Material taken from a podcast by John Lee and Steven Schenk for UNITE WNY
Missio Dei V Missio Ecclesia
The Mission of God is simply bringing all things back into relationship with Himself. God is at work redeeming and restoring, and has promised to complete that work at some point in the future. A key part of God’s plan is inviting us to join in His work! God wants us to use our skills and resources to partner with Him. What is more God actually cares about completing the work! This isn’t “make-work,” we aren’t just digging a hole so that we can fill it. God is actually inviting you to learn how to advance His Kingdom.
That process of learning how to advance His Kingdom is called discipleship. And discipleship is for everyone. It is for pastors and worship leaders, but it is also for stay-at-home mothers, teachers, doctors, and tradespeople. Discipleship is also for business leaders. Business leaders are invited to learn from Jesus how to join God’s ongoing project to bring all things back into right relationship with Himself.
This is where the church comes in. The role of the church is to teach people how to do this. To create spaces, programs, and processes, by which people can learn how to be in right relationship with God, and participate in what God is doing in our world.
Unfortunately, the church often gets lost in its own agenda. Instead of existing to advance God’s mission, the church ends up just doing whatever it takes to maintain its own existence. Local churches end up competing with each other for resources instead of collaborating to accomplish our common goals. Pastors and ministry leaders lose sight of their calling to teach people how to partner with God in whatever sphere of influence they have.
Business leaders can play a unique role in helping the church regain its focus. Business leaders can help the church re-focus on mobilizing its members (and their personal resources) to advance the Kingdom in the marketplace, education, healthcare, housing, job creation, as well as in Sunday gatherings and Wednesday Bible studies.
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