Five Practices: Risk-Taking Mission and Service

Matthew 25:40

⁴⁰And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”

• Five Practices Series
  • Third week of the series.
  • We’ve looked at
    • Radical Hospitality
      • More than a handshake and a smile.
      • Saying “Yes!” to God’s invitation in our personal lives
        • Not just at the point of salvation but for each and every day
        • Every day that we are given, we have an opportunity to say yes or no to God, and that decision could very well be an important turning point in our lives.
      • Does not end with ourselves.  RH extends beyond ourselves and into the local congregation.
        • A congregation that practices RH is one that creates a welcoming, inviting, loving environment where people can feel the love of God, perhaps for the first time.
        • We were all once welcomed to the faith, and we should strive to welcome others into the faith.
        • We are not inviting people to our church, we are inviting them to the kingdom of God.
    • Intentional Faith Development
      • Being intentional about our faith development means that we have a plan, a purpose, a reason in the things that we do to develop our faith.
      • Some characteristics of people who are intentional about their faith development.
        • Commitment to overcoming obstacles
        • Invest themselves in Scripture reading
        • Cultivate their spiritual life, don’t expect to be spoon-fed
        • Teach others
        • Always learning and growing in the faith
        • Do so in the context of community
      • Jesus taught his disciples as part of a community; the early church was formed in the midst of community; and effective disciple-making happens in community.
  • Why Five Practices?
    • These practices have been observed as things that vibrant, thriving congregations do.
    • We are looking at them as a way of challenging us to think about our faith and how we approach fulfilling our collective call to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ and our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
    • If we want to be a church that is thriving and relevant in this community, then these are things that we need to do to reach others, bring them to the kingdom of God, and transform them into disciples of Jesus Christ.
  • Today, we are looking at a third practice: Risk-Taking Mission and Service
• Why Mission and Service?
  • The Question
    • The biggest question we have to look at, before we even get started on this practice, is, “Why?”
      • Why should we even bother?
        • To take our time to reach beyond our world to serve other people?
        • To expend our energy helping people that probably don’t deserve it in the first place?
      • Why should we reach out to others in mission and service, and what difference is it going to make anyway?
    • I know I’m automatically a horrible person for even voicing the question, but let’s face it, it’s a question that we all have thought about from time to time.
    • I want to start off by giving some reasons, and then telling a little story to help illustrate it.
  • Some reasons why people serve others.
    • First, some people engage in mission and service out of a sense of duty, obligation and responsibility.
      • Imagine what your life would look like if God called you to do something, and you did it without question.
      • We would like to think that we do that already, but, let’s be honest with ourselves, we kind of like guiding our own lives.
      • We set up our world around us in small, manageable pieces.  It’s comfortable, and we like it.
      • We don’t necessarily want to be disturbed.  But God doesn’t just leave us to our comfortable, self-created world.
      • Last I checked, God was the one who created our world, and to live our lives in perfect obedience to Him would be something to see.
      • Complete and utter trust in the Lord is what is needed, and we have a hard time with that because we can’t always see as far ahead as God does.
      • Some people, however, have gotten to the point in their lives where they can completely and utterly trust in the Lord, and when He calls them to do something, they do it.
    • Second, helping others contributes to the fabric of society.
      • When it is all said and done, we aren’t all that different from one another.  We have to rely on one another to make it through this world.
      • Deep within, we have an impulse to help others because that’s what is best for society.
      • On a very large scale, we are all interdependent upon those around us.
      • We may not like governmental programs that help people because they contribute to our debt as a nation, but on some level we recognize the need to help those who cannot help themselves.
      • We see examples of this in Scripture.
        • Some day, when you are really looking for something exciting to do, read the book of Leviticus.
        • There is a lot in there that talks about how we relate to one another.
        • It may seem like a bunch of boring laws that don’t make any sense, but at its core, it is a book about how we relate to God and to one another.
    • Third, serving others gives us some kind of personal satisfaction.
      • It sounds a little selfish to say it like this, but serving others can make you feel good.
      • Some people get satisfaction in their lives by helping others.
    • These are not the only reasons why people serve others, but they certain cover a lot of the reasons.
      • The Holy Spirit can work through us when we put ourselves in positions to help others, and they can see the love of God through the things that we do.
      • In spite of these reasons, we still have a question to answer: In the end, will it really make a whole lot of difference?
  • Starfish on the shore
    • Perhaps a story will help illustrate
    • There once was a man who used to walk the beach in the mornings.
    • One day, early in the morning, he saw a young boy working very hard to throw the starfish back into the ocean.
    • He asked, “What are you doing, young man?”
    • The boy responded, “I’m throwing starfish back into the ocean.  The sun is coming up and the tide is going out.  If I don’t throw them back into the ocean, they’ll die.”
    • The man said, “Don’t you know that there are miles of beach with starfish all along the way?  You can’t possibly make a difference!”
    • The young man bent down, picked up a star fish and threw it into the ocean.  Then he looked at the man and said, “I made a difference to that one.”
  • We’ll never be able to solve all the world’s problems, but with just a little bit of effort, we can make a difference for one person.
• Why Risk-Taking?
  • We’ve talked about the importance of the adjectives in the practices, so why is “risk-taking” used here?
