08 Nov What’s Missing in Mission Mobilization Today?
During my time living in Irkutsk, a city in eastern part of Siberia, I was invited to a game of soccer with several students. But this wasn’t any ordinary game of soccer. It was the dead of winter. We boarded one of the local commuter trains, called an elektrishka, that had no discernable heat source save the collective warmth of our bodies. It was so cold that the windows on the inside of the train were iced shut. We were headed out to Lake Baikal to mess around, play some soccer and visit the small coastal town of Lystvyanka.
Baikal was frozen over completely which was an amazing site. It was a vast and snowy flatland, crisscrossed with trails and a major thoroughfare that locals used to drive from the villages on the west side to the east.
When we approached the lake, one of the students barked out in Russian, “Hey, did anyone bring the ball?” It was then that we all realized that in our hurry to get out of town and make the train, we forgot the most fundamental element in the process. We forgot the ball.
This story has been a metaphor to me of the fact that so often today, in the frenetic pace of mission activity, if we’re not careful, we will forget the most fundamental element so crucial to success. I’m talking about the Holy Spirit. I find it fascinating that Jesus is so quiet in the Scriptures on the topic of mission strategy. Instead of lining us out on tactics, plans, and strategies, He gives us the Holy Spirit. The clearest text we have on mission mobilization isn’t about strategy at all, but a reminder to follow closely that One who is the architect of spiritual renewal. “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38) There is no strategy offered here except the admonition to press into Jesus through prayer.
The thought occurred to me that rather than all of the money, time and effort spent on conferences, books, meetings and networks focused on deriving better tactics, strategies and plans, perhaps we’d do well to take a step back and consider the Lord of the harvest, pray and seek him to fill us and lead us into his perfect will. Perhaps it would be a good idea to conference on this topic of spirit-filled mission mobilization. What does that look like?
I recently finished reading an old book called, The Saving Life of Christ, by Major W. Ian Thomas. Thomas reminds us of the story of Amalek, the enemy of God’s people as they journeyed through the wilderness. Amalek is symbolic of the flesh; human effort for God which God ultimately rejects.
It is a stroke of satanic genius, and one of this most ancient devices to persuade you piously to dedicate to God all that you presume to find good in the flesh, which God has condemned. This is the curse of Christendom! This is what paralyzes the activity of the church of Jesus Christ on earth today! In defiance of God’s Word, God’s mind, and God’s judgment, men everywhere are prepared to dedicate to God what God condemns – the energy of the flesh!
That is a mighty convicting thought- that our best intentions, strategies and the energy of the flesh might be inhibiting the real work God wants to do in and through us. Thankfully, we can always start over. The grace of God is limitless and we can always confess our dependence upon our own plans and refresh our trust in him through faith. Dependence upon the Holy Spirit is crucial to enduring and eternal success in mission mobilization. Strategies and tactics are indeed important, but if their origins are from human thinking and the energy of the flesh, then they are in vain. The Christian leader who is most effective rests on the promise of John 15:5 that, “he who abides in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit.” The work, therefore is in the abiding, not in the fleshing it out of ministry activity. It’s no wonder so many burnout early. The second part of John 15:5 states it clearly, “apart from me, you can do nothing.” Oh, but we think we can, and we try. But those who choose to abide and submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in their ministry will “soar on the wings of eagles, they will run and not grow faint..” (Isaiah 40:31).
Our group of students still managed to play our game of soccer. We forgot the ball but we improvised with an old coke can. Under the bright azure Siberian sky and on the tarmac of white crushed snow of Lake Baikal, we made the most of it. It was a great memory and one I’ll cherish. But I have to say, a real soccer ball would have been nice.