Thankfully our church here in Africa (NSC) does have visionary leadership. On Sunday Pastor Trevor Downham shared his and the other church leadership's take on the vision of NSC. As described in the last post this vision for the church is based on a vision of God that results in a recognition of God's holiness (purity with a purpose). God is pure, we are not and God purposes to do something about it. Trevor described it as God having a burden. Specifically he described the burden of God as - "the lost". (Christian jargon for unclean people in an unclean world who have yet to receive a vision of a holy God.) I might just say God has a burden for dying people. (Understanding death to be a consequence of sin, and life being spiritual and eternal as well as physical and temporal.)
All this has been leading up to sharing with you the Vision of Norwegian Settler's Church:
Our Core Value: People
Our Priorities: (which translate into programs)
- Discipleship (learning to follow Christ)
- Teaching (learning to apply scripture)
- Children (when most people come to know Christ)
- Youth (our future church)
- Community (meaning outreach rather than a huddle)
Our Mission: Love God & Serve People
I like it. I want to be a part of it. Lord, help me live it.
How can you entice lost people with this vision and purpose when they see it as offensive? I have been having a very hard time in Auroville where people see an Absolute Truth from Jesus, the only way to the Father (or in their case, the Divine), as arrogant and foolish. They see my faith as shortsided. It's fine if I practice it on my own, but they feel they have no need for it here. They are doing something they see as being new (according to Ecclesiastes, however, nothing is new under the sun - I don't think they've read that one). They are progressing toward a united humanity, a more highly evolved human being.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are those who are persecuted," He means it. Those people are blessed to understand their need of Him. I don't know if the people here in Auroville are so blessed. They do not know their need for Christ. I don't know what I can do as a follower of Christ or even if there is anything I should do to reveal it to Him. Sure, I'll live a changed life which is an image of Christ to them, but so many people live such unique lifestyles here that I'm afraid I am but some pleasant background noise.
The consistent model in the Bible is that disciplies of Christ proclaim their faith and teach people how to know Jesus. I want to follow Pastor Trevor's vision, but I think I may be casting pearls before hippies ( : At worst, I will add what beautiful things God would have me add here, then take the intense learning home with me and share my faith with all of those around me. I am excited that God is using this time to draw me closer to Him than I have ever been before so that I can help others draw closer to Him as a result.
I hope that makes some sense. I don't know if I expect any response or if I just needed to rant ( : Thanks for the space either way.
You bring up some tough questions Matt. Here’s some of my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the eastern mindset that you describe is I think very similar to the post-modern mindset encountered in the west now as well. It does present greater challenges in terms of evangelism.
Also, it’s worth noting that evangelism or missions is not among the 5 priority areas per se in the Vision of NSC. Certainly our teaching, community outreach, children and youth programs will have a strong thread running through them of bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Another thought is that it is not our responsibility to save souls. That is God’s (the Holy Spirit’s) work. Our responsibility (mission) is to love God and serve people. To live out what it is to be a follower of Christ. Certainly again there will be opportunities to speak life changing truth into people's lives as we serve them (this is where I often drop the ball). Somehow our serving them has to include bringing them to a new understanding of a holy God. If they had a vision of God they would immediately see their need. Maybe that is why we are hearing so many stories of Jesus appearing supernaturally to unbelievers in visions and other ways. God’s going about his work. Let’s just go about ours.
Related to the above, it seems that the eastern mindset that you are encountering as well as the African mindset we are encountering both are often most effectively brought to knowledge and acceptance of Christ through acts of power rather than through theological arguments. I feel totally out of my league in this realm and have so much to learn and gain experience in if I am going to be used by God in power to bring people to Christ. But it would be a unique lifestyle that would stick out in a crowd of unique lifestyles.