Defined by mission or reduce the gospel...

I thought about something I had heard from a fellow salvation army colleague- "if no-one got saved through an community outreach activity at our corps (church) in a year - I'd close it!!"

Oh!

I had those words streaming through my mind as I watched our latest youth club in action - now into its second week. I had those words streaming through my mind as twelve or so new young people came up into our youth club. Twelve young people with various degrees of special needs and learning difficulties. I had those words streaming through my mind as I watched Jane with Cerebral Palsy; Tom and Richie with Downs syndrome and others with obvious difficulties. I had those words streaming through my mind as I watched the whole group engaging with all our facilities, playing PS2, Game - cube, pool, table-tennis - so happy to be there.

I looked into the eyes of Jane playing PS2 eye-toy's wishy washy as I dodged the flaying, thrashing arms and I saw joy and happiness etched into her face and I thought how could someone get the gospel so wrong!!? Or perhaps its me, somehow led off the straight and narrow, somehow lost focus, perhaps it me that has got it so wrong, perhaps it is me wasting time, perhaps it is me that missed something in the gospel?
"Either we are defined by mission, or we reduce the scope of the gospel and the mandate of the church."

Guder, D.L (ed) (1998) Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America

"our understanding of mission will only be as wide
as our understanding of salvation..."

Comments

Gordon said…
thanks bill - where is the McLaren quote from?
8:23 AM
Eleanor Burne-Jones said…
good quote. I'm reading 'The Hidden Lives of Congregations' and its fascinating. ( Alban Institute, Karen McClintock.)
12:51 PM
Kathryn said…
Every now and then I read or hear something along those lines, and am plunged into despair and inadequacy. In 12 years of assorted types of ministry, I don't think I've ever known anyone "saved" as I'd imagine your colleague would interpret it....
But I have seen people begin to realise that God might have time for them...people moving from being passive receivers of ministry to equal partners (just had lunch with one, who came to my old church to be married and somehow never left...and is now steering that tiny congregation through an interregnum, leading worship and caring and loving so much)... people beginning to live more fully. When I'm not having a "lower than worms" day, I tend to believe that there's some value in this, even with nobody ever overtly claiming salvation.Who knows?
1:02 PM
Rob said…
Gordon

I'm speechless at the comment. Yes - I'm a YFC evangelist so of course I believe and know people need to come to Christ. I also have come to see, though, that God is a God of seasons. I have run projects where for years young people have just grown throughb being ccepted, loved and given responsibility.

Jesus himself dealt with pysical and emotional needs, he doesn't seem to demand, or even expect, them to follow him as a response - he leaves that to their decision.
6:16 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A bit of sally bashing....

Came across a good bit of Sally bashing over at salvationsoldiers I have to say we try and make sure that everything we raise goes into projects that build local community in Poplar but hopefully if you read this blog you get that sense anyway.
Read more

Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown

Image
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an...
Read more

Types of Christian Spirituality...

Image
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play...
Read more