EXPOSE | The greatest mission of all
“We’re on a mission from God.” – Elwood Blues, The Blues Brothers
EXPLORE | Our mission, if we choose to accept it
I had recently come across a documentary on John Belushi. For the young, and uneducated, John was part of the cast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) back when, many will say, they were actually funny.
A big part of John’s life was his portrayal of Jake Blues, half of the ‘brother’ duo, The Blues Brothers. He and Dan Aykroyd first created the characters Jake and Elwood Blues as a skit and occasional musical act on SNL. Following the popularity of that recurring role, they released an album, and soon after hit the big screen with The Blues Brothers.
Early in the movie, they are inspired to raise money to save the orphanage they grew up in, and set out to “get the band back together.” As part of the inspiring speech they used to recruit former band members to join them, older brother Elwood used the now classic line : “We’re on a mission from God.”
For a number of years growing up, I had thought that the only “mission from God” was being a missionary. Really, who else could actually say that?
To hear a missionary tell their story, it seems almost unreal–like Indiana Jones without the whip. Against significant odds and defying logic, they leave comfort and familiarity to sacrifice, sometimes for many years, to more often than not realize little or no gains in utter obscurity. There would be no other reason to go unless you were called by God to do so.
While missionaries are certainly on a mission from God, He does not call everyone to the mission field.
In fact, I went as far as telling a missionary that it would be harder for me to stay in the states, than go to a foreign land as a missionary.
But he wasn’t just a missionary. He was the professor of my missions class during my time at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. In a term paper on missions, in a class on missions, led by a veteran of the mission field, I told my professor that I thought it would be much more of a challenge for me to stay stateside than to serve on a mission field.
Fortunate for me, he was not a violent person, and, he read past my opening premise to understand what I meant by my bold, even somewhat irreverent, claim.
Thank you Dr. Calenberg.
However, just because you’re not a missionary, doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. As I’ve learned since turning in that term paper on missions, staying stateside in no way excuses us from living a life on mission. Everyone called by God has a mission–if we choose to accept it.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Romans 10:14
I like the way Romans 10:14 provides a good description of the “why and what” of being on a mission from God. For someone to know the truth, to begin pursuing wisdom, they need to be introduced to God.
EXECUTE | Living a life on mission
The life of a missionary is right in line with what our life should look like if we’re on mission. While there are a number of things we could learn from the lives of missionaries, I wanted to provide a tighter framework for us to consider this based on specific recommendations from missionaries and their time on the mission field.
Rock what you got
Whereas wisdom is not just having understanding, but doing right by what we know, so too it is with our gifts. Knowing what gifts that God has given us individually to do His work is only half of the equation. We also need to exercise them. The mission cannot be accomplished unless we actually use our gifts. Skyler Womack, former Minister of Missionary Care at Houston’s First Baptist Church, highlights three sections of Scripture that provide a deeper look:
- Motivational gifts – Romans 12
- Ministry gifts – 1 Corinthians 12-14
- Equipping gifts – Ephesians 4
Having identified your gifting, you will begin to see where those gifts could be put to work.
Appropriate risk and courage
Group Mission Trips conducted a survey to discover what people had learned from their mission trips, and what had “continued to guide and shape their lives years later.” What was reinforced in their findings was that “people learned they could trust God by taking risks. When people take risks in obedience, God demonstrates His power.”
Living on mission will absolutely include risks. Necessary risks, that will demonstrate God’s power and require His strength. Dwell on what God says in Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Find common ground
Given the popularity, even sport, of making the most of our differences, it can be challenging to consider finding where we might agree. Moving forward together, will not begin until we are able to find agreement on at least the broader need.
“…even in the midst of a sharp disagreement, we’ll often find we share genuine concerns and commitments despite our divergent solutions or conclusions.”
Bruce Ashford, senior fellow in Public Theology at the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology (Cambridge, U.K.)
It is worth the effort, as we may find that either we agree on more than we thought, or, that we are more in line with one another on issues that truly matter.
Come along side
Skyler Womack, in his article 5 Lessons I’ve Learned From Missionaries, highlights a key phrase he heard repeatedly from missionaries: come along side. In addition to it expressing humility, he says that it “also displays how missionaries are not on the mission field to swoop in and try to fix everything.” I’ve coined the phrase do our best, to be our best, to offer our best. After all, it is what we put into life, not what we get out of it. This puts is in a mindset of going about being prepared to do what we can to help. Finding out how God has gifted you is intended for you to “come along side” to help, not to be the hero.
Don’t be distracted by outcomes
As we approach what God presents us each day in humility, we will be less likely to be distracted by performance. We’re not on mission to get results. We’re called, gifted, and courageously take appropriate risks to see that God accomplishes what He desires. We know He wins the war, but that doesn’t mean He’ll choose for us to win every battle.
Stay fueled
Being on mission is going to take a lot out of us. God not only commands that we honor the Sabbath, a day of rest, but intends for us to be instructed, directed, revived and inspired through daily prayer and Bible reading. As one missionary, who spent 20 years in Southeast Asia describes it, “the simple reality is this: God has invited me to walk alongside him, to know him, to see what he’s up to, and join him in this epic redemptive plan of salvation. I need to be nourished. I need reminding of God’s presence and promises.”
As I alluded to in that missions term paper so many years ago, though we may not be called to leave this country for a foreign land, we have no less a challenged to live our lives like that of a missionary, because we too are “on a mission from God.”
Further reading:
5 lessons I’ve learned from missionaries
3 things American citizens can learn from Christian missionaries
10 life lessons learned on missions trips
10 things I’ve learned in my last 20 years of missionary work in Asia
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash