What does it mean to be missionally minded? How does that quality manifest itself in the life of a Christian? The answer is rooted in these words of Jesus: “I came not to be served, but to serve and give my life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
The term “missional” is simply a way of saying that the Christian life is to be shaped by the purposes of God in this world. “Missions” is not a compartmentalized aspect of church life that we “add on” or “fit in” to our lives. And it most certainly is not a specialized “field of service” or “gifting” for a special group of super-spiritual saints. Our plans, passions, and pursuits are to be guided, governed, and directed by the Divine agenda. We are called to engage this world “incarnationally,” which simply means that we are to follow the model given us in the person of Jesus Christ. To borrow one of my favorite phrases from my friend and pastor, Tullian Tchividjian, we are to be unfashionable!
Tullian has written, “Because we are citizens of a different kingdom ruled by a different King, Christians will be different people. We’re the people of the future, formed by the past, and living in the present. This should be all the evidence we need to be convinced that being unfashionable—living against the world for the world—is not simply what we’re to do; it’s who we are.” A missional mindset is committed to dying to self and living for others. It is putting self-focus and self-promotion to death.
To be missionally minded is to be community centered, both in the church and in the surrounding culture. The Bible knows nothing of the solitary saint. When Jesus saves an individual, He places that person into His body (the church) and sends him out into his neighborhood and his world (the culture). This often requires that we be countercultural (“unfashionable”), so as not to dilute our message and compromise our mission. We are to be a peculiar people, consecrated by Christ to be an alternative community for the world to see and share in—to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).
This simply cannot be done while huddling behind high protective walls or preening atop sparkling ivory towers. Our Savior’s lifestyle made this perfectly clear. You’ll remember that the Pharisees were outraged that our Lord reclined and ate with tax collectors and sinners—the despised people of that society. Who is it in your community that needs an introduction to such an outgoing and inclusive Savior?
Make no mistake, there is much we are to be opposed to in this world; we are to stand in the name of Christ against evil, regardless of cost or circumstance. Yet when I say we are to live in a countercultural way, I am not only speaking about what we are to oppose but what we are to expose to the watching world.
John’s Gospel introduces the living Word by saying, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). The world has never seen God; Jesus made the ways and will of the sovereign Lord of the universe known to man. In the very same way, we Christians must let the world around us see what we are for (Christlike thinking and conduct, marriages that model Christ’s betrothal to the church, outreach to the needy), just as much as it sees what we are against (abortion, euthanasia, homosexual marriage, etc.).
So, how missionally minded have you been lately? God is on a mission to make all things new (Revelation 21:5), and He has called every Christian man, woman, and child to co-labor with Him to that end. This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!
Grace for the Race 