Caring for our Own Community v. Being a Movement

Christian communities are called to be movements, not monuments. We are called to be set-out people, to be on mission is what we are about.

The most common objection to mission that I get is on the grounds of taking care of our community. This conversation creates a false dichotomy. In the Kingdom of God, there is absolutely zero conflict between building community and being on mission. They are not at odds with one another. They are not conflicting values.

Community and mission do not cut against one another, they bless one another and keep each one holy. Community blesses mission in that God does not call us to be Lone Rangers trying to save the world and fight every possible battle on our own. Mission blesses community in that it keeps community from growing stale, stagnant, in-bred, unhealthy, cut-off, clique-ish, gross.

And of course the best picture we have in this is Jesus and his disciples. Jesus was on mission. He moved. His whole ministry was itinerant. He traveled, he taught, he healed, and he brought his disciples with him. The default posture of the community of Jesus and his disciples was movement.

And of course there were times when Jesus pulled away with his disciples, taught just his disciples or cared for them in some other way. This is critical as well.

But it is instructive that these times of pulling away were the notable times. Jesus and his disciples generally interacted with people outside of their immediate community with occasional retreats to be together. In most of our Christian communities the rhythms of ministry are completely the opposite. Our standard operating procedure is internal care, with a few notable attempts at reaching out.

All our natural inertia and tendency is internal, towards our own communities. It takes a disproportionate amount of "pulling" to get us to face outward. And so that is what we will do.