Tag: mission

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Those Starting Churches

Lord of the Church,
Energize your people everywhere who are involved in planting a new church. Their ministry is both exciting and exhausting. To be used by you to reach out and connect with the lost and see the Holy Spirit’s work in bringing them to faith is one of the greatest rewards a Christian can experience. But it is also very hard work. Give believers in these settings a great measure of patience and perseverance. Fill them up with a steady diet of your Word so they are prepared and well-equipped to pass along your promises to others as they evangelize. Raise up solid leaders in their midst who are full of faith. Open doors to provide them with strong community relationships and a favorable reputation in their mission field. Infuse missionaries with an abundance of love, support, and encouragement to help protect them from burnout. Use their efforts to add many souls to your kingdom and lead them all to regularly celebrate your gracious work in and through them.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Your Peace to Fill the World

Prince of Peace,
You came into our world to bring peace. But the peace you came to bring doesn’t align with the kind of peace the world wanted you to bring. You brought peace between God and man; the world only cares about peace with the rest of mankind. Therefore, there will always be division. Nevertheless, we must continue to point others to you, for yours is the peace everyone needs. Make us bold to carry out your mission, even though we know it will result in division. Why? Because it will also result in salvation for many. Use me to fill the world with your peace.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Gospel Growth

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(Colossians 1:1-14)

We want to know if something is working. Depending on what it is, we have different metrics to help us determine whether or not it is. If a person has car trouble and either replaces a part or has the mechanic fix it, we’d expect to be able to tell because whatever sound or warning light used to be going on is no longer an issue. The plan you have in place to drop a few pounds should be able to be verified as working by the shrinking number on the scale. You can tell a certain product works if it delivers the results promised. We want to know if something is working, and there are ways for us determine if that’s the case.

Does it work the same way with the gospel? How do you tell if it’s working? On the one hand, if a person looks at the general moral compass of our country, they might determine that the gospel – and by extension, the churches responsible for proclaiming it – isn’t working. After all, how could so many call bad what God calls good, and call good what God calls bad? But because this is such a common occurrence, we might conclude that most churches today aren’t preaching the gospel. Because if they were, wouldn’t our society include more good people?

So are we looking at the wrong metrics? Expecting wrong or unrealistic results? How can we tell if the gospel – and the church proclaiming it – is working?

Let us be encouraged by the words of Paul, which are every bit as true today as they were the day he first wrote them to the Colossians. “The gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace” (v.6). The gospel grows. It bears fruit. That’s what it does. It’s what it has always done in the past and it’s what it will always do in the future. Where, though, does this growth happen? Here. There. Everywhere.

What do we know about Paul’s relationship with the Christians in Colossae? In addition to it being one of the letters he wrote while in prison, it was also somewhat unique in that Paul was writing to a church that he had not personally started or even visited. As Paul explained in verse seven, it was Epaphras who had started and pastored the church. And, according to the details of the rest of the letter, there was concern over a false teaching that was getting around and threatening the gospel which Epaphras had been responsible for preaching and teaching. 

What Paul was personally familiar with was the fruit the gospel was bearing in all of the places he had proclaimed it. The prolific church planter that he was, Paul had many Christians and congregations on his heart and mind at all times. Not only that, but as leaders were trained and equipped to keep the gospel ministry going, he received regular reports about gospel growth in so many places. So he knew firsthand about how the gospel was “bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world.”

And, Paul was excited that the same thing could be said about what the gospel was doing among and through the believers in Colossae. Paul wasn’t just trying to pump them up with encouraging reports coming in from all over, but also reminding them of the work that was happening in their midst ever since it had first reached them. Theirs was one of the churches Paul was celebrating. He had heard news of the obvious evidence of their faith in action and prayed that it would continue as their faith continued to grow. 

Do you know how much fruit the gospel is bearing all over the world today? Even if we focus just on the work we’re doing together in WELS, we see so many reasons to celebrate! This year we are celebrating that our church body has been carrying out gospel ministry for 175 years. This 175th Anniversary highlights that for almost 200 years, we have been establishing churches and schools as hubs for gospel ministry. In addition to the thousands of congregations and mission efforts across the United States, we are involved in mission efforts in about 50 countries, and currently looking into more than 15 possible new mission fields. Our world-wide ministry allows us to spread the gospel through digital and printed publications in other languages, providing medical aid and disaster relief, and even training future pastors through our seminaries in other countries. 

