What Mission?

When you hear the word "Mission" in any church context what comes to mind? Missionaries in a foreign country country, teaching others about the Gospel of Jesus, right? That's what I thought. I looked at it like the people here, "us," would go to a people over there, "them," and teach them about Jesus. In one sense this is true, but it is not the truth about the mission of the church...missionaries are simply one expression of it.

Somehow we have accepted the idea that the mission of the church is to go on missions. Now one of the ways we express the mission of the church is to go on mission, but that is not "THE" mission of the church. Enough use of the mission word already?

The mission of the church is what Jesus told us to do as followers. Jesus said:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." Matthew 28:19(a)

Jesus did not say go on a mission trip, He said to go and make disciples - that is the mission of the church. The where, when, and how are up to you. Our response to Jesus, and to the Great Commission, is to "GO" and make disciples. When we think this means to go on a mission trip, we are omitting all that we have been asked, and if we are not careful we can turn the Great Commission into the great omission.

The difference between being on mission and going on a mission trip is all about choices. One can choose to go on a mission trip to accomplish some sense of fulfilling a missionary part of the Christian life, or one can become missional and live each day on mission, right where you are. God has you where you are for a reason, be on mission there, and if the opportunity presents itself go on a mission trip as well...that is a life changing experience I will save for another post. All the while, wherever you go make making disciples the goal.

...just sayin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

Faith NO More

What is faith? How does one get it? Does faith come in quantity amounts? How much faith does one need? These are all good questions, and do not necessarily demonstrate a lack of faith. But faith seems to be in short supply these days, and as a matter of fact, I think that if faith were a commodity, it would be in short supply: more precious than gold, impossible to find, and sought after by the masses. 

The Bible says that "any" faith is all that it takes, but we live in such a comparison based society,everything is viewed on a scale as compared to someone else. Look at this passage, and what Jesus says about the required quantity of faith:

He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20 

So when it is all said and done, it seems that quantity is not really what faith is all about. Now if quantity does not matter, then it has to be about position. What I mean is that faith is not about whether or not you have any, but all about where you are putting the faith that you have. I believe every single person has faith. So instead of the church verses the world chanting about who has more or less faith, maybe it is time we start to focus less on how much we have, and more on where we put it, and that place is in Jesus Christ.

You picking up what I 'm putting down?

...just askin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

LORDSHIP

What does Lord mean? I am not asking what it means to you, but what does the word mean? Let's chat about this...LINK

Lord:

1. : one having power and authority over others: (Merriam Webster Online Dictionary)

To most people the term Lord, is just a religious term that Christians use to identify and "name" their God. It's what they "call" Him. This is true, but the term "Lord" is not a name, and is not some term of endearment used to identify our God. First, like the definition stated, the term "Lord" is a position or title, and not a proper name. We need to understand the term before we can associate how it is being used, right? 

The biggest problem is not so much the definition, but the proclamation. Christians proclaim Jesus as "Lord of Lords" and "King of Kings". Christians or followers of Christ also say that Jesus is the "Lord" of their life. By these proclamations Christians are saying that Jesus is the all powerful ruler over all things, period...Amen?!

So I have to ask you something about this term "Lord", when it comes to your personal Christianity and your profession of faith as a Christian(if you have made one). What "power" or "authority" does Jesus have over you? Or maybe the better question might be, "Where is the Lordship of Jesus evident in your life?" Well...

Do you know what a proclamation without proof is? Nothing, just like any number multiplied by zero equals zero. No wonder people look at so many Christians as hypocrites. We proclaim Jesus to claim His blessings, to be our Savior, and yet live a life with little to no difference to the life before the proclamation. And we wonder why no one comes to church when we invite them? Really??

Maybe most people struggle with Jesus as their Lord, because they have never submitted to having Jesus as their Lord. I ask you to re-think something: consider the words you are using to describe your Savior, and act on them. It is not about making Jesus your Lord and Savior...He already is. The only question is whether or not you have recognized it: SUBMIT to Jesus as our Lord and Savior, by recognizing who He is, and what He has already done...and give Him Lordship of your life. It is the way we make an invisible God visible to those who do not believe He exists.

...just sayin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

Windbreaker Weather?

So you are at your favorite sporting event that started mid-afternoon on a hot day, when all of a sudden the weather changes. You find yourself in sweatshirt/jacket weather and all you have is a windbreaker! Uncomfortable yes, but probably not life-threatening. Everyone would agree that should we be in a life-threatening situation, that the better prepared we are, the better the chance for a good outcome. This is the same with your faith.

Life is tough, unpredictable, and it is not to practical walk around with back-packs of survival gear on all the time. But none of us would wear a windbreaker on an Arctic adventure, right? Unfortunately, I believe that most people are carrying a windbreaker faith into our lives that all too often have extreme weather ahead. It would be great if we could carry all that we needed physically, with us all the time, we can't, but we can when it comes to our Spiritual needs...we REALLY can.

"and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us," Ephesians 3:19, 20 ESV

Paul is saying that we can live a Spiritual life filled with the "fullness of God", beyond what we could ask for or think according to what? He tells us we can do this with the "power" that is at work within us: the Holy Spirit. A power that is there for the taking...that's right, taking. You have to physically do something to take it, and not just wish it into your life. Funny thing is that this taking is all about letting go. The promised Holy Spirit is available, but He is available if and when we make the room.

Our Spiritual "backpacks," if you will, are stuffed full of stuff we think we need, and there is room for little else. Unless we dump the junk, where do you think the Holy Spirit will fit into our lives? The Holy Spirit does not move upon invitation, just as Jesus does not become your Savior upon invitation, He already is the Savior waiting for you to respond to who He already is and what He already did, and the Holy Spirit is waiting for you to recognize that need.

The Holy Spirit will never fill a gap or hole or need until we recognize that we have one in the first place.

...just sayin' 

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

What Are You Looking At?!

Focus is everything. What you focus is on, is where you go. As the father of a brand new 16-year-old driver, I am reminded of how important focus is, and how easily we allow ourselves to get distracted. Remember what a pay phone was (that’s right “was”)? It is a thing of the past, useless to most because we have cell phones.

Everything is immediate, and not because it is necessary, but because it is convenient (because we can). We don’t need to focus ahead anymore because everything happens right now! As I watch my young driver, I tell her (way more than she wants, I know) over and over and over, that her life may depend on her focus. Every person reading this would agree that focused driving avoids accidents and saves lives. Then why are accidents one of the top ten causes of death in the United States? Because most people believe it will happen to “someone else”.

It is the same about our faith. We all desire salvation…to be “saved”, and most would say that they do what is necessary to get it. Most people live a faith life like they drive a car, and do just what they need to avoid accidents or tickets, right? Is that really safe, and does that guarantee they will get where they are going? As I look to my teenage driver, I am reminded not of how she needs to drive, but also about how I am driving. And with my faith, I can no longer simply think that I am good with my salvation, and only the “someone else” needs worry about all that hell stuff, right?

¹ “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

Change what you are focusing on, and it will change the direction you are heading. Our faith lives should be lived out focused on the “then” of eternity, which will change the “now” of our behavior.

…just sayin’

In His grip,

Pastor Pat