What’s the church here for, anyway?

Posted on by livinggodsmission

by Wayne Schwab

I was the interim pastor in a small church in Essex in upstate New York on Lake Champlain.  For some reason, Essex hosted meetings of the International Bagpipe Organization.

A piper walked through the church hall.  He asked, “What’s the church here for anyway?”

I answered, “God is most interested in how we live Monday to Saturday.  Sunday is to help us to do it better.”

He liked the answer.  I’d been thinking this way for some time.  At last I had said it.

That’s a key to living God’s mission every day – especially to what a church should be doing.

We say a church needs to be friendly and open to anyone who walks through its doors.

— I now say a church really needs to help everyone walking through its doors to live better on Monday because they were there on Sunday.

We say a church should offer community – very important in a world that can be very lonely.

—  I now say a church really needs to help you to build community in your worlds outside the church.

We say a church needs vitality – to be alive within its walls and alive in its town or city.

— I now say a church really needs to be known for how its members are making the world around them more loving and more just wherever they are 24/7/365.

Prayers for renewal

Posted on by livinggodsmission

by Peyton G. Craighill

These prayers began life as collects in the Book of Common Prayer. With extensive editing, the author has re-shaped them as prayers for the renewal of the mission of the church through the movement for mission in daily life.

Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with us as we seek to renew the mission of your church as Christ’s mission working through us in all that we do. Teach us to seek first your wisdom and glory; Guide us to perceive what is your will, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, You prepared your disciples for the coming of the Spirit through the mission of your Son Jesus Christ: Make the hearts and minds of us, your servants, ready through your Holy Spirit to receive Christ’s mission, that we may be filled with the power of the Spirit’s guidance in everything we do in our daily lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Writing a mission statement?

Posted on by livinggodsmission

by Wayne Schwab

Are you writing your church’s mission statement?  Don’t begin by asking everyone to describe what they want the church to be doing; drawing together all the responses; and presenting them to the church for approval; and filling up many meetings and many weeks.
What’s more, it’s the wrong place to start.  It’s centered in us.  Start with God and God’s mission.  Look for what God is up to in the world you see around you. Ask the church and each member.  Work from the biblical narrative – the prophets’ call to justice; Jesus’ call to love as well as justice; the gift of the Spirit to everyone.
So, begin with God’s mission to make the world more loving and more just.  Jesus came to live God’s mission for all to see. Your church’s mission is to continue God’s mission in Jesus Christ to make the world more loving and more just. In baptism and reaffirmation of faith, each member joins Jesus’ mission to make the world more loving and more just.