How to take responsibility for living out our mission and values in your area of ministry
Over the last few weeks we’ve been reflecting on our first ten years of existence as a church. One of the things we highlighted is the mission and values our church has discovered over that time frame. Our mission and values are not something we’ve read about in the latest trendy book on how to develop a mega-cool mega-church but they are the core convictions we have developed as we have ministered together in the good times and bad. Through the blood, sweat, and tears of the last decade this mission and these values are the areas that have become non-negotiable with us. Each conviction has been earned as we have developed them on the field of ministry and these convictions are what make us the Chattanooga Vineyard.
As we look at the mission and values that make us unique as a church I want you to ask the question, “How am I incorporating these convictions in my own personal life and area of ministry?” I want you to brainstorm creative ways you can help these take root at the most basic levels in your area of responsibility so that they become part of our culture. The only way these core convictions can remain central is when each one of us takes responsibility for making sure they are lived out in our areas of personal responsibility.
Over the next few weeks I’m going to take one of these convictions and explain it in depth and challenge us to look at ways each of us can implement them in our areas of ministry and in our personal lives. I invite you to give me or the person leading your ministry area feedback and share your ideas as how each conviction can be better lived out in your area of ministry.
Our Mission: To Leave Things Better than We Found Them
At the end of the book of Revelation we read one of the most beautiful passages of scripture. It’s a passage that tells us how this amazing story communicated through the Bible ends. The story itself is about a good and loving God who creates a beautiful world that is broken by the deception of an enemy and the sin of humanity. This God who loves the world and the people he made is not content to leave it in its broken state so He sets in motion a plan to redeem His broken world and set it back to right. This plan is worked out through a man named Abraham whose family becomes a mighty nation called Israel and finds it’s fulfillment in Israel’s true King, Jesus of Nazareth.
In Jesus, humanity as it was truly intended to be is realized and through his perfect obedience to this loving God of whom he is the exact representation, the decisive battle in restoring the world that was broken is won. It is won through Jesus death on the cross and his defeat of death through his resurrection. Jesus commissions his followers to go and proclaim to the world through word and action that He has defeated Hell, death, and the grave, that He is the world’s true ruler, and He will return to complete what His resurrection has begun.
The passage in Revelation describes the moment when Jesus return occurs and what it means for humanity and all of creation.
REV 21:1 The New Heaven and the New Earth
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
REV 21:4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away."
REV 21:5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
When this moment occurs things are not only put to right but they are made new. Dictionary.com defines new as being “different or better” and this is the idea that is being conveyed in this passage from Revelation. In the Bible we find no explanation of where evil comes from it just is. It’s present in the Garden through the character of the serpent. Even in Eden evil was, but when all things are set to right evil is destroyed. The new heaven and new earth that Jesus is bringing will be completely free from the touch of evil! What is in store for us is better than Eden!
As the church, those who have given our allegiance to King Jesus, we are to bear witness to God’s future. Through our words and actions we are to constantly be pointing to the fact that in Jesus God is making all things new. In simple terms the way we bear witness to the future God is bringing is that we leave things better than we found them.
This is our mission as followers of Jesus. This is why the Church (universal) exists. This is why the Chattanooga Vineyard exists. As a follower of Jesus this is your personal mission; You are to bear witness to the fact that Jesus has conquered death, hell, and the grave, by becoming living embodiments of the future he is brining. You do this by leaving things better than you found them!
So let’s look at how this mission is expressed on a personal level and on a ministry level.
Application
Let’s think of the application of our mission on the levels of influence we have in our lives.
Personal: We all have areas in our life where we need to experience the newness that Jesus brings; areas that need to be set to right, areas we want Jesus, through his Spirit, to leave us better than He’s found us. This process begins with Prayer.
a. Ask God where he wants to leave your life better than He found it during this season.
b. Reveal – Allow the Spirit to bring light to the lies you have believed that are keeping you from living the abundant type of life that God’s coming Kingdom represents in this area.
c. In Faith begin to order your life based on God’s truth instead of the enemies lies.
d. Through Grace rely on God’s strength instead of your own to develop the new life patterns you need to walk in God’s truth. This means instead of white knuckling it when you feel the temptation to revert back into your old comfortable habits that you lean into God asking Him in His mercy to give you the strength you need to follow through on your new way of life.
Family: God wants out families to be places where we experience the love and security of his coming Kingdom. The above process really applies to this area as well, because we are simply asking God where he wants to work and then partnering with Him in those efforts. However I would also suggest thinking through what traditions and activities can you engage in together that will help your family experience the type of life Jesus Kingdom brings. These are some things that have been important in my own family’s life, that have helped us experience that newness of the Kingdom.
a. Love Your Spouse! God exists in a loving community of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This love literally fills all creation. There is no better model of the Kingdom we can give to our families and to the world around us than a husband and wife who are whole heartedly in love with each other submitting to one another out of love and respect. This reflects the Kingdom to the world in a radical way and helps leave things better than we found them, because people notice and will ask what your secret is.
b. Encourage One Another: This is one of Paul’s admonitions to the early church and I think it’s a powerful sign of God’s coming Kingdom at work in our families. There are so many negative and discouraging voices that come to us daily. We shouldn’t be one of those voices to the ones we love. Instead we should lean into Christ and allow our words to build up and to bless them. Letting God speak what he sees in them through us.
