Some thoughts on mission...

This past winter Sandi and I spent a few days in Washington D.C. While there we had a few hours to visit some of the historical sights near the Lincoln Memorial. After about 30 minutes we stumbled onto this, The Korean War Memorial.

I must admit, looking into the haggard faces of these exhausted and frightened soldiers left quite an impression on me. As these men walked through the fields in their platoon, what thoughts were going through their minds? Were they focused on their mission? Were they just trying to survive another day deep into enemy territory? Were they day-dreaming of home, a warm bed, and a hot, homemade meal? I wonder...

For the thousands that never made it home, did they breathe their last believing that their sacrifice was worth it?

I guess what I wonder most about is how much they believed in their mission. This is probably because those of us in church leadership talk a lot about mission these days and how important it is to be missional people living in missional communities as part of the Missio Dei, blah, blah, blah...

This all sounds so good, so inspiring. In fact, we often feel like we have really accomplished some important aspect of our "mission" simply because we talk so much about it and hurl so many complaints against the "established, institutionalized, modern church". Then we go out with our Christain friends and sip on some cappuccino, or maybe drink a couple of beers and smoke a cigar (if we are part of the "emergent" crowd) and congratulate ourselves for being the few who really "get it".

Well, I'm not here to heap anymore criticism on anybody, except maybe myself. I, for one, would like to go on record admitting that I am not a very good soldier. In fact, most days I forget that there really is a mission that I have been sent on that really does matter. Most days I am far too consumed with accomplishing the next task on the list to even begin thinking seriously about how I can live out my day as one of Jesus' "sent ones". The gravitational pull of my life is away from God, away from the world, away from other people, away from any meaningful engagement - and toward my own individual happiness. And it's nothing short of incredible how justifiable and dignified all of this can look in the religious culture that I operate in.

I'm sort of feeling like maybe it's time for a change. And maybe this change has something to do with embodying the love of God to those who can in no way repay me for it. What would life be like if us Christians were "good news" to the marginalized, the poor, and the powerless? Now that's a question that my Christian heritage never asked...