Ground Rules for MDC
- Paul Vroom
- Apr 11, 2007
"What could God actually do if we would be totally sold out to His mission and vision?" has been the
question that has been going through my head for the past six months. What would it look like for this Body of Christ called Missio Dei Church? So to help you get a bigger picture of how this might happen, we set up some ground rules for Missio Dei Church for this upcoming year!
#1. We are going to break the rules.
That's right. We will break the man-made rules that act as a barrier for what God wants us to do. Now, that doesn't mean that we are going to speed 90 miles an hour through a school zone. "Pastor Paul told me to break the rules." Okay? We are going to break the manmade rules that are barriers to what God wants to do. Be barrier breakers for the Gospel.
One week as I was preparing a message, I asked Chad (MDC's Worship Pastor) this question: Without giving me the "correct Christian" response, what was it that drew people to Jesus? What about him or his practices/methods made him attractive?
- He wasn't part of the established institution of the day.
- He was controversial which made people curious... even the Pharisees, who were the religious leaders of the day, had to check him out.
- He was a change agent
- He offered real hope and healing to people
- Word got about him
I don't want Missio Dei Church to be an angry teenager, anti-establishment, ticked off at the church type of church, but we will be really looking at the life of Jesus and be willing to break the "established rules" so that as the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:20 - 23:
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
As we take the risks of stepping out and trying the untried and reaching the unreached or disenfranchise, we might make mistakes. If we make mistakes, I want you to know that will be on the side of being aggressive for the sake and cause of Jesus Christ and not for being passive for the sake of saving our hide.
#2. Believe God for the impossible.
We are going to be a church that absolutely believes God for the impossible. Mark 10:27, Jesus was talking, and some people couldn't figure out how in the world they could be saved, and "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but not with God.'" With God, how many things are possible? ALL THINGS!
We need to be a church that regularly asks ourselves two questions:
- Who do you think will never come to Christ? That's a person we are believing God for this year. We are believing God for the impossible.
- What do you think God will never do? Maybe, it's heal a marriage, heal a physical body, bring someone back to faith. We are going to believe God for the impossible.
#3. We will redefine success.
It is very easy to get sucked into the numbers game, especially as a new church plant. In fact probably one of the first questions people will ask on a Monday morning is, "So, how many people did you have on Sunday?" We will not measure success according to the traditional principles of measurement.
What will success be? John the Baptist said it best in John 3:30. He said, "Jesus must," what? "Jesus must increase, and I must become less." What is success? Success is less of us and more of Him. More of Him in our relationships, more of Him in our thought life, more of Him in our pursuit, not pursuing the things of this world that we want and desire, but pursuing the things of the kingdom of God that last and bring transformation. Less of me. More of Him.
That is a little bit more difficult to measure! It will force us to ask more questions like: Is God being glorified? Are we being true to God's Word? Are people being saved? Are peoples' priorities being changed in accordance to Scripture? Are people developing purposeful relationships with unchurched friends? If MDC would close her doors, would the community sense that something important and viable is missing?
As we look forward, may these ground rules help use remember what God is calling us to in furthering His kingdom!