But, let’s not be too presumptuous that we assume the only gospel work God is doing throughout the world is through WELS. While we certainly desire to see the gospel preached and taught correctly and without any error – and rightly so! – we rejoice that the good news is delivered even when the “packaging” leaves much to be desired. In other words, even where this teaching or that teaching may not be inline with a given doctrine in Scripture, the good news of Jesus as the Savior from sin for all people is still made known. So yes, through WELS and other Christian churches, “the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world.”

And, as Paul wrote to the Colossians, so he could say to us: “just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” As we’ll celebrate very soon, God has been at work with his gospel in and through Shepherd of the Hills (SOTH) for sixty years! That is no small thing! 

What fruit would you point to evidence of God’s work? Paul provided a lengthy description of what gospel growth looks like. “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father…” (v.9b-12a). 

Where have we seen any of this at SOTH? How many eternal lives have been altered directly because of the gospel through our church and school? How many students have been trained and educated in Scripture through our school and the schools we support? How many have been wrapped up in Christ’s righteousness through baptism? How many struggling souls have been refreshed and restored after having received Jesus’ body and blood?  How many souls have been ushered across the finish line into eternal life while bearing the SOTH name? Will these blessings continue? They will if we keep the gospel front and center in all we do, because that’s what the gospel does: it grows. It bears fruit. Here. There. Everywhere. 

And, the gospel can bear fruit in unexpected ways – not just under our own roof, but also on the frontlines of ministry. Sometimes that fruit is born out of what might come across as failure. After carrying out gospel ministry in the Fallbrook area for fifty years through its church and school, our sister congregation in the last couple of years made the difficult decision to close the doors of its ministry. One could easily conclude that the gospel had become ineffective or was no longer bearing fruit. However, it appears that God is simply taking what he yielded from that gospel ministry to bear fruit in a new orchard.

From the financial assets of one ministry, our sister congregation has passed along the resources both to our congregation and to our church body to work together in expanding ministry around San Diego County. In addition to a substantial gift given to WELS for that purpose, the saints in Fallbrook also designated a gift to our own congregation to establish a plan for exploring mission work. We are currently working with our various mission planners to determine a plan for carrying out mission work in the Menifee area.

What could that look like? How could God bear fruit through that gospel ministry? How could it contribute to and collaborate with our existing congregations in Temecula and Wildomar, as well as our high school, CLHS, to bear fruit in gospel ministry? What will our role in that gospel effort be? While we may not have a clear picture just yet, we do have confidence that the gospel will bear fruit, because that’s what it does. It grows. It bears fruit. Here. There. Everywhere – including the potential mission field of Menifee!

We’ll keep after this if we continually remind ourselves of the power the gospel has in our lives and potentially in the lives of all who hear it. Remember who we are! “[The Father] has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (v.12b-14).

When we remember this, we don’t want to walk, but run with the gospel! When we rejoice that our doubts about how effective the gospel is and our complacency surrounding it have been cancelled and forgiven, we’re renewed and stirred! Why should we have this privilege? Because the Father qualified us through the work of his Son. Knowing that we belong to his kingdom of light, having been rescued from the darkness of unbelief, we want to expand that kingdom to include many others – here, there, everywhere!

How do we know if the gospel works? It’s simple. Open your eyes. It’s here. There. Everywhere. Bearing fruit all over. And it will continue to work and bear fruit, because that’s what it does – the gospel grows.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Worship to Spur on Ministry

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Use your Word and worship today to equip your people to carry out the mission of your church. Let worship serve to remind believers about the unique role the church serves in both growing and going. As we carry out our calling together, we use the same gospel to grow in our faith and to go bring others to faith. While your Holy Spirit does all the heavy lifting of converting souls and nurturing spiritual growth, he does that important work through us.

Since you send pastors and teachers to help prioritize that work and equip and train believers for it, lead many more to choose the path of public ministry so that our congregations and classrooms are not lacking in manpower. Raise up around them zealous disciples who are eager to work together in ministry and give focused attention to your mission of growing and going. Spur on your people all over the world to embrace the joyful privilege of ministry, to be faithful and diligent in carrying it out, and to fully trust in you for the results. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Ascending & Sending, Part 2: The Means

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(Acts 2:1-21)

“Turn around. Your sins have been let go.” That’s how we boiled down the message of our mission in part one. It was how we captured what Jesus meant when he told his disciples that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Lk. 24:47) and reminded them that they were witnesses, both having seen Jesus carry out the work he was sent to do, and now testifying to it as the mission is carried out. We tell others, “Turn around. Your sins have been let go.” 

