Beginning right

“If we begin with a human-centered approach to “our” mission in the world, we are likely to feel chronically overwhelmed  by insufficient resources and insurmountable tasks.

We begin instead with this question: Who is the Triune God and what is God doing in the world?

We don’t next ask the tempting question: What does God want us to do?

That can so quickly redirect us back onto ourselves. Rather we ask: How is God inviting us to participate in what God is doing in the world?

Mission must never have first place in our own or our church’s life. We have but one Lord and one passion, the One in whom all the fullness of God dwells, who has reconciled all things to God (Colossians 1:19-20). If we or the church today are in need of a conversion, it is to Jesus Christ and utter dependence on the Triune God. We must say an emphatic “No!” to lesser gods who clamor for our allegiance, and sing a living and joyous “Yes!” to the One in whom all creation is summed up. “

Quotation from Dearborn, Beyond Duty: A Passion for Christ, A Heart for Mission (2013:29). Available on Amazon US, UK, India, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain.