Out-of-the-box Christians are on mission

"Today's church is too much like a football game. There are 22 people on the field desperately in need of rest and thousands of people in the stands desperately in need of exercise!"

Those insightful words of Bud Wilkinson while he coached at the University of Oklahoma are perhaps a more telling description of the church than we dare to admit. It seems that, through the decades, it has become easier and easier for Christians to cloister in stained-glass ghettos and avoid penetrating the world as we were sent to do.

A close friend of mine who is pastor of a large and well-known church took his staff through a most interesting journey. They searched the scriptures of the New Testament to find the heartbeat of missions, the vision for the early church. As they sat around the table sharing the results of their research, many answers came to the table, but the overwhelming discovery was that the priority of the church was evangelism--the work of out-of-the-box Christians.

He then handed each staff member a budget. Without any heavy-handedness or any attempt to impose guilt, he simply asked one question: "How well does our budget reflect this New Testament priority?" As everyone around the table soberly reviewed the entire church budget, they discovered a most disturbing fact: The overwhelming majority of resources were directed at things that happened solely within the walls of the church to the exclusion of ministry outside.

Listening to the recounting of this disquieting experience immediately reminded me of the tension that existed between the established church and Christ Himself as He carried out His ministry. It is best demonstrated by examining the vastly different perspectives and priorities between the Pharisees (early Jewish religious leaders) and Jesus Himself.

Three stifling qualities characterize the religious institution of Jesus' day.

First, the Pharisees were traditionalists. The method had become far more important than the message. Change was anathema to their way of life. They did not want the traditions of the past to be impacted by the needs, demographic shifts or sociological trends of the present. The temple and synagogue were becoming more like museums than catalysts for a movement.

Second, they were isolationists. They wanted to stay in "their little corner of the world" and not be bothered by anyone else. Concepts such as cooperation and synergy would have been completely foreign to their understanding. They truly believed they had a corner on the market when it came to religious faith and an understanding of God and His ways.

Third, they were protectionists. They wanted to make sure that no one marred or shook up their standard operating procedures. Their view of guarding the treasure of faith was to build a fence around it so that no one could get in--except ones they approved and who met their entry requirements. The temples had become more of a "club" to belong to with the door tightly guarded and with a long list of entrance requirements.

As a result, the religious leaders and their followers stayed holed up inside the walls. How opposite from the method of Christ! Though He acknowledged the importance of God's house, He did not make it the focal point of ministry. Instead He said it was called to be "a house of prayer"--what we might call a launching pad for ministry. As you read about the life of Jesus, you find that He spent most of His time out where people were and not waiting for people to come to Him.

Perhaps there is a warning signal and an exciting challenge held out for us in this brief look backward, as we are in the process of moving forward. Ministry in today's churches is vitally important; it should be life-changing and exciting. But the entire focus should be to create prayer centers that seek God in order to impact and change His world through His people. Additionally, they should be equipping centers which are mobilizing believers to strategically penetrate and impact the world in which they are planted. We must move from simply gathering Christians to mobilizing them to scatter throughout their communities and world--Christians who are on mission for the Lord whom they serve.

The issue of ministry inside or outside the church is not an either/or issue. It is a both/and issue.

Bob Reccord is president and CEO, North American Mission Board, SBC.