Isn't this a great picture? A church firmly grounded in mid-air! Not connected to the vast assortment of life all around it. Having influence on only the birds capable of flying up to it's level.Perhaps you're life is like this church...maybe your family. Just an ornament in the kingdom of God. Yikes...am I the one I'm writing to?
As I get older, and life continues to progress into the future, I have to ask myself whether or not I'm a member of that church. Am I having influence on people around me? Do I matter to more than just the birds who live with me? Do I even matter to those birds?
What would your kids say?... how 'bout your wife?
What about your co-workers? People you interact with regularly? Family members? Neighbors? Would any of these people say that, without a doubt, you're on mission with God!
That's what it means to be missional. To be on mission with God. To live your life with the same mindset of Jesus. To interact with the culture all around you. To share what you know about God with other people. To befriend people you're not suppose to be seen with. Like Jesus with the Samaritan Woman. To enjoy life with those closest to you. To become all things to all men that you might win a few, like our brother Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22 "To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."
Who was the last person you became like to see them come to know Christ? Have you ever done it? What keeps us from becoming like men to see them saved? Is it our traditions... our convictions... or maybe our personalities. Is it fear of what people might say about us? What would people say if they saw us talking with a Samaritan... Drinking a beer with a tax-collector... or traveling with a motley crue of men like the apostles! Might they say what they said of Jesus - a drunkard and a glutton, and a friend of sinners (oh my!). I'm sure Zacheus and his buddies were glad Jesus chose missional over traditional.
The point is, people are gonna find something negative to say about you anyway, so don't fear what might be said of you as you live your life on mission with God. What matters is that the Lord is pleased. What matters is that your wife is loved and hugged. What matters is that your kids have a Dad who loves them and laughs often with them. What matters is that you wear the coat of Christ well as his ambassador. So go out and engage the culture God has planted you in.
As we part, I'll leave you with a quote from Mark Driscoll from his book 'Radical Reformission'
"Reformission Christians and churches exist to perpetuate the gospel
and should be swift to change their cultural forms if they are not the
most beneficial for achieving that goal. Reformission churches have to
continually examine and adjust their musical styles, websites, aesthetics,
programming, and just about everything but their Bibles in an effort to
effectively communicate the gospel to as many people as possible in the
cultures around them."
If you choose not to be missional, you'll soon find yourself detached from the world around you and influencing few to none like the birdhouse church above!
Click here to read a good article on what a missional church is.
