The Dream Card

So thankful for Woodlands Point allowing me the opportunity to teach March 10. You can check it out here. Scripture is from 1 Corinthians 7:17-24.



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Fast-Food Mission

I remember when Taco Bell was built in my hometown 20 years ago. All through junior high and high school we would travel just outside of our town to find the nearest one. We would always talk amongst ourselves saying, "Why don't we have one of these near us?" ...Now there are four.

It seems coffee shops, burger joints, drug stores, convenience stations all pop-up in our cities and neighborhoods like popcorn in the microwave. We are exponentially growing as a population with exponentially growing needs. 

You might see a new coffee shop and say, "Really?!?!...another one??" Thing is, a business counts on the people who say things like, "Wow, I would've never experienced this if it wasn't so close to me." They strive to make a life long customer.

These places operate on mission statements as most successful organizations do. Part of McDonald's mission statement says "Our worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win." 

As common place as these establishments might become in American society we find it newsworthy to broadcast these concepts across the world as they open in new cultures and contexts making international headlines. I remember the news on TV as a teenager... McDonald's burst on the scene in Russia. That was BIG NEWS! Check out this excerpt from this article...

"At dawn on 31 January 1990 more than 5 thousand people came to be the first at its opening. That day Moscow McDonald's set a world record: it served more than 30 thousand visitors. People stood in line for over 6 hours, willing to get a taste of this unusual food. At that time it was the first fast food place in the whole country."

Through the book of Genesis God reestablishes His covenant with us and says, "be fruitful and multiply." I'm sure God knew about the Big Mac phenomenon in that statement and maybe shook His head, but don't forget, we ARE image bearers of God...we were created, hence, we create too. Granted, we are broken, sinful and evil...guess that's why someone created the Mega Mel Burger. We think, we plan, we build and then we do it all over again. It's easy to relate to because we have physical needs and desires and they lie on the forefront of our mind as we consider what to create next. 

Just as these successful organizations have a mission they run hard for...the follower of Jesus does to...the Mission Statement we received from Jesus Christ himself: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19

When Jesus said to "go, therefore and make disciples of all nations," there is no distinction between home and overseas missions. He didn't mean it was only about foreign missions. Jesus came for all. Our mission is just the same here as it is there. McDonald's and Starbucks might get more publicity as they open up in overseas locations but in their mindset they are all important and all matter.

How do you view the local church's mission in your city and context versus the missionary sent to overseas? How do you view the pastor and the people in your local church? As Christ followers we are all sent and commissioned to bring the Gospel to those in our contexts and cultures. Some are sent globally but most are still in their hometown. 

A fast-food chain that has been in our hometown for years just doesn't seem as newsworthy or as explosive as it is to build one on the other side of the earth, yet it has been serving the local community faithfully and consistently day in and day out, year after year. Why do international efforts seem to be more glorified then the needs of the Gospel in our hometowns? Is it really safe to think ALL have heard the Good News of Jesus there?

Tim Chester and Steve Timmis say it well in their book Total Church...

"If someone was being sent as a missionary to a hostile context overseas, our attitude would be something like this: We would expect to pray often for them. We would expect progress in building relationships and sharing the gospel to be slow. We would be excited by small steps – a gospel conversation here, an opportunity to get to know someone there. We would thrive on regular updates from the frontline. But the truth is that the lives of many Christians in work, and play, are just like the life of that far–flung missionary! They are lived out in tough environments where progress is often slow and many factors make evangelism extremely difficult. The challenge is to make news from the staff canteen as valued as news from the overseas mission field." 

Most local churches don't pop-up overnight. There is lot's of prayer involved and a planting of the Gospel in people to see something grow out of that. It's not just the church planter guy spear heading the effort... it is people.

Too often Gospel planting efforts in our cities and hometowns are overlooked like the American fast-food chain that has been around the corner for 20 plus years. They are passed by with a slight glance ("Really...another one??"). In our culture it's not as "newsworthy" in our minds when we hear about someone leading three guys in weekly discipleship group or when we hear about one person confessing Jesus as their Savior in a living room. These don't make headlines. It's those that work out of the spotlight, the missionaries to our local context that make the lasting impact. They have a passion to make disciples and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teach them about Jesus.

God works through people for people. How often do we pay real attention to our neighbor and ask God to use us? How can we open our eyes to new Gospel centered work in our city-mission fields as web developers, physicians, stay-at-home moms, church planters, students, teachers, engineers, analysts, realtors, restaurant managers, etc? 

Starbucks mission statement - "to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time." 

How can we make the Gospel newsworthy everyday and celebrate the transformation in those "under the radar" efforts from the city-mission fields that are making huge impacts in one person and one neighborhood at a time for the Kingdom? 

We must make it newsworthy because there are people out there right now...your neighbors, co-workers, classmates...that are saying, "Wow, I would've never experienced this if it wasn't so close to me." 

Go make a lifelong customer.

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