Product of a Mission

Why I am a product of mission—not missions.

Something has happened along the way in the culture of the church. Perhaps not Freedom Christian specifically, or perhaps it has happened to us too—at least in our hearts. We all know that as a group, Christians are pretty prone to “Christian-ese”, a language that is technically English (or whatever the native language of your area is), but is beyond understandable to those outside of our group. While most “Christian-ese” is relatively harmless, there is one word in our vocabulary that has morphed just enough that we need to talk about it.

That word is “missions”. MissionSSSsss.

The difference is so subtle I’m sure it’s completely evaded many of us. We have taken the heartbeat of the gospel, the very thing that brought us all together and continues to move us out to the world, beyond ourselves, and categorized it in a way that allows us to separate it from ourselves without much concern. While having a “missions” category is effective for things such as church budgets, referencing intentional living, and ministering to those around us as “missions” and not simply as the way we live—it has also caused us to detach from the work God is doing around us. Categorizing missions puts a distance between the way we perceive ourselves and the way we perceive those we send out officially into other countries to spread the gospel.

It’s true, those two lives are very different ones, however, neither are called to anything besides THE mission. Though it might look different or sound different, it is the same God whose will we are called to be a part of.

Though my ‘missions’ giving supports different, specific people and purposes around the world, their objectives are no different from what mine should be. While a missionary meets with a friend for noodles on the other side of the world to talk about the gospel, I might drive down the street to a coworker’s house to do the same. In this way, we cannot categorize the call of God to mobilize the message of hope, of peace, love, joy, or any of the things that drew us to Him for the first time.

This week, I challenge you the same way this past Missions Sunday challenged myself—to think about “missions” differently this year. Not as something that can be categorized, or put into a box. But a fluid, necessary, integral part of all of our lives that cannot be confined to a word or a financial pledge. Ask God this year how to be a part of mission, and to reveal the way He is moving all around you.

Written by: Brianna Vanderveen

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant

Forward- Part 4

Have you ever found yourself saying, “I wish there were more hours in a day so I could just get everything done?” I know I have said this phrase many times. So often, I find myself drowning in homework, work, church activities, and trying to maintain a social life. While working hard, aspiring for excellence, and building relationships are all things God encourages, there is another activity God commands His people to do that is markedly overlooked. Just as God commands His followers to do everything with excellence (Colossians 3:23), He also instructs that rest be a habit incorporated into daily life (Exodus 20:8).

Personally, I know I have been guilty of diminishing the importance of stopping amidst the busyness to reflect and rest. I have often viewed rest as a sort of “time waster.” If I’m not doing anything, it feels like I’m not being productive. However, I am learning that rest is not a time waster, nor is it unproductive. Rather, it is an essential ingredient to health that cultivates productivity. In fact, when the human body goes without rest for an extended period of time, it begins to shut down. God designed humanity with a necessity to rest. Therefore, it is vital that we honor His creation and command by setting aside time to rejuvenate.

As we learned from Sunday’s sermon, rest is something that we must intentionally incorporate into our lives. If it seems that our schedule does not allow for a single moment of free-time, perhaps the first thing to do is cut out some activities. Once a time frame for rest is established, it is important to make sure that the time set aside is truly restful. If your time of rest is spent worrying about the next thing that needs to get done, perhaps you are going about rest in the wrong way. While identifying a restful activity may look different for each person, it is necessary to find something that works for you.

If you find yourself struggling to make time for rest, or simply feel like nothing you do is restful, I challenge you to start by opening a time slot for rest this week. It could be something as simple as taking 20 minutes in the morning to drink coffee and read the Bible, or could be taking a day this weekend to hang out with family and have fun together. Instead of viewing rest in a negative light, let us remember that rest is a healthy, Biblical principal that is essential for life.

Written by: Tamara Sturdivant

Edited by: De Ann Sturdivant 

Forward- Part 3

It’s possible that the roster of a professional sports team makes a good microcosm to study life in the career world. There is a player in almost every batting rotation or starting lineup who is one or two more bad plays away from getting traded or farmed out to the minors, and he knows it. He shows up early and puts in extra time at practice or the gym, always listens to the advice of his coach, and reads the latest research on performance improvement. He does all of this because he wants another season for himself and his family, and he isn’t sure his player averages will pass muster.

On the same team, there is often a superstar recruited directly out of high school who skips practices and spends more of his time among supermodels and at wild parties than at team events. He might show up hungover when he does show up, and squabbles publicly with the manager and team owner. But for all his histrionics, he can still take the field and put the ball into the bleacher seats or the end zone every time.

I would like to tell you that when it comes time to set the team roster, the first player’s loyalty, commitment, and diligence will matter more. And on some level, the team manager probably wants that first player to find the secret to raising his game. But sadly, character is not a substitute for ability – and team management is about getting results.  We have all seen this script play out before, and we know the second player will win more games and fill more stadium seats.

Now that I’ve thoroughly depressed you, let’s take a look at Paul’s letter to the Colossians. As we heard on Sunday, Colosse was a struggling town filled with slave labor, and the apostle advises those Christians to “obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (Colossians 3:22-23 NIV).

Why in the world should we push ourselves so hard when it won’t amount to anything? Well, because we aren’t doing it for the glory of one more season in the majors, or even for team spirit. It’s dangerous to fall into the trap of thinking hard work will be rewarded all the time, or that the result is justification for the effort. We are to leave it all on the field even if we know we are going to lose, to please the Lord, knowing that “you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.” (Colossians 3: 24-25).

The earthly result of our work is not our goal, and is not even important. It doesn’t really matter if the master frees or rewards the slave or elevates his status, or simply tasks him all the harder to compensate for his less productive laborers. We aren’t working for that master, or even ourselves for that matter. We work with our whole heart to be a testimony to our Savior, who uses our zeal for his righteousness to transform us.

Written by: Chad Halcom

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant