We added another paragraph to our creed that we think is important. What do you think?
We believe in God – the creator of the universe:
God is full of mercy and grace,
God is just and loves justice,
God is love and is on our side,
God’s hope is to be in relationship with every person,
God’s plan is to restore all of creation to wholeness, and to see his dream for the world - his kingdom come.
We believe in Jesus the Christ:
Jesus the human expression of God,
Jesus the savior of the world,
Jesus the living demonstration of God’s dream for the world.
Jesus came to put the world right again,
Jesus came to display the justice of God,
Jesus came to provide real & eternal life – life as God intended it to be lived.
We believe in the Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit is here now,
The Holy Spirit guides us into truth,
The Holy Spirit empowers our lives as we seek God’s kingdom as our first priority.
We believe that God has a purpose for each of us, and so in faith:
We commit to recognize & honor God,
We commit to pursue a relationship with God,
We commit to embody the character of God,
We commit to align our lives with God’s dream for the world – helping to make the world a better place.
We believe God is holy – wholly other – beyond our ability to completely grasp or comprehend.
We believe that God is larger than any of our ideas about him or words used to describe him.
As a result, we hold these beliefs humbly and loosely -
Embracing the mystery.
Amen
Monday, November 9, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Understanding God's Mission
Big question #3: What is the mission of God?
Missiologists often use the the term mission Dei, which means the mission of God. As a result many refer to God as a “missionary God.” They understand the church as a “sent people.” “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21).
Mission is understood as being derived from the very nature of God. It is thus put in the context of the doctrine of the Trinity, not of ecclesiology (doctrine of the church) or soteriology (doctrine of salvation). The classical doctrine of the mission Dei as God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit is expanded to include yet another “movement”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sending the church into the world. (From the Book Transforming Mission by David Bosch.)
As we have used the tools of biblical scholarship carefully, we have begun to learn that the biblical message is more radical, more inclusive, more transforming than we have allowed it to be. In particular, we have begun to see that the church of Jesus Christ is not the purpose or goal of the gospel, but rather its instrument and witness. God’s mission embraces all of creation. “God so love the world” is the emphasis of the beloved gospel summary in John 3:16. This does not mean that the church is not essential to God’s work of salvation – it is. But it is essential as God’s chosen people “who are blessed to be a blessing to the nations” (Genesis 12). (From the book Missional Church edited by Darrell L. Guder.)
What is God’s mission?
Mission is the result of God’s initiative, rooted in God’s purposes to restore and heal creation.
“God’s mission is to set things right in a broken, sinful world, to redeem it, and to restore it to what God has always intended for the world.” (From Treasures in Clay Jars edited by Lois Y. Barrett)
We are called and sent to represent God’s dream for the world. It is our task to create foretastes of God’s kingdom here on earth.
Romans 14:17 - the Kingdom of God is justice, wholeness & celebration.
1. As followers of the way of Jesus we represent the reign of God in the world. By “being” different. We love one another
2. As followers of the way of Jesus we serve the reign of God. By “doing” acts of mercy and justice.
3. As followers of the way of Jesus we announce the reign of God. By “speaking” good news.
The Kingdom of God is both a gift we receive and a realm that we inhabit.
The daily life for a follower of Jesus is about asking how one may move more fully into the realm of God’s reign & how one may welcome & receive God’s reign into the fabric of one’s life this day more than ever before.
I believe that these ideas are the key to experiencing “life to the full” that Jesus promised.
Shalom!
The following are a few key verses from Scripture that teach this concept:
John 10:10, 17:3, 3:16-17, Luke 4:43, 4:18-19, 10:27, 8:48, Mark 4:37-39, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Galatians 3:28-29, Ephesians 2:14, Colossians 1:19-20, Ezekiel 34:25-29, Leviticus 26:4-6, Isaiah 11:6-9, 32:16-17, 65, Jeremiah 29:10-14 & Psalm 34:14
So what do you think?
Missiologists often use the the term mission Dei, which means the mission of God. As a result many refer to God as a “missionary God.” They understand the church as a “sent people.” “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21).
Mission is understood as being derived from the very nature of God. It is thus put in the context of the doctrine of the Trinity, not of ecclesiology (doctrine of the church) or soteriology (doctrine of salvation). The classical doctrine of the mission Dei as God the Father sending the Son, and God the Father and the Son sending the Spirit is expanded to include yet another “movement”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sending the church into the world. (From the Book Transforming Mission by David Bosch.)
As we have used the tools of biblical scholarship carefully, we have begun to learn that the biblical message is more radical, more inclusive, more transforming than we have allowed it to be. In particular, we have begun to see that the church of Jesus Christ is not the purpose or goal of the gospel, but rather its instrument and witness. God’s mission embraces all of creation. “God so love the world” is the emphasis of the beloved gospel summary in John 3:16. This does not mean that the church is not essential to God’s work of salvation – it is. But it is essential as God’s chosen people “who are blessed to be a blessing to the nations” (Genesis 12). (From the book Missional Church edited by Darrell L. Guder.)
What is God’s mission?
Mission is the result of God’s initiative, rooted in God’s purposes to restore and heal creation.
“God’s mission is to set things right in a broken, sinful world, to redeem it, and to restore it to what God has always intended for the world.” (From Treasures in Clay Jars edited by Lois Y. Barrett)
We are called and sent to represent God’s dream for the world. It is our task to create foretastes of God’s kingdom here on earth.
Romans 14:17 - the Kingdom of God is justice, wholeness & celebration.
1. As followers of the way of Jesus we represent the reign of God in the world. By “being” different. We love one another
2. As followers of the way of Jesus we serve the reign of God. By “doing” acts of mercy and justice.
3. As followers of the way of Jesus we announce the reign of God. By “speaking” good news.
The Kingdom of God is both a gift we receive and a realm that we inhabit.
The daily life for a follower of Jesus is about asking how one may move more fully into the realm of God’s reign & how one may welcome & receive God’s reign into the fabric of one’s life this day more than ever before.
I believe that these ideas are the key to experiencing “life to the full” that Jesus promised.
Shalom!
The following are a few key verses from Scripture that teach this concept:
John 10:10, 17:3, 3:16-17, Luke 4:43, 4:18-19, 10:27, 8:48, Mark 4:37-39, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Galatians 3:28-29, Ephesians 2:14, Colossians 1:19-20, Ezekiel 34:25-29, Leviticus 26:4-6, Isaiah 11:6-9, 32:16-17, 65, Jeremiah 29:10-14 & Psalm 34:14
So what do you think?
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