How do you view mission? How does your congregation view
mission? What the heck is it? The traditional approach to mission has been
something we as churched people do in the world for somebody else who is need
of assistance. Say, when we follow Jesus’ teachings to feed the hungry and
clothe the poor we are doing mission. This definition also has the nasty habit
of becoming commonplace and stagnant. For example, many churches participate in
a charity of their city. When asked why they do this, often times the only
answer people can give is, “Because we have always done it.” What is the point
of doing something that has fallen from importance and become so normal,
perhaps even peripheral, that it is no longer given any thought? Why is such a
ministry significant? How is it participating in mission? Professor Chris
Scharen of Luther Seminary helps us rethink the concept of mission and in doing
so opens us up to divine creativity.
In a recent blog post for Luther Seminary’s Ministry in Context, Scharen argues that
an understanding of mission where some of “us” in the church help “other
people” is no longer fit for a world where the culture continues to become more
and more post-Christian. In this sense, post-Christian means that the world’s
culture is no longer Christian dominant and it’s influence as a religion no
longer holds it as prevalent in modern thinking. So what do we do? Do we give
up and let the church die by continuing to do things as if the church were
rapidly growing as it was in the 50s? No.
Scharen offers up the following approach to mission in our world:
What if we understand mission as less about
what we do and more
about what God is doing?
God is loving and reconciling the world, and God, we claim, catches us up intothat work — all of us, all the
time. That is a pretty exciting vision for being church, and it just
might change what we think mission means.
Such an attitude toward mission seems to me to be full of
energy and life. It forces us as a people of God to discern what God is up to
in our communities as a congregation, as a local city or town, and as a larger
world. Such discernment may lead us to familiar answers, but it also may lead
into a bold new direction.
At my internship we have partnered with the high school
across the street to address the hunger problem many students are facing. Over
80% of the students participate in the free or reduced lunch programs because
they are financially incapable of providing regular meals. My internship site has
created a backpack program where the neediest students are identified and given
backpacks filled with food for the weekend, enough for a family of four to have
3 meals on Saturday and Sunday. We call it “Polar Packs.” The response from
this congregation has been resounding in their continued giving and enthusiasm
for this ministry and has opened the door to future partnerships between these
neighbors.
During the first month of the program’s activity, a student
received a backpack with an added bonus, a cake mix with frosting. As the
student and her mother baked it together on Sunday afternoon they decided that
the cake was not going to be dessert, it was going to school with her. The
student brought it to a class taught by one of the Polar Pack organizers saying,
“We wanted to say thank you and give back what we can.” From that simple
backpack she was moved to give back from the abundance she received and bless
others with her blessing.
Another example from my internship and a new vision of
mission is my personal project, Pub Theology. Such a ministry is certainly not
new or innovative, but I viewed it as a practical medium in which to hopefully
reengage the younger adults of the congregation in a life of faith. For years I
have been interested in the Catholic Church's "Theology on Tap" where
a group of people get together in a bar and have a Bible study or watch a
presentation from a church leader. What a great idea! However, as I have continued
my seminary journey I started to question why the people can't have their own
discussions without the guidance from a church official. Why can't we let loose
and freely discuss matters of faith while the Spirit take us where it wills?
This, joined with a desire to have people reconnect to their faith in an
informal and non-threatening environment and a plethora of fantastic local
craft breweries, Pub Theology was born.
As I began to formulate my ideas about how to make this
happen I did some research and discovered Bryan Berghoef's books on this very
subject. I blazed through these works with eager excitement and a burning
desire to get something like this going. And so I did. With only four meetings
under our belts we are still working out the kinks, but have had fantastic
discussions about things ranging from the definition of evil to the authority
of the Bible in our culture. These open, faith-filled, respectful conversations
have allowed people from the target group of twenty and thirty somethings to the elders an avenue to express their faith in a bold new
way. My hopes and prayers are that such experiences allow them to live their
faith out loud and not in the quiet of their Sunday morning hearts and minds.
So are these two ministries that I have offered up in tune
with Scharen’s view of mission? I say yes. In each case the founders of the
programs have prayerfully listened to the needs of the community, paired it
with their vocational interests, were open to where God was leading the
community of faith, and sought out opportunities to participate with God’s
preexisting action in the world.
I hope whoever reads this blog is to take on Chris Scharen’s
definition of mission. I guarantee you will be energized and open to where God
is calling you right now, where God is calling the church right now, and where
God is calling the world. May you be as bold as Abraham to listen to God’s
command to leave your comfortable surroundings, may you be as brave as Moses to
debate with the divine, and may you be as courageous as the disciples to openly
ask questions and wrestle with the big issues. This is what it is going to take
to move mission in a post-Christian world. So, how are you getting involved
with what God is already up to?
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