Missions - Privilege, Not Duty!
"Lack of interest in mission is not fundamentally caused by an absence
of compassion or commitment, nor by a lack of information or exhortation.
And lack of interest in mission is not remedied by more shocking
statistics, more gruesome stories or more emotionally manipulative
commands to obedience. It is best remedied by intensifying peoples’
passion for Christ, so that the passions of his heart become the passions
that propel our hearts.
Missions must never have first place in the Church’s life. The Church is
to have but one Lord – one passion – the One in whom all the fullness
of God dwells, who has reconciled all things to himself. If the Church
today is in need of a conversion, it is always and only to Jesus Christ.
It is insufficient to proclaim that the Church of God has a mission in the
world. Rather, the God of mission has a Church in the world. Grasp this
inversion of subject and object, and participation in God’s mission will
become a joyous, life-giving privilege. Miss it and mission involvement
will eventually degenerate into a wearisome, overwhelming duty.
Mission is ultimately not a human response to human need. The
Church’s involvement in mission is its privileged participation in the
actions of the triune God." - Tim Dearborn, "Beyond Duty" - Perspectives on the World Christian Movement
Good stuff!!
No comments:
Post a Comment