Moving Forward Together in Mission

Reading: 1 Corinthians 3.5-11, 21-23

Grandma and Grandpa Ecclesy had a large family, even for their time. Towards the end of their lives, descendants were being born, on average, once a fortnight.

It seemed an age since they had come to settle there to carve a farm out of the virgin scrub. "Chariston" was part of the establishment now, part of "the way things have always been". Besides the original farmhouse (with a touch of style that should probably be called a "homestead"), a variety of other houses had been erected, roads constructed, a school established, even a family hall and a store.

Chariston had come along way since those early pioneering days - a farm, an extended family, a whole community.

Down across the years, the place had developed a real character of its own - partly, I guess, because it was "family". Not that they were aware of it really! It came out in little mannerisms - like the sign "Since this bench has been recently painted, you are exhorted to refrain from sitting upon it" where neighbouring communities used the blunter "Wet paint"! Styles of dress and musical tastes were different too, as were standards of behaviour. Grandpa Ecclesy had been a very upright man - he'd taught that to his family too. It was probably the one thing they remembered most vividly and followed most zealously.

Life was busy in Chariston. The farm area had been enlarged across the years, and, between farm and community life, everyone was kept busy.

One day someone came wandering into that community...

His name was Tom. He looked in his sixties, but probably his life-style had made him like that - aging forties, perhaps?

He'd been a wanderer, it seems, for much of his life. But now, depressed and lost, he was looking for a home.

"But no! We can't let him stay here! He's not family!" "He'd be a misfit here! speaks a different language! different idea of life altogether!" "He'd taint our community!" "Clean up his language, perhaps, a new change of clothes?" "I doubt it! Anyway, he doesn't belong to Chariston and that's it!" "Then where does he come from - originally, I mean. What's his name? We may at least be able to send him off in the right direction!"

Tom... Tom Ecclesy...

"Hear that? Could he be the one Grandpa used to talk about?" "You mean the black sheep? The no-hoper who wandered away to make his own life?" "Grandpa never forgot Tom till his dying day!" "Yes, but even if it is him, he just doesn't belong here. Whoever he used to be, he's just not 'family'!"...

And what of ecclesia, the Church? Do we gladly welcome into our family all whom our heavenly Father includes in his family, even though they may have wandered far from home? Do we recognise that we belong because of his grace (charis)? or do we suppose he must accept us because of our "goodness" and long associations?

Together in Mission

What is the church meant to be and to do? In today's reading, Paul calls the church a building. Elsewhere we are called the "body of Christ" (later in ch. 12 and also in Ephesians). What is the building for? What is the body meant to be doing?

Jesus' last words to his disciples are what we call the Great Commission - "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Mt, 28.18-20).

There are, of course, other words of Christ which are part of "all that I have commanded you." How can we gather all together in a way that helps us remember and relate them in a coherent manner, rather than as a group of separate and unrelated items?

The third sermon I preached in Buderim was entitled "Mission Impossible". It included a diagram which, I believe, helps us relate the various aspects of our mission.

understanding missionThe people who have believed the good news of salvation in Christ are growing in grace and together have become his "body", the means by which he continues to do his will in this world. So there are always two main aspects to the life of the Church - relationship with Christ and with one another which makes us his Body and the doing of his will.

The life of the Body centres on God himself - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So - worship is our central activity.

The task of the Body is to make disciples. The Head still wants "to seek and to save what was lost". But it's not just a matter of gathering them in. They are to become new characters in Christ, gifted by the Holy Spirit to take their place within the Body, part of the means of fulfilling the mission!

People outside the Church need to hear our loving Lord calling to them, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11.28). They experience this in the caring service of God's people. And they hear it when the good news - of Christ, forgiveness, salvation, new life - is shared with them (evangelising) and they have the opportunity to respond to Christ by faith. They have begun to "come" and now continue to need love and nurture so that faith will grow, so that spiritual gifts will be discovered, so that Christian character will be unfolded. They will be gathered into the worship of God.

Being part of the Body commits us to the mission. Jesus didn't say, "Come and be comfortable!" In fact, after inviting the people to come to him, he said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me..." (Matthew 11.29). A yoke is a means of carrying a burden. The Lord has work for us to do! The same Lord who said "Come!" also says "Go!" (Matthew 28.19).

Paul, writing to the Ephesians, emphasised that the purpose of special ministries within the Body is "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (4.12).

Our evangelising needs to include equipping - discovering and developing gifts that will minister to others in the Body and reach out beyond the Body. All of us are meant to be involved in some way in building up the Body, in making disciples.

All of us, by the grace of God and according to the gifts he has given us, are on active service, prayerfully and lovingly ministering to others within the Body and reaching out to others beyond the Body. Our service is evangelism in practice - so vital before the right time comes to express the good news (the evangel) in words.

In these early days as a separate congregation, we have continued to use the mission statement of the former Maroochy Parish -

Every school, business, community group... seems to have a mission statement now - not just the Christian churches! A mission statement isn't everything. However, a short, simple, clear mission statement helps us together to clarify the basic issues of who we are and why we are here.

The great commission was given on an ongoing basis to all who would believe in Jesus. They were to "make disciples" and "teach them to obey everything I have commanded you". To obey how much? Everything! The great commission was not just for the first believers - it is committed to all believers.

Mission, of course, must flow into action. Just as an individual's faith in Christ must flow into action (Eph. 2.8-10), so the owning of Christ's mission by any particular Body of Christ (congregation) must flow into action.

The mission hasn't changed, but the specifics of what the Buderim Church should be doing in 1998 and beyond need to be carefully and prayerfully considered. We have a minister, but he can't do the mission. We have a Church Council, but they can't do the mission. The task is far bigger than any of us and calls for the commitment for every one of us.

Together with the Lord

But the mission is bigger than all of us together can do. That is why Jesus gave the twin promise, "I am with you always..." (Mt. 28.20), "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..." (Acts 1.8).

As we make all that we have and are available to the Lord, he makes himself freely available to us. We move forward together with the Lord who is, after all, the Head of the Body.

Reflect again on the Ecclesy family at Chariston. They were a family, a community - totally inwardly looking, completely directed to self-maintenance, to self-preservation. Grandpa's pioneering spirit had gone. Newcomers were unwelcome. Even strayed family members couldn't belong again.

That is not how Christ treated people. That is not how he treats people today. He is still reaching out with the offer of forgiving and redeeming love. He is still gathering people into his family. We are on mission together. We need to plan and act in concert with one another. We move forward together in mission with our Lord, empowered by his Spirit.


(c) Peter J. Blackburn, Buderim Uniting Church, Joint Buderim Celebration, 14 June 1998
Except where otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Good News Bible, (c) American Bible Society, 1992.
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