Staying Missional

Mark Carey recently preached at Kairos Network Church on being a people of prayer.  In this article Mark encourages us to Stay missional, building on his previous teaching:

There are two things that I observe disrupting our intention to live out lives of missionary discipleship in this deeply consumeristic, individualistic culture we inhabit: distraction and procrastination.

DISTRACTIONS

Distractions are all around us and we have to exercise great discipline and discernment not to get caught up in them. The psychiatrists would tell us that distraction is, when used right, a good thing. Distraction techniques enable us to manage pain, cope with loss, pass time whilst stopping ourselves from doing a range of things we might do in response to pain, loss and boredom. Distractions, however, have a tendency to occupy our minds therefore causing us to be less focussed because something is taking up important mind space. One of the best examples in the Bible of the effect of distraction is when Pharaoh causes the Hebrews to have a harder job making their bricks – the resultant harder work is designed to move their focus away from God’s promised freedom.

PROCRASTINATION

Procrastination, or as the old saying goes “beating about about the bush”, is what James is referring to in his letter (James 1:5-8). All too often when we lack wisdom we end up “….like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind”. Leaders get caught in indecisiveness as interest groups, powers-that-be and busy-bodies exert their influence thus having a paralysing effect on missional activity. As a leader, disciple and missionary I have to take directional decisions at times and stick to them. As any leader seeks to take a group of people forward with the advancing kingdom they will be tempted to procrastinate – to put off a directional decision out of fear of upsetting someone else, or worry about the discomfort it may cause. But we have to remember….. discomfort and sacrifice are an inevitability as we participate in the kingdom of God. I know I am not the only one who has sensed God saying to me when faced with a number of decisions all of which have kingdom potential but are a bit conflicted just to choose one and get on with it.

FINDING REST

Distraction and procrastination grow in effect as a season that started and developed with great focus and high intentions wears on. In my context I observe as an Autumn term begins a high level on commitment accompanying a sense of calling amongst our missional communities. As Christmas approaches so energy levels decrease, distractions grow, decisions become more vexed. The more mature leaders find their way through this by accessing what is termed in the gospels as ‘the solitary place’. It is in the solitary place that Jesus found guidance & perspective (Mark 1:35-39). He found rest and led others into rest (Mark 6:30-34) and on the back of hearing the news of his cousins death found solace and renewed direction (Matthew 14:13-14).  If we compare the demon possessed man who was driven by the demon into solitary places (Luke 8:26-29) with the voluntary choice of Jesus to go to the solitary place we get some idea of the key to staying missionally focussed – we accept the invitation to the solitary place, enter voluntarily and receive the help, strength and guidance of God by the power of his Spirit. The enemy desires us to be distracted and unable to make kingdom decisions and thus will hate us accessing the secret place of prayer, the solitary place where we will find ourselves, in fact, to be not alone but always helped, always able, always more than conquerors.

by Mark Carey

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