A Pastor’s Life: Mission & Mystery
The church is about mission!
On Friday and Saturday of last week I found myself, along with several hundred pastors and leaders, attending the Urban Force Conference where Mark Driscoll, founder and senior pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, was the main speaker. Mark is a hard-hitting, practical, down-to-earth Calvinist who has been used by God to spearhead one of the fastest growing churches and church planting movements in America. I was deeply challenged by his emphasis on the fact that the church is a mission organisation committed to fulfilling the Great Commission; the leaders are to be missiologists who understand God’s Word and the culture in which they are carrying out God’s mission; and the people are the missionaries who gather for worship and scatter to carry out Christ’s mission in their world. Together with other Rosebank leaders and members who attended the Urban Force event, I want to do my part as senior pastor to move RUC toward being more missional in its focus. We’re doing a lot of things right, but we have a lot to learn and a long way to go if we are to influence our city and our world for Christ’s kingdom.
The church is about mystery!
Yesterday (Monday 15 March 2010) I stood beside a hospital bed and wept with the parents and close friends of a dear little two-year old boy who died as a result of a freak accident. His parents are our missionaries, fully committed to the mission of God in the world. I cannot explain the pain we all felt as we watched the grieving parents kiss his lifeless body and wet it with their tears. The question behind the silent stares and the tear-stained faces of all in that tiny ward was, “Lord, why?” As I stood there I recalled the words of a wise missionary after several members of his family had died in a tragic motor accident in Namibia: “With God there are mysteries, but no mistakes.” With wet eyes and choked voices we whisper, “Yes, Lord!”
Being a pastor means learning to live with mystery as you focus on mission.