It was ten days prior to the events in Acts 2 when Jesus ascended while blessing the disciples. It was at that time that he also sent the disciples on their mission. But he was not done sending. He wasn’t just sending them; there was another gift Jesus promised to send. “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Lk. 24:49). Now, on the day we call Pentecost (not some deeply significant theological designation, but which means “50”, as in fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection), Jesus was sending the very gift he promised: the Holy Spirit. 

If you had to guess where some monumental event in church history might take place, where might you guess? Church, right? Or, in their day, the temple, which is where Luke said the disciples stayed continually to praise God. That would make sense. But that’s not where the Spirit was sent on this very special occasion.

Instead, we’re told they were together in a house. Now, without stretching the significance of this too far, it may nonetheless serve as a good reminder for us that the work of the Spirit and the work of his Church is not by any means limited to the church as a building. Sure, the physical location, along with Christian churches wherever the gospel is preached and the sacraments are rightly administered and received, is essential to our mission. But it isn’t exclusive, by any means. Essential, yes. Exclusive, no. 

Why? Because the Holy Spirit can and does work anywhere. He has worked in foreign lands, as he did through Moses in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon. He can show up in a burning bush. He can speak through a donkey. He can communicate through the powerful visual of a valley of dry bones. 

And, he can work as he did here among the believers on Pentecost. His work was visual, audible, and intelligible. Ultimately, it was just the means needed to carry out the mission: communicate to the ends of the earth the message, “Turn around. Your sins have been let go.” Tongues that were tangled and tied at Babel became loosed and unleashed.

When we strip away the Spirit’s special effects, what did it all come down to? Communicating in a language everyone could understand by the simplest means possible: spoken words. There was speaking and there was hearing. It was that simple. Was there any better gift that could be given to spread the message than removing the barrier of foreign language? Jesus said “all nations,” and he had now made that possible. They had the means by which to carry out the mission.

You know, don’t you, that we still have the means to carry out the mission today? Recently in our congregation, three youth confirmands were joined by two adults in professing their faith in Jesus. That same Sunday, as well as the Sunday prior, each included a baptism. Then, on the Sunday that followed, those confirmands received the Lord’s Supper together with their church family for the first time. What is behind all of this? What do all of these things have in common? 

Well, if you ask someone without the Spirit, they’re all just silly church rituals. They’re far-fetched foolishness and a waste of time.

But if you ask a believer, a child of God, one who has read, studied, and believes what the Word says about all of these things, they all point to one thing in common: the work of the Holy Spirit. Guess what that means? The Holy Spirit’s shift didn’t end after the Day of Pentecost. He didn’t clock out for the last time and decide to retire. Ever since that day, the Spirit has been building up and strengthening the Church, and he will continue to do so until Jesus returns. 

But how do we tap into that power? What does it take to unlock the same jaw-dropping effects of Pentecost? Surely that sort of thing must be relegated to the spiritual cream of the crop. It must be limited to the spiritually trained professionals and the deeply dedicated, the most devoted among us. It must be reserved for the explosive churches and ministries having a world-wide impact, who have clearly discovered something the rest of us have not. 

I think you know better, don’t you? But if we do, then why don’t our words and actions more often show it? When is the last time you got excited to get involved in something at church, not just for the sake of spending time with friends at church – but excited by the potential behind it to reach someone new with the gospel? When is the last time you started getting giddy as you realized a conversation with a non-believer was an open door to point them to their Savior? When is the last time you took the time to even look into any sort of mission work being done by your congregation or church body?

As much as we enjoy functions that bring us together to enjoy each other as we are blessed to do, Lord forgive us if our meeting together overshadows our mission together. Lord forgive us if everything we do together more or less effectively cuts our mission of Seeking the Lost and Serving the Found in half, chopping off the “Seeking the Lost”, leaving only Serving the Found (this is the mission of Shepherd of the Hills).

When we are veering off in that direction, let us run, not walk, to the last verse of our section from Acts 2 this morning: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (v.21). Believe it. you are saved, not because you are on fire with the Holy Spirit. You are saved, not because your spiritual fervor surpasses that of the disciples in the early Christian Church. You are saved because of one reason and one reason only: Jesus.

To call on his name is to cling to his forgiveness, embracing his grace, and savoring the salvation your Savior won for you. Lost your mission zeal? Never had it in the first place? It’s not counted against those who call on his name! We have been saved – but also saved with purpose!

