Perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing any church today is our inability to enjoy God in our circumstances, hear his voice, and walking in obedience with his presence.
You might associate missional living with local involvement, justice, and neighborhood care. As a member of Soma, you want to live out the cause of Christ in a tangible way. In this time, we also want to run into the chaos and be agents of reconciliation. This is deeply good, and right.
But, please remember, you are God’s mission, too. Christ came to save you, and for you to be reconciled to God. We lead others toward forgiveness, when we continually known forgiveness. This is the substance of living the gospel. This is the fruit of the Gospel, life in Christ and life with Christ. On Sunday, I wrote about how we can pursue both in a blog post. Read it here.
Many of us forget they we are restored to unity with Christ to enjoy God, know his love, and grow in loving him. We forget that we are God’s mission and on God’s mission. We (in normal times) busy our schedules, fill our homes, deplete our refrigerators, and consume our lives with activity believing it’s the most we can do. We can go weeks spiritually empty. We can go months without hearing the voice of God in prayer. We can go years without bringing our true selves to God in confession and in asking God to guide our lives.
You were created to live in unity with God. You were born to taste the grace of God through repentance&faith. You were redeemed to worship God through confession. You were rescued to know the depth of God’s love by listening to the Spirit. In fact, the beginning of a life lived pursuing holiness, righteousness, and justice is craving the presence of God.
One of the most missional things we can do is pursue Jesus. Warning, I don't mean self-care. I mean delighting in Jesus in a way that leads to faithful obedience to his holistic mission.
In a recent sermon, I mentioned I'm willing to walk with a group of people through an eight-week study on gospel formation. If you're interested in that at all, let me know. It would start in July. Or, you can also engage these wonderful resources that you could easily do within an DNA or MC environment as each has learning and practice.
Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton (includes a community guide!)
The Way of the Heart by Henri Nouwen
Read A Praying Life by Paul Miller and begin establishing times of prayer
Great videos/podcasts:
Emotionally Healthy Impact by Pete Scazerro
Lament as Beginning of Worship with musician Michael Card
Sabbath by medical doctor Michael Sleet (MD)
Abiding in Christ in Community with Brad Watson and Jared Pickney