Next Steps...
One of the dominant barriers to Gospel Transformation in the West is our culturally ingrained habit of confusing knowledge of the Gospel (facts) with doing the Gospel (practice). Because our school systems are biased toward “knowing a thing” as opposed to “practical application”, the tendency is to make knowledge the goal of learning as opposed to wisdom – something that only manifests itself in the synthesis of knowledge to achieve an on-purpose goal.
Parenthetically, I think God agrees. A recent survey of the Bible reveals that about “30% of it is based upon rational, proposition truth and laws (facts), while 70% of the Bible is Story, symbol, vision and narrative (wisdom, thru story)”, according to Brian Godawa in his book, Hollywood World Views.
This from Jesus, himself:
“And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28: 18-20
Jesus didn’t instruct us to simply know facts about the Gospel, he instructs us to do what the Gospel teaches. And moving from mere knowing to doing God’s will requires us to synthesize our knowledge and utilize it to move us from consumers of the Gospel to producers on mission in Gods’ Kingdom.
The 8 core values that we learn about in our regional conferences are foundational propositional truths that our speakers expound upon and to which they add their narrative as leaders on mission. But they aren’t the goal. They are the starting place. Being on mission with Jesus is the goal.
I was browsing some missions materials this morning and came across this video about a Christian company in India, Olive Technology and their efforts to spread the Gospel through business and opportunity. As a businessman, this is a topic of great interest. These guys clearly have not allowed what they know to get in the way of what Jesus calls us to do.
This should be an encouragement to us all, whether your mission field is oversees or over the fence.
Missio Dei, indeed!
Mike Brown
Click this link and enjoy! :