Therefore, I am going to give you both an invitation and a challenge. First, the invitation. Please, use your pastor as a resource. Please, tell others you have a pastor that you can talk to anytime about anything and he’ll do his best to listen, answer questions, and provide guidance. Please, give him referrals. Please, send people his way. Please, share resources with others. Please, speak highly and frequently of your church. Please, tell others what they’re missing if their kids aren’t in your school (if you have one). Please, invite others to anything and everything you do at church – it’s for them, too!)

And here’s the challenge: push yourself to get more confident and more comfortable in carrying out the mission directly yourself. Because… you’re never really by yourself. The Spirit Jesus promised to send after his ascension is still at your side when you communicate the message. You’re never really by yourself.

So speak up. Talk Jesus. Normalize him in your conversations. Look for openings to bring him up whenever you can. Do it until you become so comfortable that it actually feels uncomfortable when you don’t! Go back and read that last sentence again!

If Peter can do it, you can do it. Through the power of the Spirit, Peter, the one who needed his mind opened at Ascension, was the one opening minds on Pentecost, explaining what was happening! Peter, who at one point was determined to keep Jesus from dying, was now connecting the Scriptures for those listening. Peter, who was so confident in his own allegiance to Jesus that he refused to believe he could ever turn on him or deny him, was now appealing not to his own authority, but to God’s authority through his prophets. Jesus had given him the mission; now, in this special outpouring, he was also giving him the means: the Holy Spirit. 

You have the mission and the means. There is no reason the Spirit cannot do through you the sort of things that he did through Peter and so many others. No disrespect to Peter, but there was nothing special about him. The same could be said for many of the men and women in Scripture – there was nothing special about them.

We easily forget that, because of course their names are written in Scripture, and so we automatically elevate them to some superstar spiritual status. But their names aren’t in there because there was something exceptional about them; rather, their names are recorded because they allowed God to use them so that he could do something exceptional through them. Don’t think so little of God that he cannot do the exceptional and extraordinary for his kingdom through ordinary you or me.

In fact, rather than putting all the extra pressure on ourselves, let’s start with ordinary – and let God turn it into extraordinary if he so chooses. Is he able to? Look at Pentecost!

Suppose you find yourself wandering, lost in the woods in the cold chill of winter, desperately seeking warmth. You come across a beautiful cabin that is vacant, and the front door is unlocked. As you enter, the first thing that grabs your attention is the stunning oversized fireplace. The stonework around it is exceptional, the fireplace itself is obviously well-made, and there is even a huge stack of wood inside it, carefully positioned to light up and burn for hours. The only thing missing is the fire itself.

That was the church prior to Pentecost. Everything had been completed and made ready. Jesus had trained and equipped his disciples during his three-year ministry. Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus had ascended and promised the outpouring of a special gift from on high. The only thing missing was the fire itself.

Then, like a lit match in that cabin fireplace, a blazing fire roared to life, throwing light and heat and beauty throughout the whole cabin. When the Spirit came on Pentecost, the whole church also roared to life and began to throw the light and heat and beauty of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Everything was ready; it just needed the Spirit’s spark.

Everything is ready. But the church will not roar to life in its mission if it doesn’t also have the means. It will always be the Spirit driving it. And the Spirit will always drive it through the means of grace – Word and Sacrament. Let’s keep stoking that fire so that the Spirit stirs us to roar to life in carrying out our mission together! 

Ascending & Sending, Part 1: The Mission

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(Luke 24:44-53)

Sometimes it’s simple, sometimes it’s complex. A classroom assignment or work project can involve many steps and different layers, or it can consist of one straight-forward requirement that can be carried out and completed with relative ease. The task may be for each student or employee individually, or it may be for a group that is assigned to work together. The more complex the project and the more people involved, the more necessary it is to provide clarity on what the finished project is supposed to look like.

Before Jesus ascended, he reiterated for his disciples what their assignment, their mission, was. As you reflect on the words Jesus spoke to them, would you describe the mission Jesus was sending them to carry out as simple or complex? He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (v.46-47).

Admittedly, it might sound pretty complex. The promised Messiah, the Savior about whom God had prophesied throughout history, first had to suffer, die, and then rise from the dead. We’re already multiple steps into it – sounds pretty complex!

However, when we remember it is the risen Lord himself speaking these words to them, we realize that the heavy lifting in the assignment has already been done! The suffering, dying, and rising from the dead which had to take place had obviously been carried out. The impossible part of the mission had been made possible by Jesus. What was left was not so complex at all.

