Session 06

Gospel Mission

Five Marks of Mission

Although it is the “Five Marks of Mission”, it can be summed up as Three: (1) Mission to Build-Up the Church, (2) Mission to Society, and (3) Mission to Creation. Unsurprisingly they are all found to some degree in the Great Commission. Ultimately, they seek to bring healing and reconciliation with God, the rest of humanity, and all creation through the proclamation that JESUS IS LORD.

“JESUS IS LORD”

Without the Good News that Jesus is King of the cosmos, there is no mission. If Jesus is not Lord, then there is no Evangel (“Good News”) to share; there is no purpose for Discipleship; there is only self-justice; there is no genuine form of Compassion; and Creation Care is meaningless.

The Gospel is the very core of Mission. It gives meaning and purpose to each of these. Jesus is the embodiment of the Five Marks because He is the Good News to be revealed, He is the Master worth following, He is the Judge who will bring justice, He is the Image of the love of God, and He is the Creator of everything.

Building-Up the Church

EVANGELISM & DISCIPLESHIP

These two go hand in hand. Evangelism, at its very core, is about announcing the reign of God in Jesus through word and deed. It is the proclamation of the gospel:

[We must] insist that ‘the gospel’ is not merely a personal insurance plan, a ticket to heaven, but is rather the declaration of the whole-Bible story of salvation—the cosmic story of God’s redemptive purpose for the whole creation, promised in the Old Testament and accomplished by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is in evangelism that we tell that story. And it is from that story, and only that story, that all our mission flows.
Chris Wright, Five Marks of Mission: Making God’s Mission Ours (2015), p.16.

The actual declaration, by mouth, of Jesus’ Kingship should not be overlooked here. It is a major part of the Christian witness to announce and speak to others about it. Yet, the embodiment of Jesus’ Kingship needs to be equally potent. We risk contradicting who Jesus has made us to be if we do not reveal the Gospel through our actions. We announce Jesus’ Kingship in deed when we reveal the gospel in tangible ways to and for the world. This is done through ways like mercy, justice, and creation care! But also in ways like hospitality—opening up your oikos for the flourishing of others; reconciliation—revealing the power of God’s great love; or forgiveness—showing the power of the cross of Jesus.

Paul shares about how all the different giftings given to the Church are used as an expression of Jesus’ Kingship. He shares how prophecy unveils secrets in others hearts so they “will bow down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’ (1 Cor. 14.25). The Church, thus, reveals God’s reign through itself—its act of worship, relationship, and gospel proclamation.

Discipleship is oftentimes understood as being a ‘super-Christian’. We see it as post-conversion work: “We have to save people, and then we can actually work on discipling them in Jesus.” The fact of the matter is, this is not how Jesus did things at all! He invited people into his life, modeling for them, sharing with them, teaching them, and showing them who He is.

The word Disciple simply means ‘learner’, so to disciple simply means to ‘cause learning’. Two things about discipleship: (1) first you have to know what (or, really, Who) you are teaching about and (2) you have to contextualize the teaching for people so that they can understand it. Discipleship is not a post-conversion work we engage in—we disciple to and through faith. We help people understand Jesus, the Gospel, the Way of Christ, the Church, faith, God, mission, purpose, etc. This is not simply for the Christian, this is for everyone—Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Atheist, etc. As we disciple we share and reveal what God’s reign is all about.

As is already noted, this is also not meant to be done alone. It is not a one-on-one thing, but is usually done in groups and at “unprogrammed” times. Discipleship cannot be boiled down to a program that one goes through and afterward they are “discipled”, it is a life-long journey of following Jesus and helping others do the same.

The Great Commission outlines these in stating: “As you are going, disciple all the people groups. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Wherever you are going, working, living, or doing—disciple! This is not a program, it is a way of life in revealing the Kingship of Jesus and sharing His kingdom with everyone we cross paths with. Then baptize them—bring them into God’s oikos led by the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Serving Society

COMPASSION & JUSTICE

These two Marks overlap quite a bit as well. When we have compassion (or mercy) toward the immigrant, orphan, widow, and poor; we are also seeking justice on their behalf. In the Great Commission, Jesus says, “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28.19). ‘Teaching’ is not sitting them down in a classroom and giving information to them—though it doesn’t exclude it—this is about modeling, showing, revealing what the Good rule of Jesus is like.

In Romans, Paul states that “the reign of God is… justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14.17). The rule of Jesus reveals true justice, shalom, and joy. Thus, engaging in acts of compassion and justice, with the heartbeat of “Jesus is Lord”, reveals God’s Kingdom in a very tangible way. Shalom is more than peace, but encompasses a complete and whole fulfillment in relationships—with God, humanity, and all creation—it is a flourishing (abundant?) life!

