Remember the Mission
Remember the mission. Three words that you will hear me say often as I begin my tenure as Service Coordinator for LCMC. There are certain things about who we are, what we do, and what we believe as Christians that must never change. They remain true in every era, country, community, and congregation for all time. The mission God has given us is one of those things.
Our Lord Jesus articulates the mission in Matthew 28, telling us to go into the world to make disciples. That was the mission for the first disciples and churches, and it remains the mission for us today. Remembering the mission will inform the decisions we make as an association moving forward and will shape what we do and how we do it in the time and place in which we live. It is important that we remind one another of just what our mission is. History teaches that it is far too easy for leaders to become distracted from focusing on God’s priorities by focusing more on religious activities that do not help us remain focused (see the Pharisees).
One way to articulate the job God has given us to do is this: Our mission is to develop healthy leaders and disciples in the Church (see Colossians 1:28) and equip God’s people for lives of effective witness and mission in the world today (see Ephesians 2:8-10; 4:11-12). These will be things that we will prayerfully and strategically develop more in the days ahead in LCMC. We will be asking the Lord to show us how we can work together as leaders, congregations, districts, and fellowship groups in developing healthy leaders and disciples, particularly next generation leaders. And we will seek His guidance in how we can network and resource one another in equipping God’s people for the work of ministry He has prepared for them so that we can experience a robust practice of the Priesthood of all Believers.
All of this will only be possible, of course, as we experience the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit at work in us and through us. The Holy Spirit made a difference in the life of Jesus. He made a difference in the lives of those first disciples. And He still wants to make a difference in our lives today. The mission remains the same, but in order to more effectively accomplish the mission, some of the ways we carry it out will need to be adapted and Holy Spirit-led risks will need to be taken.
Let us remind one another as often as we need to sisters and brothers of the mission God has given us because one thing that is most certainly true is this: The mission remains the same.
Author
Mike brings 40 plus years of leadership and ministry experience, having served in Lutheran congregations in Nebraska (Christ Lutheran Church) and South Dakota (Trinity Lutheran Church) as a youth pastor, worship leader, associate pastor, and senior pastor. He also served as President for The Master’s Institute Seminary for ten years and most recently, as Director for the Alliance of Renewal Churches (ARC). Mike is passionate about helping leaders and congregations create an atmosphere that is a safe place for developing healthy leaders and disciples in the church, and equipping God’s people for lives of effective witness and ministry in the world. He is the author of the book, Being a Safe Place for the Dangerous Kind, in which he articulates the essential connection between solid theology and healthy practice in mission and ministry.
Mike enjoys sports of all kinds, having served as a high school basketball and baseball coach while serving Trinity Lutheran Church in Rapid City, South Dakota. He and his wife of forty-two years, Debi, enjoy reading, hiking, and swimming, and Mike enjoys the occasional golf outing. They have five adult children – Andrew Michael, Joseph Ross, Rachel Christine, Stephen Daniel and Benjamin John, and three grandsons – Michael, Isaac, and Lucas. Mike and Debi live in Gilbert, Arizona with their three-year old white Labrador, Maggie Mae.
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