Repentance and forgiveness of sins would be preached everywhere. That’s what was left. We should probably understand those two terms if we’re going to figure out this mission. So let’s strip them of their churchiness and make sure we know what we’re talking about.

That’s important because sometimes we throw around words and phrases in the church and forget that not everyone actually grasps their meaning yet. So we just keep using the same words, assuming everyone knows what we’re talking about, only they don’t. But, since they also don’t want to look foolish, don’t ask about them and just nod in agreement to go along with the crowd.

If repentance is going to be preached everywhere, we absolutely must know what it means. Simply put, it’s alerting people to turn around. Turn around. It’s caring enough about other people to let them know they’re going the wrong way. Turn around. It’s warning them about the danger ahead that is waiting for them if they keep on their current path. Turn around.

Picture the police car you first spot as a speck in your rearview mirror, appearing out of nowhere. Then, before you can blink, the view of his vehicle has completely filled your mirror because he sped right up to your bumper. The nervousness kicks in. Then, he pulls out of that lane right alongside you and slows to your exact speed. He looks over at you, makes eye contact, and then makes the dreaded gesture, pointing for you to pull over. Your heart sinks and your mind is racing to try to figure out what you did wrong. When he walks up to your window, you’re fully expecting him to drop the hammer on you.

Only he doesn’t.

That’s because he was pulling you over to let you know that you drove right past a warning sign that the road ahead was closed. He informs you that just ahead, around a particularly dangerous curve, a rock slide has left the road impassible. The reason he pulled you over was to warn you of the danger before it was too late. He’s telling you to turn around for your own safety.

That’s repentance. Out of care and concern for others, we’re lovingly warning them about the danger ahead if they don’t turn around. 

But there’s more to the mission Jesus shared with his disciples. He also said that forgiveness will be preached.

While this may be – and certainly ought to be – among one of the most frequently spoken and heard words in the church, do we really get what it means? The word “forgive” here literally means to release or let go, to send away.

So when Jesus says our mission is to follow up our “Turn around” warning of repentance with the news that a person’s sin has been let go or sent away, we are giving people everything they need for salvation! Repentance and forgiveness are like a one-two punch. When we call others to turn around, we have something substantial to follow it up with!

That’s it. There’s the mission. The church’s mission. Your mission. My mission. “Turn around. Your sins have been let go.” 

It’s also important that we don’t wrongly extend the mission. That is, when we have made that message known to others, we sometimes extend the mission to take on the responsibility of the person hearing it. We imagine that it is our job to convince them to believe it. And if they don’t, we conclude that we must have failed at the mission Jesus gave us.

But the response others have to our words is not a part of our mission. Jesus didn’t add the responsibility of convincing others to believe to our mission. That’s his work, as we’ll see more in part two of this post.

Think back to the officer warning the driver about the impassible road ahead. If the driver had disregarded the officer’s warning and sped on ahead, screeched around the corner, and smashed into the huge boulders that had spilled across the road, that wouldn’t mean the officer failed to do his job. The officer wouldn’t be at fault for the driver who disregarded his clear warning at his own risk.

So we aren’t at fault when others refuse to believe and act on our warning: “Turn around. Your sins have been let go.” Our mission is simply to proclaim it.

So how are we doing with that mission? If we’re lagging, there might be a reason.

Take note of another detail Luke shares in this account. It’s an important one. After Jesus explained that everything written about him in the Bible has to be fulfilled, something remarkable happened: “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (v.45). He made it make sense! That’s what Jesus does – he makes the Bible make sense, and he does the same thing today when we read the Bible. The more we read it, the more our minds are opened and the more it makes sense. While we’ll talk more in part two about the special Gift Jesus promised to help make that happen, for our purposes here, it’s enough to see that Jesus makes this make sense when we read it.

But if we don’t read the Scriptures, then it won’t make as much sense. And neither will our mission.

Very recently a comment made by a fellow believer reminded me of how important this was. He referred to himself as a Bible-reading Christian. At first I didn’t think anything of it, but it stuck with me later while working on this message.

His comment implied a distinction between two types of Christians: the general Christian and the Bible-reading Christian. Yes, it almost sounds absurd because we’d assume there is only one kind of Christian – the Bible-reading Christian. Yet, it’s true! There are some Christians who rarely, if ever, crack open their Bibles. Yes, it can still be said that they have saving faith – they believe Jesus is their Savior, and assuming that doesn’t change, they will end up in heaven. But… not before missing out on a huge reason why God makes us Christians in the first place: to carry out his mission!