Justice should not be taken as synonymous with our modern “social justice”. Justice simply means “to treat persons with due respect for their worth.” Value is not determined by how much you contribute to society (modernist view of value), who your family or heritage is (political/social value), or your net-worth (financial value). Rather, value is given to every human by God. In being made in His image, humanity has great value. We see how much value God places on humanity in the very act of Jesus incarnating as true human and dying on the cross for us. That is a very high level of value. So much value is on humanity that God actually becomes one of us AND dies as one of us!

Jesus has a lot to ‘teach’ about compassion and justice, here a few examples from Matthew:

(Note: in the Greek language there is no difference between the words “justice” and “righteousness”, it is the same word used for both.)

• “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice (righteousness), for they will be filled.” (5.6)
• “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (5.7)
• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (5.9)
• “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (5.16)
• “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’ (Hos. 6.6). For I have not come to the righteous (just), but sinners.” (9.13; 12.7)
• “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (23.23)
• “Lord, when did we see you hungary and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When ddi we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brother and sisters of mine, you ddi for me.” (25.31-46)
• The many times Jesus responds to those who cry out, “Have mercy on me” (9.27; 15.22; 17.15; 20.30-31).

Many of these are drawn from Old Testament passages (like Hos. 6.6), but also Isaiah:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

To loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
To set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
And to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
When you see the naked, to clothe them,
And not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
And your healing will quickly appear
Then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will say: Here am I.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
With the pointing finger and malicious talk,
And if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
Then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in the scorched land
and will strengthen your frame
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Isaiah 58.6-12

Compassion and justice are two ways we move out into society to embody what the reign of God looks like. Through this we showcase who the true Ruler over the world is and that His way is not the way of power, money, and battle; but humility, generosity, and shalom. This can look like a number of different things, a few examples:

• Helping the Immigrant: providing them with language and culture assistance, job and work opportunities, welcoming them into our lives and families—or, if able to, helping their nation exist so as to not be hostile and be able to support living in their own homeland.
• Comforting the Sick, Infirmed, or Elderly: being present for those who don’t have anyone. Visiting them frequently, sharing and hearing stories, and giving them hope.
• Restoring the Prisoner: Helping the incarcerated re-integrate into society, break the effects of sin in their life, and restore them to God and others.
• Supporting those with Special Needs: Whether the need is mental, physical, social, or emotional—connect with and draw them into relationship. Oftentimes they have their own culture within their group, learn it and relate to it.
• Assisting the Poor: finding jobs and homes for them; helping them find support if they are struggling in certain areas. Basis is building relationships with them to help them flourish in whatever area they are.
• Standing against Injustice: from sexism to racism; ageism to nationalism; trafficking to marginalization; any form of inequality of personhood we can stand alongside them.
• Inviting in the Stranger: The stranger does not necessarily have to be someone you do not know, but someone who is ostracized, marginalized, forgotten. It could be the weird co-worker, irate neighbor, or the odd fellow at the coffee shop. This heart seeks to give that which is not you a space to flourish and grow by connecting with others and ultimately God.
• Caring for the Orphan: this is adoption and foster care—or support those who do, become an advocate, visit with those who have no homes or parents, engage in a mentoring relationship, etc.

These are consistently the main societal problems that God and the prophets speak to engage in (Ex. 22.22; Lev. 19.9-18; Deut. 10.18; 24.17-21; 26.12-13; 27.19; 1 Sam. 2.6-9; Psa. 10, 68, 82, 146; Isa. 1.16-23; Jer. 5.20-31; Ezek. 34; Zech. 7.10). We often think of the Old Testament as “the Law” meaning rules and regulations we have to live by; in reality, “the Law” is more about God’s justice—ensuring that people are treated with dignity and respect as God’s image bearers.

A quick glance over Jesus’ miracles reveals a similar reality in the life and ministry of Jesus. The Gerasene Demoniac, the woman bleeding for two years, the girl raised from the dead, the blind men, the lepers, lame walking—these have a relational, societal component to them that involves enfolding these people back into community life. Instead of being relegated to the fringes of society without any purpose, they are brought back into the local community. Yes, they display the power of God, but on a human level, they practically give that which God created humanity for—relationship and purpose.

The most important ingredient of engaging in Compassion and Justice is relationship. They call the marginalized, forgotten, broken, and distant into community-life. And more deeply into God’s oikos and the Gospel Community where they will have relationship and purpose.

CREATION CARE

Although there is a lot of Political undertone to Environmentalism, at the end of the day God is the Creator of the earth and the earth is His temple where He will dwell and live with His creation (Gen. 1-2; Rom. 8; Rev. 21). He created the earth and everything in it very good: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gen. 1.31). It is because of this goodness that God created humanity in His image to have dominion over the created order (Gen. 1.26-28).

From the very beginning humanity is called to rule over God’s creation. Like Sub-sovereigns, vice-regents, or middle-management, humanity is to cultivate (bring out its beauty for the praise and worship of God) and care for (protect, guard, shepherd) creation. This purpose of humanity has never changed. We are to be creators and protectors of God’s chosen dwelling place.

