Do You Have a Personal Mission Statement?

I have carried around a personal vision statement in my wallet for probably close to 15 years now.  It began as a small group exercise, and I remember seeing some group members’ statements – about a page long each and very impressive.  I felt that mine was a bit inadequate by comparison like the school kid who completed the minimum requirements of the assignment only to find that the rest of the class had gone above and beyond.  However, in this case, I wonder how many of those folks ever really centered their lives around those elaborate statements.  My personal mission statement, based on my “life verse,” John 10:10,  reads simply: “To live and model the abundant life available in Christ Jesus.”  Successes and failures, victories and struggles, easy times and hard times – they are all run through this filter.  I can evaluate every part of my life by how it stacks up to this statement.

I was blessed with a copy of the book Raising a Modern-Day Knight (by Robert Lewis) when my son Garrett was a baby.  Using the principles from the book, I had a manhood ceremony for him when he turned 13 and included godly men who had influence in his life.  Each one spoke to him from the following principles, which have become guiding statements (even if Dad-imposed) in his life:

• A real man rejects passivity.
• A real man leads courageously.
• A real man accepts responsibility.
• A real man expects the greater reward, God’s reward.

These statements have given me a foundation from which to teach him life principles.  These principles are springboards for both praise and correction in his life.  (And they seem to work much better than a generic “Do the right thing” or something like that.)

Jesus had a mission statement. Luke records it in chapter 4.  After Jesus has begun his ministry in Galilee, he returned to his hometown of Nazareth.  Let’s pick up in Luke’s narrative in verse 16 (HCSB):

He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.  The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place* where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.  And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”  Luke 4:16-21 (HCSB)
*Isaiah 61:1-2

Jesus specifically said that he came for the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.  Now, there are obviously some spiritual connotations to those for whom Jesus came I had nothing to offer God that He needed – I was poor.  I couldn’t get to God because of my sin – I was a captive to it.  I couldn’t see my need for God because the enemy kept me from seeing my need – I was blind.  I was beginning to suffer the consequences for my sin – I was oppressed.

However, these weren’t just spiritual analogies Jesus was making.  Look at who the better part of His ministry was aimed toward: the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.  Among these were children, widows, the sick, demoniacs, the lame, beggars, and so on.  If you take a look at Jesus’ mission statement and then look at how He lived it out, you see a life of practical expressions of deeper spiritual truths.  (Important note: These practical expressions of Christ were accompanied by His words that drew people to Him.  We should not expect people to understand the gospel just through our good deeds; those deeds must be joined with something truly life-changing, the gospel of Christ.)

I listened last week to a friend of mine speaking at a gathering of churches doing some type of orphan care ministry.  Chris had for some time been visiting nursing homes on alternating weekends and mentoring emotionally and behaviorally troubled young men on the other weekends.  When asked why he did this, he simply responded by pointing to the Bible and saying, “It’s in there, right?”  A life vision with practical expressions, based on the Word -- it's a beautiful thing!

Do you have a personal mission statement?  It can give your life a center that you can verbalize.  Jesus had one.  Follow His example and base yours on the Word of God.  I would be interested to hear your personal vision statements.  Your sharing may help someone else develop his or hers, so please share!

Thanks for reading,
Al

What I Read vs. What I See

I spent about an hour in conversation with a friend yesterday.  It was one of those conversations with more questions than answers.  He is a fairly new believer in Christ (a few years), one who immediately after his conversion set out to learn the Word of God.  His questions could be rolled up into one question that we should all consider:  Why does the Christianity of my experience not look like what I read in the Bible?

The easy answer would have been, "Come to my church!"  He might indeed come, and I hope he finds more similarities than differences between the Christians in our church and the Christians in the Bible.  Our pastor at CHC is currently going through a series called HYPOChrIsTianE, a challenge to the church to more accurately reflect the object of our worship, Jesus Christ, to a world that largely does not follow Him.

Within the specific scope of this blog, however, I want to point out the huge chasm between what the Bible says about caring for the orphan and what we, as churches in the wealthiest nation in the world, are doing.  Imagine what happens when a maturing believer like my friend reads the Old Testament and sees the heart of God for the voiceless (the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and the poor) and then compares it to the normal American church experience, where the orphan is rarely, if ever, mentioned.  His resulting questions are legitimate.

good news to GOOD NEWS

The good news is that more and more churches are re-awakening to this ancient command to care for orphans.  Orphan Sunday is November 4, and more churches than ever before are doing something to raise awareness of the world's orphan crisis.

Even better -- that good news is a pointing finger toward the Good News.  Orphan care -- adoption in particular -- so beautifully and accurately reflects the gospel.  Consider:

1.  God created man.
  

•      God created every child who is an orphan.

2.  Man fell.
  

•      Some result of the fall led to every orphan's status as an orphan.

3.  God redeemed man back to Himself.  Man was in desperate need of rescue, a spiritual orphan.  Man had nothing to offer God.  Despite all this, God made a way for man to be reconciled to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He gives those who follow Him help for today and hope for tomorrow.

•      Orphans are among the weakest and most vulnerable of God's creation.  They seldom have anything to offer, only needs, yet some believers move toward them and give them hope and a future.

4.  God adopted us into the family of believers.  He is our Father, Jesus is our older brother, and the church is made up of our spiritual brothers and sisters.

•      Adoption provides a home for an orphan, often with father, mother, sisters, and brothers.

A Living Example of the Gospel

So what is our response to someone like my friend who sees the gap between what the Bible says and what he sees lived out in the church?  What about, "Let me show you."  Make sure you don't have to look far.

Thanks for reading. Now, move.
Al

Random add-on:  Passion for the writing of this post was enhanced greatly by Phil Wickham's "You're Beautiful."