Kingdom Come!

Well, I’m back in the US of A – Pensacola, FL – and back in the swing of life.

Phyllis is enroute to Haines City, FL from Valdosta where we spent Easter weekend.  I left on Monday morning, stopped in Donalsonville and had lunch with mom and drove on to Pensacola .

Last night I taught in Globe’s IGM and had a great time talking about “Missionary Evolution.”  In this teaching I talk about the difference in 19^th, 20^th and 21^st Century missionaries and the way we perpetuate missions.

I’m convinced that the heart of God is missions.  Not necessarily “missions as we know it.” He is a sending god and we are His “sent people.”  Sent into all the world with hope, health, justice, grace and salvation.  And I’m equally convinced that we keep missing it.  We keep doing things in the way we’ve inherited, with mindset and paradigms that are not very New Testament/New Covenant in their approach.  In the effort to consolidate and bring things together, we often demonstrate more a command and control mentality that one of empowerment and release.  We are to be in the training (discipleship/mentor) encouraging, empowering and releasing business.

Vision and dreams of heart are the inherent right of all Followers of Jesus.  They are part of the Jesus package.  Jesus awakens in everyone who follows Him a dream, a vision, a passion to fulfill our destiny and expand God’s Kingdom.  Destiny is a non-transferable assignment from God.  And every born-again follower of Jesus gets to live out a destiny designed by God for the glory and purpose of God.

It’s to be lived out in community. 

The church is a faithful community of Jesus-followers.  Each individual has individual gifts, anointings and callings form God.  No one has it all.  No one has the full vision or the full ability to carry it out.  It is a joint-effort orchestrated by the Father through His Spirit in the individuals submitting together in loving relationship.  God’s purpose is fulfilled in community.  We are gathered together into community for empowerment, encouragement and sending.

It’s to be lived out missionally. 

Missional living is living outside the interests of the community.  We are not just to live for ourselves - either individually or collectively.  We are gathered to be sent.  And as we are sent on a mission with God we touch lives.  We intersect with men and women who are on a seekers journey.  And we work together with God to speak into their lives, give a glimpse of Jesus and His mercy and grace and help them know his salvation.
It’s to be lived out in the grace and power of Spirit. 

We are a Spirit-filled people, not left to our own devices, plans and schemes.  We are a people destined to be useful because Christ lives in us.  And we have both the power and gentleness of the Holy Spirit to guide us and use us.

But, it’s to be lived out!  Not dreamed about or feared or directed by someone else. 

And we have to do everything is ways that the Holy Spirit is directing and guiding.  It’s a new day…

There’s an interesting article in the LA Times about a community experiment…

Check out this You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM My son Zachary sent it to me and it’s totally amazing!  It’s about 8 minutes about a pride of lions and a herd of Cape Buffalo. 

You know we lived in Kenya for some years and had several encounters with both lions and buffalo! 

It’s all about community!

I’ve been reading Ed Stetzer’s blog regarding the meanings of “missional.”  You can read them here.   And I never though there was so much baggage attached to “missional” and “missio dei!” 

Where have I been?  What have I been doing?  Oh yeah, I’ve been out there  trying to join God in His mission to redeem the whole wide world and establish His Kingdom rule in the hearts an minds of everybody!  And thinking that missio dei was a cool way of saying it!  Missed  the fireworks - some happened before I was born! - but happy to use the words!  I think they’re appropriate and carry the right meaning in the way most folks I know are using them today!  (Although there are some serious co-opters out there who have shanghied the word “missional” to serve as a cool new word for attractional church stuff.  It ain’t!  It’s more tha that!)

Also, my new friend Rick Meigs (we met at Seabeck) over at Friends of Missional does a tremendous post (I know this is old stuff, but I’m just catching up, right?) about what it means to be missional.

And BTW, Len over at Next Reformation is no longer looking for community!  A pretty powerful post.  But then Len is a deep, deep guy with great heart.