A Missional Credo for Tough Times

Right now, banks are pulling back; mortgage firms are pulling back; individuals are pulling back from their 401-k plans and unloading their stock portfolios. Folks are trying to preserve what they've got and minimize their risks.

Churches might be tempted to pull back and minimize their risks as well, thinking that acting missionally is best left to better economic times. Habakkuk, the Old Testament prophet reminds us that we ought not put our trust only in what we can see with our eyes.

In Habakkuk 3:17-19 he says: "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, {18} yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. {19} The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights."

There couldn't be times much worse than that: no buds on the fig trees; no grapes on the vine; a failed olive crop; no grain in the fields; no sheep or cattle in pens or stalls. In Habakkuk's day that looked like economic disaster leading to starvation and eventual death.

Even though their were no outward signs of God's blessing, Habakkuk had confidence that God's blessings would come. In Habakkuk’s Creed everything turns on the first phrase of verse 18 “yet I will rejoice” – the word in Hebrew for this phrase is alaz which means “to rejoice in triumph” Habakkuk expresses that despite what he sees with his eyes, he is confident in God’s power to save and to strengthen him. His exuberance is so lofty that he says “He makes my feet like that of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”

His credo can be one for churches and individual Christians to think and act missionally. Worldly logic would say "this is no time to be planting churches" or "this is no time to invest my own time and money in outreach." Habakkuk's credo reminds us that this may exactly be the time that God is ready to produce the most fruit.

9-11 brought a flood of people into churches for a short time with questions and interest in things spiritual. Many churches may not have been prepared to leverage that interest to introduce people to Jesus. Some predict the current financial downturn to last for years creating a new and perhaps extended opportunity to introduce people to Jesus so that they learn not to "store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. {20} But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:19-20)

So, the next time I start evaluating God's actions only by what I am seeing, I am going to remember Habakkuk's words "yet I will rejoice...the Sovereign LORD is my strength...he enables me to go on the heights."

Three Missional Lessons in Hospitality From a Cruise Ship Crew

1st Peter 4:9 says "Offer hospitality to one another..." The Greek for "hospitality" is philoxenia (philos=love; Xenos= strangers) It means "to love the stranger.

Every one of our churches expresses the desire to share that kind of hospitality with guests but often struggle to do so. Our family (Becky, Jennifer, Mike and I) experienced philoxenia first hand on a cruise of Alaska just a few weeks ago. While the cruise was totally enjoyable, I observed 3 lessons in missional behaviors and attitudes that churches and leaders could learn from.

1) The highest level of care needs to be expressed at the lowest level of the organization: I know there was a captain on our ship because the ship went the right direction, arrived at each port on time and didn't sink. But, I only saw the captain once while he was going up a flight of stairs. However, I saw Bennie our room steward and Lelik and Bramadi our table stewards several times each day. They were warm and friendly, and by the end of the first day they knew all of our names and engaged us in welcome conversation. They expressed care which was genuine. It would have done little good for Holland America Cruise Lines to advertise "we have the most caring captains on the high seas" if those members of the crew who actually worked with passengers were not caring. Even if such and advertisement were true, it wouldn't matter if those who interacted with passengers didn't do the job. We knew that a good captain was commanding the bridge because at every level of the ship's crew, from top to bottom, that level of care was expressed and experienced. By the end of the week, Bennie, Lelik and Bramadi were our good friends. Sometimes in our churches we expect our pastors to be the sole provider of care and everyone's friend. While that might work in a church of 100, it won't work in a church much larger. The world's friendliest pastor can't compensate for unfriendly ushers, greeters and regular church goers. He needs to model that caring and continually teach it to the people in his church.

2) No "insider" language on board: The crew on our ship was mostly Indonesian which means that their native language is Bahasa Indonesia (what we call Indonesian) and yet all spoke English to the mostly American and Australian passengers. Even when they were talking to each other, they did not speak Indonesian but English. I asked one of the crew members about this and he said that this is always done because they do not want a passenger to mistakenly think that crew members are talking them. He also said that "we are here for the passengers and not for ourselves." We could learn much in the church as we have a great deal of "insider" language and expressions.
Our announcements, acronyms and even worship forms often assume others know exactly what we are talking about, even bordering on giving the impression that we never expect a guest to come who doesn't already know "our language." Those of us in the church need to continually ask ourselves how the language, expressions, and lingo affect those who are our guests. We need to speak their language.


3) Substance and style are both vital to a guest's experience: Having a well prepared and delicious meal every night in the dining room on board was promised in all the promos we read before taking the cruise. Card tricks and math riddles (when our steward discovered Becky is a math whiz) every night made our meals memorable. We were made to feel like we were our Stewards "favorites". Having a clean room with made up beds each day was important, but the attention to detail, the towel animals made by our steward each night and the engaging conversation with our room steward made us feel special. One might say "what's so special about that?...that's how every passenger feels."

Exactly -- no one is missed. Every passenger experiences the same level of care. Both the substance of what one experiences on a cruise (safety, good food, exciting destinations, learning about new places and people) and the style (the friendly respect from crew members, the special touches to keep everything spotless, making you feel important) are both vital to the experience. However, if it were all style and the food was bad, we were late arriving at every port or the ship sank, none of the style would have mattered. If the substance was gotten right but the crew was unfriendly and the ship dirty, most people would not sail with that cruise line a second time.

In our churches, it is important to get substance (Biblically faithful theology, God honoring worship, correct division of Law and Gospel, Theology of the Cross) right while we pay close attention to style (appropriate worship forms, welcoming environment, effective discipling methods). It is all part of what guests and members experience.