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Tuesday September 9, 2008 ~ 4 Comments
But, as we point out in the Bible study, we aren't just sent on our own accord; we have to understand something about the nature of God if we are really to understand our sent-ness. Many are quick to jump on the missional bandwagon (or throw rocks at it as it passes by) without seriously considering the theology that drives it. As we look back through the pages of the Old Testament, we see over and over again the God who sends. He sends Moses as an agent of redemption (Ex. 3:12), he sends prophets to proclaim both judgment and restoration (Jer. 1), to his own people and to those who are not (Jonah). Even when he sends his own people into exile as a form of judgment, he sends them with instructions to seek the welfare of the foreign city in which they found themselves sojourning (Jer 29). As we read through the New Testament we see the Father sent the Son to accomplish redemption for his people and indeed all creation (John 5; 8:42; 1 Jn. 4:14; Rom. 8:18-25; Col. 1:15-20). Then we see the Father and the Son sending the Spirit to bring conviction and conversion to the lost, and to empower the church for the spread of the gospel and the work of making disciples (John 14; 16; Mk. 13:11; Luke 11:13). And finally we see Jesus sending the church into the world, just as the Father sent him (John 20:21; Acts 1:8). God has always been, and continues to be, the Sender. So if we, as the church, do not live as sent ones to the people we live among, we are denying that we have come from God. If our identity is found in the God who sends, then "missional" will be more than a buzzword. It's meaning will remain central in defining who we are as the church. That's what we cover in the first session of the study, in an effort to first lay the theological groundwork for living missionally as the church. You can learn more and get your copy of Sent here. Posted on September 9, 2008 at 7:24 PM ~ 4 Comments 4 CommentsComment PolicyComments are welcome on discussion posts. Comments are not moderated but do require a keyword to avoid spam. If this is your first time commenting, please review the comment policy. Leave a comment |






































You can't be a Calvinist...
I know you just did a whole series on this, but maybe we (meaning you ;) ) could offer this as a study at church next session as like a refresher? That would be way cool.
This is the very meaning of loving our neighbors; or being witnesses to Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth;or to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The mission is clear and straightforward.
Thanks for focusing on this overlooked theology. I am convinced that one of the reasons we are not reaching our own culture and even the ends of the earth is because of the absense of this understanding. God is a sending God and for some reason that I can't understand, He chose to use us ,even me, as His ambassadors to represent His Name and His message to the world.