So if his mission isn’t on your radar, or is unimportant to you, or isn’t something you can scrounge up the time to carry out, might it have something to do with the fact that you fall into that other category – the Christian who doesn’t read the Bible? If so, and if that doesn’t change, then I can guarantee that one of two things – or both of them! – is going to happen. Best-case scenario? You fritter away your precious time here on earth chasing after meaninglessness, but still squeeze into heaven because God’s grace is even big enough to drag your fizzling faith through the pearly gates. 

The other possibility is that your neglect of the Word, at being a Bible-reading believer, ends up leaving your faith completely malnourished. It then starves and you die, not just physically, but spiritually. Worst-case scenario? Both of those things happen. Your life is filled with meaninglessness and vain pursuits, which is then followed by spiritual death for eternity. 

But the message – our mission – is that no one has to experience either of those! Let Jesus make it make sense and open your mind through the Scriptures. Look what happened when the disciples had their minds opened! “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (v.52-53). Joy! Praise! Where did it come from? Their minds had been opened and they knew their mission!

Do you think there is room for more joy and praise in your life? Do you think it might result from being more engaged in the mission Jesus gave his church? Let me give you two reasons why I think it will. 

First, you get to experience the awesome feeling of God working through you to possibly change someone else’s eternity. No, not everyone will hear and believe your message. But some will. And when God allows you to be a part of that process and uses you to bring someone into his kingdom, it’s at the same time one of the most humbling and exhilarating feelings you could ever experience. You’ll feel a joy and praise that you’ve never felt before.

The second reason you’ll experience more joy and praise in your life? Every time you are fulfilling our mission to proclaim this message to others, who else is hearing that message over and over again? You are!

The very message of repentance and forgiveness is reinforced and you are reassured each time you proclaim it to others. Don’t expect some logical explanation for that – it’s simply the promised power of the gospel. It works supernaturally, but it is the power that God uses in us, too, to build us up and strengthen us in our faith. So every time you carry out our mission, you also benefit from that same mission. 

Still not convinced? Still not sure you’ve got what it takes to carry out the mission Jesus gave you? Read on to part two, which covers the remarkable Ascension followup known as Pentecost, where we continue celebrating Jesus’ important work of ascending and sending, and our mission – as well as the means to carry it out.

Don’t Miss the Mission

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(Acts 5:12, 17-32)

Unless you’re an employee showing up for your shift, when you make a stop at In and Out or Chick-Fil-A, you aren’t there to roll up your sleeves and get to work; you’re there expecting to be served whatever you ordered to eat. When you walk into Home Depot, you aren’t there to seek out customers who look lost and offer to help them find what they’re looking for, or to stock shelves with products; you’re there to grab what you need to start or finish that DIY project at home. The same is true of Target, Aldi, Best Buy, etc. – when we pull into the parking lots of these places, it’s because we’re there to get something that we want or need. We aren’t there to check in and see if they’re short-staffed or need a hand with anything. We’re there as customers, consumers who intend to pay for a product or service, expecting to get what we want. 

And there’s nothing wrong with that at all, as all of these places exist to provide you with a service or product. They want your business – in fact they need your business; they rely on it to stay in business themselves. They know that if they don’t provide the good service or good product you expect, then you’re likely to take your business somewhere else. They know there are plenty of other options you could choose, so they will do what they think they need to in order to keep you as a customer. 

Is it possible that our consumer culture could – or perhaps already has begun to – rub off on churches? More to the point, is it possible for similar expectations to drive the “bottom line” in our own congregations? It could if churches (including yours?) aren’t careful and lose sight of why they exist in the first place.

What we’re talking about could easily be caused by one or both of two things: 1) It could be driven by a consumer mentality of congregation members demanding to be served in the way that a customer expects, and/or 2) it could be driven by a the church leadership holding to a business mindset that is only interested in the bottom line and hitting the numbers to generate as many happy customers as possible. 

So how do we avoid either of these traps? How do we avoid being driven by a consumer mentality that views church as just another place that should be concerned with the customer’s happiness and meeting the customer’s needs as they determine them? How do we avoid becoming a business consumed with the bottom line and doing whatever it takes to get more people in the pew and get bigger and bigger with the goal of… getting bigger and bigger, as if that’s why churches exist?

