Research on the rising Millennial and GenX generations reveals that they want to be a part of a cause that matters. Men in general are similarly motivated to accomplish a mission. They want to know which hill to take. In fact, every serious Christian wants to hear the Lord whisper in his ear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when he completes the mission the Lord has marked out for him. Faithfulness to this mission has two requirements: 1) a clear picture of the mission, 2) staying focused on that mission.
1) Clear picture of our mission: Scripture describes the mission of Christ-followers different ways; but the explanations fall into three categories that can be summarized this way. Christ-followers are:
Called TO Christ (i.e. into a personal relationship Him) “God, who has called us into fellowship with his son, is faithful” (I Cor. 1:9)
Called to BECOME LIKE Christ (i.e. a disciple is to be like his master) “For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son” Romans 8:29
Called to EXERCISE DOMINION FOR Christ (i.e. we are to rule over every sphere of our lives implementing Christ’s agenda of righteousness) “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Mat 6:33.
A close examination of the Westminster Confession of Faith (the most widely accepted summary of protestant orthodoxy) points to these three parts of God’s mission for us, though stated slightly differently. Shorter Catechism Question #1 states, “Man’s chief end is to GLORIFY God and to ENJOY him forever.” Jesus taught that we glorify God by being disciples who bear fruit (John 15:8). Biblically, there are 2 categories of spiritual fruit, our inward attitudes and our outward actions. Galatians 5:22-23 makes clear that spiritual fruit is Christ-like character: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Colossians 1:10 makes clear that spiritual fruit also includes our actions: “So that you may live a life worthy of the Lord, and may please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work…” Therefore, we have 3 parts to our mission: 1) To ENJOY GOD, 2) To GLORIFY GOD through Godly attitudes, 3) To GLORIFY God through doing what is on His agenda.
2) Staying focused on our mission: In the twenty-first century, one of the most distinguishing characteristics of our culture is distraction. All day long our smart phones ping or buzz with the latest Facebook post, tweet, or email requiring us to turn off our phone at night so we can sleep. In restaurants it is not unusual to see people completely ignoring the person sitting directly in front of them to interact with their phones. Our ministry believes that the best antidote to the current distraction-driven life of Christian men may be a short weekly reminder of their mission through practical ideas and encouragements about how to achieve that mission. Accordingly, we have changed this e-letter:
- It will be a quick, weekly, three-minute FOCUS on some aspect of our mission as disciples of Christ. Articles will be focused on 1) our walk with Christ, 2) becoming like Christ, and 3) Christ’s agenda for spheres of our lives like our vocation, sharing Christ with the lost, loving our wives well, managing our sexuality, stewarding our resources, praying effectively for others, etc.
- Each post will include discussion question(s) for self-examination or use with some brothers to mentor one another.
- Each post will provide a link to resources that address the topic of discussion
- Besides sending it through Constant Contact, the article will be posted to the Got Your Back Book Facebook Page, where we hope to develop a community of those focusing together on Christ’s mission for us.
- The new name will be FOCUS Online Mentoring.
Questions for thought.
Which of the three aspects of your mission is the hardest for you to keep in focus? Why do you think that is the case?
Which distractions do you most need to overcome to stay focused on your mission?
Resource Link:
The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren.
The Focus Notebook sold at this website.
