Redeemer Family,
In this next installment of this series of writings on what it means to be missional, I’d like to make the case that Missional Presence is not one of many ways to be missional as a Christian, it’s actually the only healthy way.
What I mean, is that alternative forms of “mission” are not simply different strategies to accomplish the same general Christian goals, but rather are deeply harmful to the work of God in the world. Consider how these alternatives play out in the three normative approaches to mission:
FORTIFICATION
In this paradigm, “mission” is primarily defensive in nature. Christian withdraw from society and start their own businesses, schools, institutions, etc. in order to protect themselves from being polluted by the world. Mission is the work of attracting/inviting outsiders to cross our boundaries and enter the goodness within Christian communities.
Emotional Motives: Fear, control, judgment, purity, pride, desire to be left alone.
Mission Activities: Invitation, personal evangelism, establishing new Christian institutions.
What it sounds like: Us vs Them. Us = good, them = bad.
What it gets right: Rightly perceives the corruption of the world and rightly seeks the purity of the Church.
What it gets wrong: Wrongly views God as against the world, therefore wrongly understands the Church to be against the world, therefore wrongly retreats from the world.
Where it does harm: Abandons neighbors to struggle on their own and deforms Christians to simultaneously fear their neighbor, look down on their neighbor and to overestimate their own goodness. In this way, Fortification-style missions actively undermine the Gospel in people’s lives by implicitly assuming that outsiders need the grace and mercy of God more than insiders. The longer people live and practice their faith in Fortification ecosystems, the less they become like Jesus.
ACCOMODATION
In this paradigm, “mission” is primarily passive in nature. Not passive in a “do nothing” sense, but passive in that there is nothing distinctly Christian about its work. In this model, Christians seek to blend in and team up with non-Christians in humanist projects. Mission is anything that makes the world a better place.
Emotional Motives: Fear, insecurity, pride, desire to be liked.
Mission Activities: Advocacy, focus on the hot-button topics of the day, we care about whatever our neighbors care about.
What it sounds like: If our church suddenly went away, would our city/neighbors miss us?
What it gets right: Rightly is implicated in the needs of neighbors and rightly moves outwards towards others for the common good.
What it gets wrong: Wrongly underestimates the corrupting nature of sin in the world and wrongly overestimates the possibility of enacting long-term good without the peculiarity of the Christian faith.
Where it does harm: Abandons neighbors to their own idols and deforms Christians to redefine “love” as “whatever makes other people feel loved.” The definition of good “mission” is displaced from the Bible and relocated to the hearts and minds of neighbors who disbelieve the Bible. Over time, this forms Christians into unstable, easily swayed people who are held hostage to other people’s impression of them. The longer people live and practice their faith in Accomodation ecosystems, the less they become like Jesus.
DOMINATION
In this paradigm, “mission” is primarily aggressive in nature. Mission-work is thought of as “front-line” work. Missionaries are often referred to as “troops” that are sent into “battle.” In this model, Christians strive to advance the Kingdom of God by winning converts and changing culture.
Emotional Motives: Fear, control, anger, desire to be right / to win.
Mission Activities: Door to door evangelism, short-term missions trips, colonialism, political warfare, seeking places of political power in order to push through “Christian” moral agendas.
What it sounds like: Taking ground, winning souls, entering the fray (lots of sports and military metaphors).
What it gets right: Rightly perceives the corrupting evil of sin in the world and rightly moves outward into every nook and cranny of life.
What it gets wrong: But wrongly identifies non-Christians as enemies and non-Christian culture as inherently wicked and therefore worthy of destruction. Wrongly assumes that they are God’s agents to bring about His kingdom in the world, by force if necessary.
Where it does harm: Antagonizes non-Christians by engaging them as spiritual and cultural enemies. This inculcates fear and anger, in ever-increasing measures, into Christians. Domination-style missions actively undermine the Gospel in people’s lives by making the Gospel either: 1) A product that is exported to people who didn’t ask for it, or 2) a symbol of the “rightness” of our tribe of people. The longer people live and practice their faith in Domination ecosystems, the less they become like Jesus.
*CONFESSION: Before I move on to our fourth, and true, invitation to mission, let me confess something to you. At times, and in various ways, I actually practice all three of the above approaches to mission. I have the tendency to pull back and seek refuge in the safety of people who are just like me. I have the tendency to care WAY too much about what other people, especially non-Christians, think about me. I have the tendency to move out into the world to win, to conquer, to “take ground.” Folks, I have a long, long way to go on this. I have an embarrassing amount of unlearning to do. I wish I could be a better role model for our parish in this way, but I’m not there yet. Please pray for me.
*REFLECTION: I wonder, as you reflect on the three paradigms above, to which one are you most naturally drawn? Which one seems “most right” and which one seems “most wrong?” If any of the assessments above makes you feel angry or anxious, pause for a moment and ask yourself “why?”
INCARNATION
In this paradigm, the goal is to closely examine the life of Jesus and seek to define mission as patterning our own lives after His. In some ways this makes mission far more simple, but in other ways it becomes far more complex. On the simplicity side, mission is essentially embodying the presence of Christ everywhere we go. Mission is simply - the way I show up in every situation - bringing with me the presence of Jesus in His Holy Spirit who dwells within me. On the complexity side, mission becomes more complicated because it involves all of me and all of my life instead of some of me and some of my life. Do I have a “Christian hat” that I put on or take off in different situations, or am I truly living a spiritual integrated life? Which is to say, a sacramental life in Christ.
Emotional Motives: Love, compassion, grief, joy, amazement, surprise
Mission Activities: Presence = showing up with your whole self, allowing yourself to be interrupted, sacrifice, mercy, healing, teaching, rebuking, feeding, etc.
What it sounds like: Curiosity towards the other. What story are you in? Who are you? Where do you belong? How will you change? Where do you live? What is your purpose? How will you love?
What it gets right: Missional presence invites the Christian to be more deeply formed by the Gospel, creating an ongoing formation cycle of Gospel Formation for Missional Presence in which people are transformed (metamorphosized) into the new creation God is making them to be.
What it gets wrong: If practiced according to the Bible, then nothing. However, if attempted with willpower instead of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, then it will lead to exhaustion and frustration. You cannot will yourself to be more like Jesus.
Where it does harm: Again, if practiced Biblically, empowered by the Holy Spirit, then this is deeply restorative, not harmful. It is a form of mission that heals instead of hurts.
Redeemer family, as we continue to consider our call to bear the missional presence of Jesus to our families, our workplaces, and the city of Richmond, I hope that we are beginning to sense that this invitation is not a heavy burden. It is not a cumbersome call to do more and be more, but rather a light, airy, freeing call that allows us to leave behind harmful approaches to Christian mission and embrace a healthier way, the way of Jesus.
Of course, that is not to say that the light burden is easier. It is, in many ways, far more costly. But it is better - better for our neighbors and better for ourselves.
Let’s allow the perfect love of Christ to cast out fear (1 John 4:18) so that we might move out into the world motivated by His love for us and for our neighbors.
In the Father’s love,