We remember that as the church, the gathering of believers, we have a very special and specific mission. After the Holy Spirit had been poured out on believers at Pentecost, allowing them to perform miracles, signs, and wonders, “the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail” (v.17-18). The followers of Jesus were getting more attention than the self-righteous religious elite of the day, and they wanted it to stop, so they put them behind bars. But when the church is on mission, God isn’t going to hesitate to intervene and open doors – on this occasion, quite literally! “But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life” (v.19-20). 

The believers were carrying out their mission, and when arrested for it, what did the Lord’s messenger tell them to do as he freed them? There was no pivoting or plan B. His message was, “keep it up! Go right back where you were and tell everyone about the new life you now have in the crucified and resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ!” They were arrested for carrying out their mission, and then were not only directed to keep it up, but to keep it up in precisely the same place that would have put them most at risk – right back on the home turf of the religious leaders! 

But the most shocking part was not what the angel told them to do; it was that they did it! “At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people” (v.21). The apostles did exactly as they had been told! This would be the part of the movie where we cringe when we see something bad happen to the overmatched hero, and rather than taking his lumps and moving on, he gets right back up and after it again! It goes against common sense and wise judgment! There’s a fine line between being fearless and foolish, and it might appear initially that the apostles’ actions are closer to the side of foolish.

To provide context to their actions, let’s contrast the behavior of the apostles in Acts with the actions of the disciples from John’s Gospel. The difference? John records for us that the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked “for fear of the Jewish leaders” (John 20:19). Fear! They had locked themselves in out of fear.

In Acts, though, the very Jewish leaders they feared had indeed carried out exactly what the disciples were afraid of and put them in jail. But there was no fear! No hesitation. No trepidation. Why? What had changed?

Yes, some time had passed between that first night on the day of Jesus’ Resurrection and the early church after Pentecost, at least a couple of months. Nevertheless, self-imposed hiding behind locked doors versus breaking out of the very jail you once feared, to engage in the same behavior that put you there in the first place – that’s a pretty drastic change! What accounts for it?

They had been giving a mission, and a special one at that – a mission given to them by a guy who died and then came alive again! This was not your garden-variety mission by any means!

Neither is ours, for it is the same. We have been given a mission by a guy who died and came alive again! Is that any less impressive simply because more time has passed since the day it originally took place? It’s so easy to forget, isn’t it, even with Easter having taken place so recently – we worship someone who died and then came back to life!

If you heard a similar story today of someone being put to death and then buried – all with plenty of eyewitnesses – only to hear that he came back to life, the story would be everywhere! Every major news outlet would be running related stories 24/7 and social media would be blowing up over it. We wouldn’t be able to stop talking about it!

So why is it so easy to stop talking about the most prominent dead guy to ever come alive again? Because we assume people won’t believe us? That wouldn’t shut us up if something similar happened today, so why should it shut us up just because it happened over 2,000 years ago?

Some would say it’s because the church has neglected its focus on evangelism. Such a conclusion is the opinion of many who study church culture and metrics. They would say that one of the biggest struggles the church faces today is in the area of evangelism. Churches don’t prioritize it like they should. Members either aren’t equipped to evangelize or aren’t empowered or impassioned to do so. Might that be the case here? That’s probably a question for you to answer. 

Why are your church? Is it just the religious version of In and Out or Chik-Fil-A  – you’re there because it appeals to your personal preferences and does church the way you like it? Are you there as a customer to be served, or because you’re on a mission, looking to be serving others? Speaking of mission, do you know what your church’s mission or tag line is?

Ours is Seeking the Lost, Serving the Found. Notice what isn’t included there: Show up sometimes on Sundays when it’s not inconvenient and you’re good to go.

Obviously, Sunday morning worship is the heartbeat of what the church does – it is hugely important! But, just as a body has so many other essential and necessary functions than just the heart beating, so the church also has so much more going on than Sunday morning worship. Sunday morning worship isn’t the finish line to cross each week; it’s the starting blocks, where we position ourselves to get the best possible start to carrying out our mission each week!

To imagine it any other way is to not only redefine what church membership means and what the church’s mission is, but to blatantly disobey what God has commanded us to do as believers. It really is that simple. When the apostles were set free from jail, they were told what to do and they obeyed. Later on, as they found themselves in trouble once again for carrying out their mission, what was their response? “Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (v.29). They were obeying what God had told them to do. 