c. Eat at least one meal a day together as a family. The family meal for us is an opportunity to enjoy good food and each others company. Now that my children are older several of us have touched base as we prepared the meal together. We spend a little time with God in prayer acknowledging Him being the center of our lives. Then everyone gets to talk about what’s happened in their lives, lots of laughing and reminiscing over the past, and opportunities to help each other see life through a Kingdom perspective. This brings the newness and life of the Kingdom to your home daily. It leaves the day better than it was before!
d. Turn off the TV and read to your children when they are young. Great books have the ability to spark our children’s imaginations and reinforce our values. I read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy to my children when they were in elementary school and it sparked their desire for adventure and to be courageous. We read To Kill a Mockingbird because I wanted them to see the strength of character in a man like Atticus Finch. On long trips we listened to the entire Harry Potter series together and discussed the themes and the powerful Christian allegory present especially in the last book. We talked about how we wanted to be humble, and a good friend, and courageous like Harry. God loves books. He’s given us 66 of them to read in the Bible. Great stories reinforce many of the qualities we find in the Bible and give kids a picture of how to engage in the Kingdom battle of good over evil. When we allow our kids to be exposed to great books that inspire them we are leaving them better than we found them with each page that is read.
e. Minister Together. I’ve seen this time and time again. Families that participate in ministry together help their kids own the values of their faith and church. When we first planted the Vineyard my kids were very little, but they helped carry in supplies for the church, they set-up chairs, they handed out freezy pops at outreaches, and cleaned our house as we practiced hospitality. They worshiped with us in small group and as they grew older they began to take key leadership roles in the church itself. Living for Jesus and leaving things better than we found them is something we do 24/7 and they know it and appreciate it, and live it.
f. Be the Main Influence in the Life of Your Kids. We choose to home school our children. I’m not saying that is the right choice for everyone, but it has helped us to be the main influence in the lives of our kids. Our kid’s morals and values have been shaped by us, not by their peers and not by strangers. We have gotten to mold their character. If we had given them away for eight hours a day we would have had to work twice as hard to be that influence; you just have to realize that and be willing to make it happen if you go another route. If the Kingdom of God is the thing your heart burns for, and you are the primary influence in the lives of your children, well guess what? Your kid’s heart will burn to see God’s Kingdom as well. In the Bible, God instructs the parents of Israel to raise and instruct their kids in such a way that they would love God. This is part of what the Kingdom looks like (being our kid’s primary influence not home schooling). We leave things better than we found them in our families when we take the primary responsibility for raising and teaching our kids (whether they are public, private, or home educated).
Ministry: In your area of ministry within the church ask “How can I leave this ministry better than I found it?” May I be so bold as to suggest two ways:
a. Go All In. Don’t approach the area of ministry you are serving in as a duty but as a calling; an opportunity display your love for God and people. Each area that we run in our church is critical to our mission of leaving things better than we found them. Let’s take the set-up crew for instance, your service is giving people the opportunity to be able to connect in worship to our loving God. Your helping us be an incarnational presence in the Tyner schools; we know what’s happening and what their needs are because we are present on the campus. You are allowing us to double dip in terms of mission money because the $14,000 we spend on being able to meet at Tyner High is poured directly back into the school to be used at the principals discretion. Though the set-up crew is totally behind the scenes they are playing a mission critical function. I could do that with every area of ministry in our church. There is not one ministry that is not important, so go all in, invest, approach it as something that is bringing the Kingdom in a powerful way. What you are doing is helping us leave things better than we found them so go all in!
b. Bring a Friend. Because what you are investing in is so important don’t do it by yourself. Find a friend who is not currently serving and invite them to come along and do what you are doing. This is a great way to invite new people into our church. Let’s take the set-up crew illustration for instance. Tell your friend at work about how your church is really investing in some at risk schools in the Tyner area. Say just by meeting at these schools we are able to give them $14,000 a year. How would you like to help us help the school system like that? Well it takes a bunch of folks to get the church set-up each week and I’m part of the set-up crew. Why don’t we meet for coffee and then go and set-up together. It’s a pretty easy way for us to do something significant for our community. Then bring them along and teach them to do what you do and then keep inviting them back. This can be done in every area of ministry. When you do this you are leaving your ministry team better than you found it.
Beyond: Imagine what could happen if you began to apply this way of thinking to every area of your life. If you intentionally started asking the question am I leaving things better than I found them at your work place or in your neighborhood, with the activities you and your family are involved in, thinking city wide, nationally, even globally what kind of difference could God make through you?
This is our calling. The mission of the church is to leave things better than we found them. Last weekend at the outdoor classroom dedication at Tyner Middle School Principal Wendy Young came up to Josh and related what her teachers were beginning to say. As the teachers arrived and saw the Outdoor Classroom that we had partnered with them in building and financing, as we gave them 342 brand new books to go in their English class rooms, as our people were manning face painting booths, and we had brought our moonwalk out for kids, as some of our teenagers were playing football with some of the kids at the school, and as our band provided live music, the teachers looked around and said, “This really is a new Tyner.” Do you see it! They are recognizing that things are being made new. That their school is being transformed it is becoming better than it was before.
This is what it is all about because sooner are later they will also recognize that this newness comes when heaven touches earth. That it is a result of the one who has overcome death, hell, and the grave. The one who is redeeming His broken world; Jesus our Lord, to Him be all the glory forever, Amen.
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