This is not to make creation out to be divine (as Gaia, Hindus, and New Ageism does), but to realize its sanctity—it is made for a sacred purpose. We do not worship creation, but seek its well-being. As Chris Wright says:

To love God (even to know God at all, Jeremiah would add [Jer. 9:24]) means to value what God values. Conversely, therefore, to contribute to or collude in the abuse, pollution, and destruction of the natural order is to trample on the goodness of God reflected in creation. It is to devalue what God values, to mute God’s praise and to diminish God’s glory.
C.J. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (2006), p.403.

The Great Commission (Matt. 28.16-20), Jesus’ opening words are, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Jesus is the King over His Creation; and in worship and love for our King, we care for His earth.

Creation Care can range from carefully enacting environmentalist principles—reducing waste, pollution, exploitation of resources which destroys habitats—to simply caring for your pets and causing them to thrive and flourish. Recycling, reusing, composting, restoring, planting, gardening—these are all ways we can practically care for creation.

Check out this podcast with Norman Wirzba (~1hr) — Spotify Link

INFLUENCE & ACTIVISM

Finally, the question of how we actually engage in these Marks of Mission. There are two ways of doing this that were briefly mentioned in Session 4—Activism and Influence.

Influence is the ability to affect the world around you. Look at your phone screen (if you are not already looking at it right now). On average there are a bit more than 300,000 pixels on your phone screen. If your phone screen is the world, your influence within the world is most likely no more than one little pixel on the screen—about the size of the dot on this >i< (if reading on your ‘said’ phone). Our influence is a relational quotient, meaning the more connectedness we have through relationships the higher our influence will be.

Activism occurs when we leave our influence to engage in an area of someone else’s influence. This happens when we go serve somewhere every now and then (homeless ministry, inner-city work, short-term mission trip, etc.) We do not have the relational influence within the space we are serving, the person or organization we are serving alongside does. This is good and absolutely necessary for God’s Mission as it helps others build and grow their influence. However, we should not see this as our main place for mission.

However small or large our influence is, this is the primary place we engage in mission. If we include that mission is not meant to be a solo act, and includes the Gospel Community you live within, not only does our influence grow, but our ability to share and reveal the reign of God does also. It creates a place for influence and activism to come together in the same space. As Tim Chester writes:

The Christian community demonstrates the effectiveness of the gospel. We are the living proof that the gospel is not an empty word but a powerful word that takes men and women who are lovers of self and transforms them by grace through the Spirit into people who love God and others. We are the living proof that the death of Jesus was not just a vain expression of God’s love but an effective death that achieved the salvation of a people who now love one another sincerely from a pure heart.

Mission must involve not only contact between unbelievers and individual Christians but between unbelievers and the Christian community. We want to build relationships with unbelievers—not in church buildings where we feel comfortable but on their territory. We also need to introduce people to the network of relationships that make up the believing community so that they see Christian community in action. People are often attracted to Christian community before they are attracted to the Christian message. This does not necessarily mean inviting people to Sunday services. It means introducing them to our network of relationships in the context of ordinary life: inviting both Christian and non-Christian friends around for a meal or for an evening out. So our approach to mission should involve three elements: (1) building relationships, (2) sharing the gospel message, and (3) including people in community.
Chester & Timmis, Everday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission (2012), p.56.

The place for our mission is in the space we have influence and our influence expands and grows as we connect and build relationships with more people. If we see the main areas we engage in on a daily basis as where we live, work, and recreate, then it is as we build relationships with the people in these spheres that we can begin to have influence and through that influence, shine the light of the gospel upon the world.

We embody and proclaim the gospel to these areas when we actively share the story of God through word and deed—as children, we share the story of our Father and family. When we direct people to the worship of God, even if they do not know who God is or intercede on behalf of our spheres for the sake of gospel and salvation from the power of sin and death and to Jesus and life—acting as priestly servants. Discipling them by modeling the way of Jesus, teaching who Jesus is and what He has done—as disciples of our Lord and Master. Intentionally building relationships and trust with people as we take up our call to ‘go’—as missionaries sent in the Spirit.

As we engage in Compassion and Justice, we reveal the heart of our King who loves the world and His creation; and is seeking to restore and reconcile with it. By serving our neighbors, co-workers, employees, bosses, and friends, we take up our God-given image-bearing purpose to help people thrive and flourish in every area of their lives. Blessing them, even when cursed; praying for them, even when they don’t want us to; Being present for them, fighting for them against the dehumanizing work in the world; Acting as a sign-post to the true ruler who loves and cares for them, provides for their every need, and offers the self-sacrificial love of Jesus.

We do not have to ‘go’ far, rather, ‘as you are going… disciple, evangelize, engage in mercy and justice, and care for God’s creation.’ Or in a more simple way: bring healing and restoration to others with God, humanity, and all creation as we display Jesus’ good healing rule and draw people into God’s oikos through Jesus and by the power of His Spirit.