C + M = E

Alan Hirsch asserts that Christology impacts our missiology and ultimately our ecclesiology. We are dangerously close in our generation to losing the centrality of Christ in the Western church. I would venture a guess that some observers and theologians would say that Jesus is no longer LORD of His own church. However, He is unequivocally the head of the church and the center of the gospel. It is not our mission we are seeking to recover, but it is the mission of heaven's missionary. Jesus Christ....It is His mission that has been left to the church. As we place our faith in Him and receive the gift of salvation we then accompany HIM on mission the rest of our lives. "I have come to seek and to save the lost" "Preach" "make disciples (not converts), etc these snippets all reveal a glimpse of the essential components of the mission. Missio Dei....we are sent by God into every community, every work place, every store, every classroom, etc....We are sent to LIVE on mission, everyday, every moment for the rest of our lives. Living on mission will radically change how we view the church. It's practices, it's objectives, etc. We are still challenged to make disciples.....but how. "Discipleship takes place within the context of accomplishing the mission" and not in a classroom. I strongly advocate that we as leaders begin to wrestle again with these issues. If we are leaders, who are we leading, and where are we taking people. Jesus gathered a small cluster of men and led them on mission while he was here....they were discipled while living on mission. Jesus radically moved into the culture of His generation! When is the last time that a local pastor (myself) been slandered with the words, "He is a friend of sinners". I walked with a pastor to lunch recently. We had some really important issues to discuss. A man experiencing homelessness approached us and called out to the pastor by name, just as a old friend would. They exchanged a greeting and the man was invited to lunch with us. I was astonished, frustrated, and later humbled by the graciousness shown to one of the Lord's precious sons. We shared a meal and our lives with one another. Of course our invited guest was not use to more refined dining...and it showed. He was certainly more godly than my initial response to him was. I watched our host communicate with him at a level of intimacy that was by no means shallow. They were connected to one another.....they in fact are part of the same community of faith. It was a perfect illustration of what it means to live on mission! Missio Dei