Part One
I am actually going to be continuing my thoughts from a comment I made on Greg's blog. Which are thoughts I began having after reading Kevin's blog. Which are continuing beliefs I've been developing since about January 2004. The blogs listed above have many great comments. I encourage youto read those before, after or instead of this post.
TO CATCH YOU UP Kevin said: Gordon Cosby said something a few years back that haunts me. He said that in all his years of service he has never (and he emphasized 'never') seen a group go from community to mission. Rather, he said one should organize around mission and community will follow.
This statement catches my attention because I think Apex has focused on a community first idea for the past few years. AND I have NEVER been involved with a church that ACTUALLY put mission first. It was always things like building campaigns, paying the current mortgage, potlucks and picnics or being cool and generational (hahaha). I'm not even sure what a church with a truly "outreach to the world mission" would look like and whether or not Americans would want to be involved in such a church. Let me make it clear that I am not talking about outreaching to the suburbs. or outreaching to my generation. or outreaching to people who are easy to love and will make things convenient for the church to serve them. I am talking about outreaching to orphans and widows.(James 1:27) Outreaching to the people the world despises. The unclean, sick, poor, trashy-choose your judging word. Jesus spent his time with those people.
(James 2:1-11) comes to mind- particularly verse 8 & 9. "....Love your neighbor as yourself. ...but if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted......" Do we just serve the people we want to? The ones who shower and look like us? That sounds like favoritism.
This was not really my point. I just wanted to describe what I thought a "true" missional church would look like. Hopefully I'll make my point in part 2.
I am actually going to be continuing my thoughts from a comment I made on Greg's blog. Which are thoughts I began having after reading Kevin's blog. Which are continuing beliefs I've been developing since about January 2004. The blogs listed above have many great comments. I encourage youto read those before, after or instead of this post.
TO CATCH YOU UP Kevin said: Gordon Cosby said something a few years back that haunts me. He said that in all his years of service he has never (and he emphasized 'never') seen a group go from community to mission. Rather, he said one should organize around mission and community will follow.
This statement catches my attention because I think Apex has focused on a community first idea for the past few years. AND I have NEVER been involved with a church that ACTUALLY put mission first. It was always things like building campaigns, paying the current mortgage, potlucks and picnics or being cool and generational (hahaha). I'm not even sure what a church with a truly "outreach to the world mission" would look like and whether or not Americans would want to be involved in such a church. Let me make it clear that I am not talking about outreaching to the suburbs. or outreaching to my generation. or outreaching to people who are easy to love and will make things convenient for the church to serve them. I am talking about outreaching to orphans and widows.(James 1:27) Outreaching to the people the world despises. The unclean, sick, poor, trashy-choose your judging word. Jesus spent his time with those people.
(James 2:1-11) comes to mind- particularly verse 8 & 9. "....Love your neighbor as yourself. ...but if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted......" Do we just serve the people we want to? The ones who shower and look like us? That sounds like favoritism.
This was not really my point. I just wanted to describe what I thought a "true" missional church would look like. Hopefully I'll make my point in part 2.
3 Comments:
At 4:27 PM,
Tera said…
I trust that I wont get blown out of the water this time…I’ve been pondering this same thought for a while myself. I read Luke 12 and through until just after He enters Jerusalem. The main thing that struck out at me was the people he hung out with and why did they love him so much. I started getting down on myself because I know that I never intentionally invited people that stunk (physical and mental) into my home. My wife was quick to point out that, while my thoughts on looking to the outside were valid in one sense, how many people have walked through my door that I was not aware of their deeply hidden secrets but accepted them for who they were?
My point: it is easy to say that those that are not in our social structure or financial structure should become our mission, and indeed that is true, but be aware that those that you associate with are just as messed up. Jesus was loved by people because he actually gave a damn about them not just as a group of people but individually.
At 5:02 PM,
Tera said…
When I say “it’s easy to say…” what I meant was it is easy to get down on yourself for not being able to meet everyone’s needs and so say we don’t love enough. But perhaps where you would struggle to have a conversation with a person who has an addiction to drugs (I assume that you were never addicted in your past) Father has another brother or sister that was and so there is a commonality they would share. Like I said I have been pondering this myself. How do I let down my personal barriers that I have for other people and just see them for the treasure that they are? Genuinely give a damn about everyone you meet seems to only be attained through Father because I am too messed up to try myself.
At 9:48 PM,
Cheryl said…
I want to say that I agree with you here, but this is something I've thought through for quite a while. It is true that I have never had a drug addiction, but we all have sin addiction of some sort. Someone doesn't have to relate to my past or me to theirs to feed, clothe, shelter and love them. It is "easy" to love other white people with kids the same age as mine who live in the northwest part of town. I don't think that I shouldn't love those people as well. All I'm saying is that Jesus's disciples weren't all carpenters from Nazereth. His small community was made up of a variety of people. Maybe I need to meet the drug addicted homeless guy and put him in touch with someone I know who has a similar past, but works 70 hours a week. I'm rambling....basically, I agree to a certain extent, but I think I need to take my friends like me and befriend others who maybe aren't like us to befriend others who aren'tlike us. Otherwise, we're all carpenters from Nazereth complaining about our splinters and low wages from back breaking work. I need to shut up now.
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