This week in the first sermon in the Acts series, Pastor Mark talked about how we’re empowered specifically for Jesus’ mission, not ours. In this post, Pastor Dave expands on why it’s so important that the church body is all on the one mission of Jesus.
A church quality-control ministry?
I have some pressure points as a pastor. If you want to frustrate me (and please don’t, but if you did really want to make me angry, hypothetically) put these two words together: “my” and “ministry.” Talk a lot about “my ministry.” Because I don’t see it in the Bible.
Once at Mars Hill Albuquerque, we had a couple come through the doors, and their first Sunday went really well. They were appreciative and communicative and said, “We’ll be back.” And they came back. But as they came back, there began a pattern of every time they came, whatever they came to, I would get an email of constructive criticism.
Now, constructive criticism is helpful—we always want to be open to the things that we can do better—but this couple would come to a worship service and give criticism pertaining to how we could adjust sound volumes, how we could do seating better, how announcements could flow better, just every little detail.
As they began to get involved in a Community Group I was told, “Here’s all the things that are wrong with our Community Group. Here’s what you need to do in the realm of Community Group ministry to make it better. And here’s what’s really wrong with our Community Group leader.” Then they began to pray about being involved in the Redemption Groups ministry. They went to an informational session, and they began to tell us everything that was wrong in our Redemption concepts. What we were doing that was too much, and what we were doing that was too little.
The church’s one mission is the one that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are on: to redeem a lost world, to save sinners, to transform sinners into saints.
About that time, I began to notice this trend—I’m slow, I realize that—so I asked to meet with the couple. I said, “Let’s talk about this. It seems like you’re just not real happy here. Let’s talk about how things are going. You’re welcome to be constructive, you’re welcome to offer criticism as long as you’re deeply invested and you’re willing to be an answer to the problem.”
The husband looked me in the eye and said, “You don’t understand my ministry.”
Uh-oh, here we go. My blood began to boil. “Really, tell me about your ministry.” (I didn’t say it like that.) He explained that Jesus had called him and his wife to go to all the different churches here in our city, to be in different aspects of their ministry, and to help them figure out the things they’re doing wrong so that they might correct them.
“Wow. Really?” I explained to them that I’d never seen any sort of “church quality-control ministry” as a gift in the Bible, and that as we look through the pages of Scripture, we don’t see any Spirit-filled “secret shoppers” who go churches to try the products. I invited the couple to stop this ministry of theirs and to consider that it wasn’t from Jesus. As to be expected, they left a week later.
Different roles, one mission
The church’s one mission is the one that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are on: to redeem a lost world, to save sinners, to transform sinners into saints, those are set apart for God, those who worship God. You and I may have different roles to play in this mission, but it’s his mission, not ours. The mission belongs to him.
Jesus says this most clearly to his disciples in Matthew 28. He says, as you go into the world, “Go into the world, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And teaching them to obey everything that I’ve taught you.”
You have no ministry, nor do I, apart from this mission of Jesus. If Christians are going to live out the unity that Jesus wants us to have, then all of us—all of us, all of us without exception—are missionaries on mission with Jesus.
We live in a culture where a lot of our individualism has bled into the way we look at church. If you went out today and asked people about their service to the church, so many of us would want to look at our service along the lines of, “What does the church do for me and my self-fulfillment?” We need to be careful to not communicate that what’s most important is that you find a meaningful place that serves you well; rather, the biblical question is, “Is the church served well?” The difference there is important.
Don’t miss out on mission
Some of you today are missing out on the gift of unity that Jesus wants us to enjoy together because you’re not on mission. You’re pursuing your own individual agenda. You’re about your ministry, and your ministry has nothing to do ultimately with the mission of Jesus. It’s his mission, and the church body’s mission collectively. I want you to turn from that sin because that’s exactly what it is. It’s a selfish sin.
I want you to turn from that sin, and I want you to come, and I want you to be involved. Be a member. If you know Jesus and you’re in a Community Group, commit to being a member of Mars Hill Church. Because you know who members are at Mars Hill Church? They’re missionaries. Community is important in the Bible, and its purpose is mission. And as we look at mission as a strategy, we do mission in community.
So get involved—you can jump right in. There are opportunities regularly for you to become a member. Talk to anybody you want to this week. I don’t want you just to feel guilty about not having been involved, because Jesus has forgiven your sin, so turn to Jesus and be involved. Our members are missionaries, and we’re experiencing together the most incredible adventure anyone can ever experience.
United in him we stand
Jesus is showing up in a big way and he invites you to join in. We want you to join in with us because there’s great joy and excitement about being on mission together with Jesus.
Jesus had a perfect relationship with the Father, who is aligned with the Holy Spirit, and they still are today in missional unity. And they invite you in to their unity, to be on mission with Jesus.
Will you? Jesus loves his church, and Jesus gifts his church with unity. We experience unity on a doctrinal basis, and we experience unity as Jesus would have us do so, on a missional basis.
This post is adapted from Pastor Dave’s sermon, “Jesus Unifies His Church,” part 4 of last summer’s series, Jesus Loves His Church.
