Risk Taking Mission

Joshua 22: 5

Romans 10: 14-15

John 15: 16-17

.Risk Taking Mission

This past week I spent some time lamenting a sense that as we had grown older we had lost that sense of adventure in life. That maybe we operated too much under the “what could go wrong probably will” approach to new things, resulting in avoidance of some activities that might have enriched our lives but in our infinite wisdom that goes along with experiences, we avoided.

The same thing too often happens in churches – what started out as excitement and adventure in starting something new eventually becomes routine and stagnant, yet a fear of changing creeps in. The tendency is to continue doing the same thing in the same way, despite the loss of enthusiasm by volunteers. “We have always done it that way”, or “We have never done this before” become ways of resisting any risk in something new.

Instead of words like vibrant, fruitful, and growing, words like safe, predictable, comfortable, certain, and convenient start to describe the church. Unfortunately, these words most often describe churches that are slowly sliding towards stagnation and eventual closure. The fear of risking money on something new becomes paramount too, especially as church attendance dwindles. The desire then becomes more to do quick and easy things that hopefully will put more people in the pews to help pay the bills. Some churches start to resort to fund raisers to keep the church alive. The need for fund raisers to pay routine operating costs is a sure sign the church is on life support.

Risk-taking refers to “extraordinary opportunities for life-changing engagement with other people with steps into greater uncertainty, a higher possibility of discomfort, resistance, or sacrifice. Risk-taking mission and service takes people into ministries that push them out of their comfort zone, stretching them beyond the circle of relationships and practices that routinely define their faith communities.” (page 87, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.) Risk taking mission is a direct extension of radical hospitality. They go hand in hand—where there is one, there will be the other.

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Now none of this is to say that what our churches have been doing is bad, or wrong. Our congregations do a lot of wonderful things. Seventy-six health kits, $1500 to tornado victims, donations that help provide emergency support to families needing some short term food or gasoline help, or help with paying an electric bill or heating bill—those are certainly mission work. Senior lunches and health checks are certainly a form of outreach that is a wonderful thing to do. Giving out school supplies at a community picnic is another wonderful outreach service to the community. Kids’ Night Out. These are things worth continuing.

However, the hard question has to be asked. “Is what we are doing actually making disciples for Christ for the transformation of our community?”  Other questions that need to be asked are, “How much of what we do is truly impacting the lives of those who really need to know Christ’s love?” and “What are we doing beyond the walls of our church that reaches the unchurched where they are, or are we waiting for people to come to the church to serve them?”

For example, what if the senior lunch were to be expanded into a open lunch for anyone in the community? What if the health check were to become a true Parish Health Check or Parish Nurse program, open to everyone? Parish means community, not a church. Those might seem to be risky steps to take, and more work, but perhaps it could touch more lives. What are the needs in the community around here that we could serve. What can we do WITH people, not just for them or to them? 

One of our problems is, before we devote time, energy, and especially any money to something new we too often want assurance of success.  Part of the “risk” is that trying new things doesn’t work a lot of times, or that the difference we make is something that we don’t see. We don’t know. We can’t see the results sometimes. But out of obedience to Christ, we’ve got to try. And we’ve just got to keep praying and trying. Our job is to try. It is up to God to do the rest.

And that is as biblical as you can get. It’s like the parable of the sower sowing seeds. There’s rocky ground, there are the birds that come and eat it all, there’s the hard soil, there are the weeds — there’s all of that. But the promise is that, by the grace of God, a harvest comes forth a hundredfold. But too often we give up after one or two tries.

Vital, growing congregations practice risk-taking mission and service because they love God and want to follow the teaching and example of Jesus Christ to bring his compassion, mercy and love to those who are not the most lovable, to care for the vulnerable, and offer grace to those who are least deserving. They see their resources as something God will use to change lives and to transform the world around them. 

Their church is a place which offers radical hospitality through invitation and inclusion, passionate worship and intentional faith development to make disciples of Christ who are equipped go out and serve in areas of justice, health care, immigration, environmental, addictions, violence, poverty, loneliness, advocacy. They are more interested in their sending capacity than just their seating capacity. 

Vibrant, fruitful and growing congregations don’t lament and moan about how somebody ought to do something. In the words of Jim Wallace, they believe “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” With the help of the Spirit, they serve with great sensitivity and respect for others as ministry is done with people not to them.

If we are Christians, if we truly believe in God’s Son, and have accepted him as Savior and Lord, then we are each a missionary. Each of us has opportunities each week to extend God’s love to someone else. Doing so sometimes involves risk. Jesus in his last words to his followers did not say, “Sit, and let the people come to you.”  He did not say, “Open the doors on Sunday morning and wait until new people show up.”  Nor did he ever say, “Stay safe in all you do.” Instead he said “Whoever loses his life for my sake shall have eternal life.” And, “Go, make disciples in all the world, and teach them all I have taught you.” If we are Christians, that is the operative word: “Go”.