people into our church buildings (bit of a shock for many, that statement).

We don't do stuff to get people to come in and pay the Parish Share (bit of a shock for Treasurers, Archdeacon's and Diocesan Board's of Finance perhaps?).

We do stuff, OUT THERE, because that's what we are commanded to do. Not asked. Not suggested or recommended, but TOLD!

Let's take a moment to examine the words of Matthew 28:

And Jesus came and said to them,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Now this bit is relatively simple - Jesus is Lord of all, therefore, this is THE Boss speaking. And what is it He is telling them (and therefore us)?

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Again, this appears to be rather a simple sort of set of instruction in that we are told to:

1. GO. Now isn't this really easy to grasp, it means get out from your pathetic little 'holy huddles'; leave your "Oooh, we want to keep ourselves pure and not mix with the sinners, the liberals (or perhaps those who don't have a clue what IHOP is) or don't do BCP, or those who think differently from us," and meet the real people!

2. MAKE DISCIPLES. Again, not difficult. This means that we have to share the 'good news' (i.e. the Gospel) and tell people about Jesus and get them to want to look like Him (which means becoming disciplined and keeping to the rules like what Jesus wants). It means that we put our desires and and lifestyles second to being like Jesus and honouring God.

3. OF ALL NATIONS. Wow! That means we seek to make the Jews, the Islamics, the Hindus, the Buddhists and all other faiths aware of Jesus (for the right reason- sit down Phelps, Jones and Sap!). This means we take the message of God's love to people who have different coloured skin, speak in different languages and occupy different places geographically, politically and socially.

4. BAPTISING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT. Yep, that's what it says. Nothing about age or volition mentioned there (perhaps Jesus wasn't into anabaptism - me neither!). That's what makes it valid, not that you did it again in your cosy little holy huddle in your comfortable little church building. It is what you do and it is the way that you do it (sorry).

5. OBSERVE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU. This sort of stuffs much of the liberal thinking and (Hallelujah) people like Phelps, Jones and Sap too! We have to keep the rules - Jesus doesn't just want us all to be happy after all. He wants us to be obedient and holy! Shocker!! We can't just rewrite the stuff and neither can we manipulate it to suit our own desires and make it give us the God we want to have (there goes the Daily Fascist readership). We van't reinvent God to make our sins acceptable (and the liberals) and we can't dictate that 'our' way is the right way (there goes the rest) - we have to do it HIS WAY!

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus tells us that He is going, but he will leave us with His Holy Spirit, the paraklete (he who comes alongside), the comforter, the dot-for-dot image of Christ (homoousious) and He will never leave us. HALLELUJAH (or what?)!!!

So, if He is with us, and for us and guiding us, and teaching us - why worry about when He comes - we need all the time we can get because we haven't scratched the surface when it comes to reaching the lost. Better hope Harold is wrong people!

Pax

Being a Missionary Church

I hear so much about 'missionary churches' these days and it seems that so many of the people who are speaking about them have almost as many ideas about what they are as there are people with the ideas! They range from putting on Alpha and other evangelistic stuff through to going outside the doors to bring people back and leafleting (telling them that the big pointy building at the end of their street is a church!).

Following a conversation today I thoughts I'd re-ignite the round that is Mission Action Plan (MAP) writing for the APCM (the Annual General Meeting of a church) where the MAP is supposed to be part of the proceedings by bringing people back to the five ‘Mission Values’ of the Church of England an a definition (of sorts) of 'missionary church'.

The 'mission values are

To proclaim the good news of the kingdom (Evangelism and Outreach)

To teach, baptise and nurture the of new believers (Teaching and Nurture)

To respond through 'loving service' to the (human) needs around us* (Justice and Care)

To transform unjust structures of society by our engagement (Justice and Care)

To work to safeguard creation and sustain and renew the earth (Justice and Care)

These are the five Marks of Mission of the whole Anglican Communion - in them we find three of the four 'Primary Purpose' groups, the only one missing being 'Worship and Prayer' which should be the hallmark, driving and responsive force for all that we do (so I will forgive them).


A 'missionary church' has five characteristics. A missionary church is:

Focused on God the Trinity
Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the orthodox understanding of the Trinity! It is therefore concerned with the Word, with keeping the laws and honouring God and celebrates the things of the Spirit (in a balanced and positive way).

Incarnational
Just as Jesus is God incarnate, so too are we to become, as Luther succinctly put it, 'little Christs' in that we take God into engagement, taking the initiative, with those who are 'not Church'.

Transformational
Romans 12 tells us: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." we need to be transformed and from that position lead others into being transformed that they might have the mind of God, for from that comes the heart of God and from that the actions that take Christ into all places.

A disciples-making church
Matthew 28: "Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them ina the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." We go in obedience and reach out, celebrating God where He is to be found in the lives of those who are not 'Church' and we lead them, by example and by love, into a place where they come to know God and become followers of Christ, taking up their own cross and, denying themselves, follow Him.

Relational
as I understand this, we bring together God (and the Church), the world (all creation including humans) and 'self'. We are concerned with how these and 'I' connect. We seek to show how none of the elements exist in isolation but in relationship with each other and with God throughout creation celebrating the reality that 'man is most certainly not live alone'.

So here's a bit of an outline for some future thinking. There are so many buzzwords and so many interpretations and fine sounding theological considerations but the reality is this:

That we know God, three-in-one, and taking Him into places where He is perceived not to be see lives transformed such that they follow Christ and see Him entering into all of their realities such that they can know Him, three-in-one, and taking . . . .

Pax

* I love the way 'human' is stipulated, guess it stops us going off at a tangent and doing animal rights stuff though!