“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
From the beginning of the Book of Acts, God called believers to action through his Holy Spirit. This call to action wasn't something new. Jesus himself modeled the priority of an active and going type of faith throughout his three years of ministry.
In his book, Future Church, Will Mancini writes, "Jesus was a man on a mission from God, but he did more than pursue the mission. Jesus recruited, trained, and sent apostles on a mission also, but his movement launched from a stronger base than those individuals. Rather, one of Jesus's greatest and most underappreciated accomplishments was to establish a culture of mission among his followers that perpetuated itself for generations."
As we talk about the idea of mission this week at CrossView, it is crucial to realize that an essential part of the Christian faith is that our faith is lived and directed outward to captivate the wonderings of people around us. The term "missional" has become a popular buzzword over the past few years, but the idea of being missional has existed since the days of Jesus. Being "missional" is simply part of what it means to be Christian.
In an article on the meaning of "Missional" from the Missional Church Network (see link below), we read, "Scripture is replete with sending language that speaks to the missionary nature of a Triune God. God the Father sends the Son, and God the Father and the Son sends the Spirit, and God the Father and the Son and the Spirit sends the church. In the Gospel of John alone, nearly forty times we read about Jesus being sent – either from the evangelist or from Jesus' own lips. In the final climatic sending passage in John's Gospel, Jesus sees himself not only as one sent but also as one who is sending: "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" (John 20:21)."
The question that follows a proper understanding of what it means to be missional is, how do we do that in our context today? I want to acknowledge the difficulty many often feel in not wanting to be relationally awkward with others, especially in a time and place that is not extremely friendly to Christianity. I feel it too.
For the reason just mentioned and many more, I am thankful for the way God has led CrossView to adopt the BLESS model. As we think about Reaching Out to other people, our goal is to develop long-term, meaningful relationships with the people around us, inviting them into their own process with Jesus. It's the context of a relationship that allows us to show and share authentic love and tell others about the love of Jesus. To give us some handles for how to do this, we are using the B.L.E.S.S. model.
We didn't come up with the B.L.E.S.S. model, but it's a straightforward and powerfully transformative approach that really, profoundly loves others and witness to what Jesus had done in our own lives. B.L.E.S.S. (obviously an acronym which is a super churchy thing to do, it's cheesy, we know, but we love it) stands for Begin with prayer, Listen with care, Eat Together, Serve with love, and share your story.
We've got some great resources to find out more about the BLESS model; feel free to look below at the resources, including the book, Bless: 5 Everyday Ways to Love Your Neighbor and Change the World - this is a quick read and incredibly helpful in understanding this approach.
Here's the point. This approach isn't as programmatic as it might seem at first grace.
This approach is about intentionally building long-lasting loving relationships with others, caring deeply about who they are, what's going on in their life, inviting them to your house, and sharing your own story - at appropriate times - of how Jesus has made a difference in your life and inviting others into their own journey with Jesus beginning wherever that might make sense.
As the sent, missionary people of God, the missional church understands its fundamental purpose as being rooted in God's mission to restore and heal all creation and to call people into a reconciled relationship with Himself. What better way than to do that through deeply meaningful and caring relationships. Give it a try!