GENEralities

Mission has been on my mind lately. I’ve been challenged by three very different, even unlikely, sources.

The first was the movie, Saving Private Ryan. The way the word “mission” was used in it really impressed me (as did the film). The mission for that little group of men was all. Nothing, not fear, the risk of maiming, or even death, was to get in its way. Their job was to find Private Ryan and save him whatever the cost. Now that’s a mission.

Compare that with the situation in many of our comfortable Canadian churches where mission has become nothing but a vague, doing-good, being-nice sort of thing. Certainly nothing to risk anything over.

The second challenge came in General Colin Powell’s autobiography, My American Journey (Random House, 1995). During the 8 weeks of basic training at the beginning of his military career he learned this about leadership: “The mission is primary, followed by taking care of your soldiers.”

Many Canadian churches have reversed that priority (including much of my own denomination, I fear). We have made taking care of our soldiers (our members) primary. Our mission is vague, if articulated at all, and is very much in second place.

The third challenge was delivered by South East Asian Anglican Archbishop Yong Ping Chung when he visited St Barnabas recently. He said this:

when we have no vision for our churches, we can have no mission, when we have no mission we just sit and sit and sit.

So. Some questions to ask ourselves as churches and followers of Jesus. What is our mission and are we prepared to carry it out whatever the cost? Is our mission primary? How are our back-sides, numb from endless sitting?

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