The Logic of Mission

Lesslie Newbigin's The Gospel in a Pluralist Society is brilliant and a great read, but would be worth reading all 200+ pages just for his chapter on The Logic of Mission. Here's two amazing quotes from that chapter, which definitely deal with what this blog is mainly about and what the church should be like:

It is impossible to stress too strongly that the beginning of mission is not an action of ours, but the presence of a new reality, the presence of the Spirit of God in power... What really needs to be said is that where the Church is faithful to its Lord, there the powers of the kingdom are present and people begin to ask the question to which the gospel is the answer. And that, I suppose, is why the letters of St. Paul contain so many exhortations to faithfulness but no exhortations to be active in mission (page 119).

It will be clear from what I have said about Paul's eschatological vision of salvation that I am not placing at the center of the argument the question of salvation or perdition of the individual. Clearly that is part of what is involved, but my contention is that the biblical picture is distorted if this is put in the center... At the heart of mission is simply the desire to be with [Jesus] and to give him the service of our lives. At the heart of mission is thanksgiving and praise (page 127).

What Newbigin is implying here is fascinating and so important for the Church to hear! Our goal is to be transformed, and our transformation will cause others to ask questions! He points out that Jesus, and later the disciples, would show signs of the Kingdom of God, and it was because of these signs that people would ask questions. That is where the message of the Gospel would come in. There is still a message, but it is different. It's easy to threaten people with hell so they "accept Jesus into their hearts," but the Gospel challenge is for us to live differently, to live in such a way that our lives and actions are appealing to others.

If we are living lives of "thanksgiving and praise," the only possible result is holiness, a state of being in which the Church is set-apart and living in a way that demands a reaction, be it acceptance or rejection. We put good church services and altar calls at the center because we are afraid of the other option, which is living into the reality of the Kingdom and being transformed and renewed in the process. Yet that is the Way. We must begin living correctly, developing an incarnational orthopraxy, if we are to be the Church that Christ has called us to be.

That's just a small portion of what I would like to say about this chapter, but I have to go to work now. Maybe I'll explore these thoughts a bit more if I have the time/desire (or if anybody is even interested).

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: Just read two articles from Leadership Journal on their website. One is a very short one by Brian McLaren which is okay, and the other is an interview with Dallas Willard and Dieter Zander about spiritual formation, which is a good read. Also, I'm reading a transcribed lecture by James Fowler on adolesence, personhood and faith. And I am waiting very impatiently for my Brueggeman text on Genesis to arrive from Amazon! Yes, I am a nerd.