  • In a lot of places, mission and service simply mean writing a check or bringing something for the donation box.  It means doing something that we are comfortable doing.
  • While bringing a donation to the church or writing a check are good things, they are not risk-taking.  I’m not suggesting that we stop doing those things, but that we add to them.  I’m suggesting that we get our hands a little dirty.
  • Risk-Taking Mission and Service
    • Involves work that stretches people beyond their comfortable borders.
    • Means a higher degree of uncertainty, discomfort, resistance and sacrifice.
    • Causes people to do things for others that they never would have dreamed of doing if it were not for their relationship with Christ.
    • Anybody can make a donation, you don’t even have to be part of a church to make a donation.  Followers of Christ are asked to give all of themselves for the sake of the one who gave all of himself for us.
• What’s the difference between Mission and Service
  • Mission is using our energy and resources to serve outside the walls of the local congregation.
    • It has to do with how we interact with the community, the nation and the world.
    • It is outwardly focused.
  • Service is harnessing our energy and resources to serve within the local congregation.
    • We cannot neglect the fact that there are opportunities to serve within the local congregation as well.
    • On any given Sunday, there are a handful of people who are actively serving just to make sure that things go smoothly… well, relatively smoothly.
    • It is inwardly focused.
  • The outward and the inward focus are equally important in the life of a congregation.
• Characteristics of people who practice risk-taking mission and service
  • Follow the example of Jesus
    • They go to the places where we don’t “want” to go.
    • They minister to the people to whom we don’t “want” to minister.
    • They see people as individuals, not as objects, statistics or burdens.
  • Practice humility
    • They are not worried about who gets the credit.
    • Primary concern is that people see the love of God; that people are impacted for the better.
  • Don’t do it alone
    • Always in the context of the community of faith
    • Involve others in being the visible hands and feet of the grace of God.
  • Persistent
    • Push through, even when there are difficulties along the way
    • They are flexible if things do not go exactly as planned, as long as work is getting done for the kingdom of God.
    • There is a necessary consistency that has to happen in mission and service.
• The necessary consistency of mission and service
  • Nobody is a “natural” when it comes to serving outside of the walls of the congregation.
  • Being competent and effective in service and mission comes from consistent and sustained effort.
    • Begins with feeling incompetent and awkward; like there is no way that I’m ever going to be able to do this.  There will definitely be some nervousness and butterflies in the early stages.
    • Moves to practice, repetition and learning; this cycle is critical in mission and service.  Without it, it is impossible to incorporate mission and service into our lives.
    • Advanced stages of graceful and fruitful expression; this is where it starts to seem like it is natural.  It may take years before a person gets to this point, but once they are here, mission and service are second nature.  It becomes a critical part of their identity.
  • Those who make the biggest difference take the longest view.
    • Nothing of value, nothing that is great is accomplished in a short amount of time.
    • It takes a lot of time, dedicating oneself completely to the goal.  If you give up after a week, six weeks, or even six months, you’ve given up too soon.  You have to be committed to making a lasting impact in order to make a lasting impact.
• Critical nature of Risk-Taking Mission and Service in the local congregation
  • If even a small percentage of people in a congregation immerse themselves in significant mission and service, the general tenor of the congregation changes.
    • Conversations and priorities start to focus on what it takes to reach out to others, and ways to expand the reach of God in the local congregation.
    • The language of mission and service begins to take over to shape the actions of the congregation in the local community.
    • If we want to make a difference in the community, then we have to be involved in the community.
  • Acts of Risk-Taking Mission and Service are never strictly for the benefit of the congregation.
    • While it’s true that the congregation will benefit from mission and service, to take on a task solely as a means of “getting people in the door” is misguided.
    • Risk-Taking Mission and Service should be done to display the love of God and make a positive difference in the lives of people for the purposes of Christ, whether or not they will be a part of the faith community.
  • Without Risk-Taking Mission and Service, a congregation will not survive.
    • Risk-Taking Mission and Service is so vital to the life and health of a congregation, that one who fails to participate will lose sight of its mission and deteriorate.
    • Churches that are so inwardly focused that they do not make a footprint in the community will eventually die out.
      • They may limp along for several years, even decades, but eventually, they will cease to exist.
    • Vibrant, fruitful, growing congregations push beyond ordinary service and everyday missions to offer extraordinary opportunities for life-changing engagement with people.
• How is God calling us to Risk-Taking Mission and Service?
  • God’s call to mission and service is the place where “your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” – from Buechner’s Wishful Thinking
  • Ultimately, the practice of compassionate serve in Christ’s name grows from an interior decision, a spiritual reorientation where God speaks into our lives, and we are never different.
  • When we reach out in mission and service, we become mediators of God’s grace.  We become the hands and feet of Jesus in a world that is desperately crying out to him.
• Conclusion: How is God calling you to Risk-Taking Mission and Service?  What vision has He given you for your life?  Where does your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet?  The decision to take part in risk-taking mission and service is not easy.  It is a decision to step outside of the comfortable world that you’ve created for yourself.  But once you do step outside of that world, you begin to realize what God can do with somebody who is simply willing to stretch him/herself.  And you may never change the entire world, in fact, you probably won’t.  But for somebody, you may change their world, and that’s what risk-taking mission and service is all about.