[This post is part of the A.P.E. Theology series. Read the rest of the posts here!]
One of the key theological foundations in the missional conversation involves the concept of the missio Dei, or “mission of God.” It is God who has a mission to set things right in a broken world—to redeem and restore it to what was always intended.
Therefore, mission is not a program of the church. It is not something we invent. Mission is not something we initiate. Instead mission flows directly from the nature and purposes of a missionary God. It is not that the church has a mission; it is that God’s mission has a church. In other words, it is God’s mission, and the church is an instrument created by God to be sent into the world to join in his mission. This is a complete “game-changer” in several ways, but for now lets consider one.
A missio Dei perspective should challenge the church to rethink mission. Most congregations view missions as one activity among many other equally important functions of the church. Therefore, the missions program is seen alongside that of worship, small groups, women’s ministries, youth and children’s ministry, etc. When a church views missions in this way, the job of the mission committee is to determine where the missions’ budget should be spent, rather than seeing that everything the church does should be inform by God’s mission.
When the church begins to define itself as an agent of God’s mission, it will begin to organize every activity of the church around the missio Dei. Mission becomes the organizing principle, which means that mission goes beyond being some sort of optional activity for the church. But instead God’s mission is seen as
“the organizing axis of the church. The life of the church revolves around it. This is not to say that we don’t do corporate worship, develop community, and make disciples, but that these are catalyzed by and organized around the mission function. Only in this way can we be truly missional. Merely adding serving events or special outreach days to our church schedules will not develop missional people nor make a missional church.”[i]
Begin asking how would certain programs or activities of the church change if informed by God’s mission? How might small groups operate differently if shaped by God’s mission? How would the corporate teaching of Scripture be different? How might worship change?
[i] Hirsch and Ford, Right Here Right Now, 67.
[This post is part of the A.P.E. Theology series. Read the rest of the posts here!]
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Thank you for articulating the change in perspective that I’ve been wrestling with recently; that from seeing missions as a program of the church to the purpose of the church. Could you please share some of your thoughts answering your follow up questions about how this change in perspective would affect the church on a daily basis? Thanks!
I think it could/should bring about change in every activity and program of the church. For example, we can ask how would a missio Dei perspective or theology change the way we think and do small groups in the church? Well if God’s mission inform/catalyzed/organized our small groups, then they would not begin with community and discipleship (which is the attempted focus of most small groups, even though I think we could argue if genuine community and discipleship really take place in most small groups) but would instead begin with mission. That is the main difference between a typical small group and what I would call a missional community. Community and discipleship still takes places but it flows in/through/around mission, or better yet, it flows from participating in God’s mission.
Quote from the above statement:
“It is not that the church has a mission; it is that God’s mission has a church”.
Amen.
Therefore, my take on it is to get closer to God.
Even in my church, I see that we strive to follow “ALL” of the rules of God, but we fail to to read, listen and respond to what he tells us, and that is the reason we do not understand how to really connect with Him. And if you don’t connect with Him, you cannot worship and praise Him.
Rich………..