Saturday, June 20, 2015

First Glance

Last week, I reminded us all that Life Bridge Christian Church is a "large project" that required blueprints, and it's true.  We cannot effectively reach out to the 33,000 residents of Valparaiso, Indiana or the 167,000 residents of Porter County without a plan.  Thankfully, God has one.  Jesus told us what it is.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV)

Jesus summarized and began an outline of the Old Testament for us.  He showed us that our objective is to live a life of love - with God first and all people (including ourselves, brothers and sisters, neighbors, and even enemies) equally.  This process is much like the slogan on the Othello game I've had since I was a child, "A Minute to Learn - A Lifetime to Master."  A life of love it is the only pursuit worthy of all our time, energy and effort to master.  It is a lifetime pursuing a walk together with God.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told us the other part of our mission.  You see, disciples are followers.  They learn the teachings of their master, and emulate them in their own lives.  Jesus was the only one who perfectly lived out this love for God and people.  We see this lived out in many ways and epitomized as he laid down his holy life for all people, even his enemies, in fulfillment of God's plan.  Jesus did whatever it took to empower people to walk together with God.  When he left, he passed this part of the mission along to us.  We are called to empower people to walk together with God.  That is our mission.

When the apostles and other disciples began living out this mission, it looked different in different places and times.  Ministries to the Jews had distinctives when compared to ministry to the Gentiles.  Cultural context required different ministries to men and women, slaves and free.  When we look closely, though, we find patterns that were the same across all cultural situations.  These patterns or principles, can be applied to our mission work even today.  The result will be a mission that is being lived out in our current culture, and yet will look like the same work that was carried out over 2,000 years ago.

Principle 1 - Remember what you are pursuing.
This principle must be first because it drives everything else we say and do.  When we think we are pursuing a large church, we will do whatever is necessary to make the church big.  When we pursue money, we will do whatever it takes to make the budget big.  When we pursue love, we will do whatever it takes to love God and people, overcoming any obstacle that gets in our way.  We can remember this principle by quoting Matthew 22 & 26, quoting a mission statement, or remembering a picture.  "The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame" (Genesis 2:25 NIV). This is a picture of Adam and Eve perfectly walking together with God - nothing hidden and nothing to hide.

Principle 2 - Join with others who pursue it.
This principle reminds us of the difference between the Church and the world.  The Church isn't about being a club and deciding who's out and who's in.  It's about pursuing God's mission for our lives together.  People determine for themselves whether they are out or in.  Those who are "in" pursue God's mission together as a team.  They function like a body.  They rely on one another like the foundation of a building.  Joining with others who are pursuing this mission builds energy and momentum.  It also helps when the attacks begin.  Remember, Jesus sent out his disciples two by two.  Many more than two would gather together to work toward this end.

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:41-47 NIV)

Principle 3 - Pursue it.
This seems a bit simple, but it is not.  Pursuing God's mission will be met with resistance.  Eleven of the twelve apostles were put to death for pursuing it and the twelfth was sentenced to isolation on the Isle of Patmos.  So many people died in this pursuit that it caused a second century apologist, Tertullian, to write, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church" (Apologeticus, Chapter 50).  Love for God and people must be the most important pursuit of our lives.  It is the only pursuit that will matter when we reach the end of this life.  The pursuit will take work.  The pursuit will take focus.  The pursuit will be a process even in our own lives.  But, as we live out the first two principles, our pursuit will not be alone.  We will help one another in this pursuit.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV)

This defines the Mission and Vision of Life Bridge.  We empower one more to walk together with God.  Together, we pursue God's perfect picture for our lives.  This gives us a blueprint for the foundation, anyway, of the church.  This is what people should see in us at first glance.

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:17-22 NIV)

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