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Good Works Might Distract Us from our Mission!
by Cadet Matt Kean

There is an ideology circulating throughout The Salvation Army that requires soldiers and officers alike to seriously consider their calling and purpose.  It is a deliberate effort to return The Salvation Army to mission.  There are numerous books and articles, sermons and conferences that are intentionally geared toward emphasising the Army’s mandate to reach out to the poor and marginalized.  This ideology looks good and seems to get off on a right foot (so to speak), but it also might carry a subtle danger.  To begin this discussion, it is essential that the reader try to envision the world and perhaps the church through the eyes of our God and Saviour.  Although one could argue that this request is too transcendent to expect, I still must insist that it is necessary to attempt to see and think, as best as we are able, in the same way Jesus did.   The reason for this is because I believe that the concept of MISSION for the Christian is one that cannot be separated from the thoughts, convictions, and even compulsions of our Lord.  Basically, I believe that mission, both its purpose and its priority, is nothing different than the function and role of Jesus as the Messiah. 

Having said this, we must consider what exactly was the mission of Christ and what this means for all who inherit his life.  For the purpose of this essay, I will use as a preface of mission the words of Christ spoken in the gospel of Luke.  In chapter 19, verse 10, I believe there is a clear mandate for Christ as Saviour and herein also ought the church to find its mission:  “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.”  There is no doubt that Jesus’ intention was to redeem humanity in every sense of the word.  He wanted to shift the social paradigm and create a world that was fair and equal.  Oppression and injustice had to be remedied and it could not happen without the intervention of His divinity.  But it must be agreed upon that Christ was meant for much more than to aid humanity in its ascent to the peak of this physical existence.  He came as well, some might argue perhaps even more importantly, to offer all people a way to be rightly related to God.  In other words, the mission of Jesus was foremost to save us from an eternal separation from the Father. 

The church of God, of which the head is Christ, is subject to the mandate of its Master.  Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians:  “I have become all things to all people 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.”  (9:22-23). This was his pronouncement of his mission as a loyal herald of Christ’s message.  Those who are ignorant to the knowledge that salvation is offered in Jesus alone must be permitted to choose Him.  Understanding this is the first step to realizing our appointed mission.[1]  Every person has been given free-will, the ability to make a choice in regards to their eternity, and unless the church carries the invitation to those who are lost they are being robbed of their choice. 

If the mission of Jesus was to confront human beings with an option other than sin and death, that option being Himself, the salvation offered by God, then isn’t it only reasonable to assume that his co-heirs (i.e. Christians) would also offer that same option to their lost siblings?  Surely there cannot be much dispute in this matter – I only hope!  Consider the words of God Himself, quoted by the priest Ezekiel:  “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they would turn to me and live.”  (33:11).  There is so much love burning within the great heart of God for those who are perishing that his own flesh was stapled to a tree in order to lift the oppression of their sinful nature.  The church ought to be so consumed with this same love that it is driven into the world by the same compulsion as Christ was.  It is simply astounding that anything other than the desire to see the world eternally redeemed could become an issue of mission!  All other efforts should merely be a result of our trying to reach this great summit. 

Since, then, the efforts of ministry ought to be a result of the Christian’s desire to see the lost brought into union with God, it only seems fitting to incorporate any means for this end.  In other words, any method by which the good news of Jesus Christ reaches those dying in sin should be welcomed within His church.  Providing such methods meet the standards of Christian character, and display the fruit of the Spirit, there is really no limit to how the church can accomplish the mission of Christ.[2]  There are several things that might affect one’s initiatives in sending out the message of Christ that whosoever will may be saved.  The costs must be weighed as to how the church is being challenged and called to begin specific endeavours, but largely the greatest consideration ought always be “Is this an effective way of bringing people to Jesus?”[3]

Within many Christian efforts toward mission accomplishment there often comes a deliberate need for focus.  Things come from all sides that are worthy and important, but ultimately can be distractions from the desired end.  The reason for this is simple:  Christians who are so concerned about the gospel of Christ as to make it their personal mission can be prone to see everything as mission-worthy.  It’s a strange problem to have within the church, but nonetheless it certainly does exist.  Although it can be easily argued that there are less Christians seriously engaging in Christ’s mission of saving the lost in the present-day church[4], it still remains apparent that those who are engaging in the mission can become distracted by humanitarian works.  In other words, doing good deeds can sometimes replace Christ’s agenda of reaching the lost with His truth and love.[5]

When the priority of the church is to see the lost children of our Heavenly Father returned to his loving family, experiencing all His grace and mercy, all His forgiveness and redemption, she then holds the limitlessness of the mission.  There is a constant freshness that comes with this far superior ambition.  As the angels in heaven rejoice and celebrate at the home-coming of one lost lamb (see Luke 15:7), so too the church will always be sure of its purpose and value if it remains fixed on this end.[6]  Along with knowing her own desired goal is good and right, the church can also be confident that her reason for existence is the bringing about of the Lord’s desired goal.  What need is there to be concerned with smaller, trivial matters?  If the mission of Christ to save the lost remains at the forefront of all endeavours then concern for finances, statistics, methodology, music, and liturgy would drift into a distance. 

Think for a moment how the church would look if our absolute preoccupation was Christ’s mission to ‘seek and save that which was lost.’  Everything we do would be shaped by this great mandate.  There would be a dramatic shift in the emphasis placed on evangelism and outreach.  The location of our church plants would be governed very differently.  Instead of planting churches where we know people will attend, we would plant them where we were certain people wouldn’t even think of church.  Our efforts would be for those who were completely without any knowledge or experience of the gospel at all.  Those who were living in the darkest, most sin-ridden holes would be our targets.[7]  Imagine what the church would look like if her only ambition was to save the eternally lost!  A church such as that could only be made up of a band of radical, passionate, unwavering fanatics who are so in love with their God that they are burdened just as He is with a love for His children.

I am utterly convinced that the solution to the church’s postmodern problems is a re-establishment of the mission of Christ.  It is necessary that we again begin to think spiritually and eternally when considering the world with its issues.  We need to revisit questions that convicted our fathers and drove them to such extremes as martyrdom.  Do we love others with the burning heart of our God?  Do we desire a Christ that requires no self-sacrifice?  Are we reluctant to be fools for our Lord?  These questions and others are heart-piercing and answering them would insist upon ruthless introspection. 

Perhaps the reason today’s church has placed ‘mission-looking works’ above the mission of Christ to save the eternally lost is because the former costs much less.  A Church (specifically a congregation) could not express itself to be a body focused on the world’s salvation if it was not seeing itself be a part of that salvation.  In other words, if a group of believers claim that their mission was solely to bring the message of Christ’s love to those who were gripped by the devil’s hand, then it could not logically face such issues as stagnancy until the world was entirely redeemed.  It would have to function differently than many of today’s western churches.  It could not remain in a centralized location for starters.  It would be obligated to break apart and expand fluidly.  There could be no plans to build bigger buildings, or parking lots, simply because doing so would contradict the mission of Christ to seek that which was lost.  Bigger buildings are for the purpose of holding large numbers of worshippers, whereas the church who is consumed with a desire to see lost sinners saved must want large numbers of worshippers to be dispersed. 

It seems to me that the best example of a church that held tightly to the mission of Christ is the early Salvation Army.  It functioned for the purpose of reaching those who seemed to live deepest in sin.  Their agenda was only to offer the love and tenderness of God and present the redeeming power of Christ Jesus.  William Booth, the founder, was absolutely convinced that the solution to every problem, whether of this world or the next, was to be found in Christ alone.[8]  All their efforts were the result of their understanding of this great mission to ‘seek and to save that which was lost’.