When we entirely disregard or are indifferent to what we have been commanded to do as believers, we are disobeying God’s direct orders and failing to carry out the mission he’s given us. And where does that leave us? It drags us back to Calvary yet again, prior to the empty tomb, right back to where we are forced to face the painful reality of our rebellious disregard of Jesus’ mission for his church. There, plain as day, as I scan the endless list of all my other sins for which my Savior was crucified, it is listed: disinterested, disobedient disregard for the very mission for which Jesus gave up his life.

And I am then instantly reminded of why I need to return here to this place – to church – as often as possible. Here I see the cross front and center, yes – but also to witness the white of Easter, the embrace the confidence of the empty tomb, to remember that the Resurrection means I am redeemed and restored from my rebellion. The very mission of Christ’s church that I so often think so little of is his mission to me, too, for I need to hear of my forgiveness. I need his grace. I need to be assured yet another week that no, God has not and will not forsake me, even in my most stubborn moments. So I need to hear his mission to me to renew the zeal of his mission for me. 

Starbucks used to want to be the “third place.” After home and work, they set out to be the third place people would gather at to spend time. A number of factors, like the convenience of mobile orders, led them to change their business model. Once they realized how quickly they could churn out more drinks and serve more customers, they were less interested in a cozy, welcoming lobby, and more interested in volume and speed: more drinks, faster drinks, would mean increased profit margins.

Meanwhile, as local coffee shops continued to pop up nearby, providing the comfortable make-yourself-at-home vibe that Starbucks used to be known for, and having baristas that got to know their customers, Starbucks had some serious competition. Suddenly, the short-term boom in business sort of popped like a pin-pricked balloon. For that reason, you may have noticed recent efforts to restore that “third place” culture that they first became known for. The tables and chairs that were removed from the lobbies, leaving them eerily vacant and open, have been returning. Free refills are being offered to encourage customers to hang around and linger for a bit while sipping their beverage.

So what happened? Some would say that they became more concerned about satisfying shareholders than caring for their customers. They lost sight of their mission.

May we never lose sight of ours. May we never lose sight of the mission Jesus gave us to carry out together. May we never miss out on our mission together, so that others don’t miss out on meeting the same loving Savior we know and love, Jesus Christ. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Connect My Worship with My Mission

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. The grace and forgiveness you long to lavish on your guests as you serve us with your Word and Sacrament in worship are our lifeline. All depends on it! Let me treasure your house as the place I frequent to freely receive your richest blessings, not only to nourish my soul and spirit, but also to equip and inspire me to carry out your mission, the work of your church.

Keep your mission always before me, and provide me with clarity to see when and how I get to be a part of it on a daily basis. Let me be a conduit of your grace and good news for others. Help me to view worship not as the end and ultimate goal each week, but more like the pre-game pep talk, reminding me of who I am and inspiring me to go out and give your mission every ounce of energy that I possibly can every day. Fill me up this morning – and every Sunday, Lord – to faithfully and fully give myself to you and your mission. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Make Your Mission Mine

Dear Jesus,
Keep me on mission – not mine, but yours. The daily grind can keep me from remembering that as one who has been bought and paid for by you, I have also been set aside for your purposes. In addition to your general call to daily put my faith into practice in all walks of life, you commission believers to spread your gospel to the ends of the earth. So many are blindly stumbling in the darkness of unbelief, either unconcerned or unaware that they stand lost and condemned without you.

Unloose my tongue so that the joy of salvation spills from my lips as freely and effortlessly as possible. Make me as passionate for your mission as you were to secure salvation for all. Place me in situations that provide the setting to point others to your grace and forgiveness. Give me ears that are willing to listen for opportunities to bring you into the conversation and make you known. Fill me with passion to fervently and faithfully carry out your mission.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Carry out My Great Commission

Lord of the Church,
When you sent your disciples on their mission to make disciples, you were entrusting that mission to your Church for all time. When you entrusted that mission to your Church for all time, you were entrusting it to me. As a believer, you desire to use my gifts and my lips to put your Word to work in every way possible to make disciples.

Yet I confess that this mission of the church – my mission – is far too often an afterthought. The lost are last on my mind. My focus is naturally on my own situation rather than my neighbor’s soul. Cover me with your mercy and forgive my indifference toward evangelism. Give me a mission-minded heart and a Spirit-filled awareness of those around me who need you. Regularly provide me with opportunities to evangelize, and fill me with the courage of the apostle Paul to speak up in those situations and confidently confess the good news of the gospel to others.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.