Going Out and Growing Up

  It is Biblically inconceivable to think of global missions without the local church. The apostolic mission and the pastoral ministry are complementary to one another, like two wings on the same bird. Never once in Scripture were these to be separated.

True, the “apostolic mission” has a different focus than does the “pastoral ministry.” The “apostolic mission” is focused on going into the world to make disciples and plant churches. The “pastoral ministry” focuses on building up those who have responded to the gospel and now form the church, the body of Christ. This specialization is a kingdom example of the “division of labor,” where each “laborer in the harvest” is assigned specialized tasks to advance kingdom purposes resulting in the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Just as marketing and manufacturing complement one another, apostolic mission and pastoral ministry complement one another.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t always worked out this way. Mission focused ministries sometimes break away from local churches. Other times, local churches become so focused on their assignment they begin to see themselves as the whole, rather than as a part of the Mission of God. Two thousand years of church history demonstrates this again and again.

Perhaps you have known someone who has been part of a “mission” organization or movement who has a very difficult time re-adjusting to life in a local body of believers once they return from the field. You have seen how awkward they are in dealing with the daily grind of local church life: the petty squabbles and pet projects that come with being a family turn to bitter criticism and harsh judgment against the church. Sometimes they never learn to fit. Somewhere along the way they lost the heart and language of the local church.

Or perhaps you have known a pastor who thinks the sun rises and sets on his or her congregation. When the subject of “missions” is brought up, their immediate response is, “this church and this city are our mission!” End of discussion. Sometimes they give a token to mission outreach, generally just enough to keep the mission-minded members from storming the castle with pitchforks, axes, and torches. Compared to how much time, talent, and resources are spent on themselves, their mission partnership is in reality non-existent.

It is what happens when we grow apart: we loose the very gift to one another God intended for us to be. When the pastoral ministry looses its life-giving relationship to the apostolic mission it will move to the dark side of pastoral life. Pastoral life at its best excels in the spiritual care and guidance of a congregation. Pastoral life at its worse is when the pastoral ministry exists only for itself. It is idyllic, peaceful, and comfortable. Unfortunately, it is strolling towards death.

When the “apostolic mission” separates from local church it looses the spiritual nutrients and stability that are only found in the household of God, the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15).  Yes, pioneering and planting are exciting cutting edge ministries that require a specific gift mix, but this cannot be separated from the body of Christ. Otherwise, what are we doing? Trying to make disciples who are not connected together as the body of Christ?

There is a better way. Think of the Mission of God as a circle. In the northern hemisphere you have the “apostolic mission” to go into all the world to make disciples and plant churches that plant churches. Let’s call the southern hemisphere the “pastoral ministry.” Here we focus on developing healthy local churches. As these churches mature, they will eventually begin to send out their own missionaries to reproduce the work of God in other places. (Recommend “Disciples of All Nations: Continuous Mission Until He Comes” by John Amstutz.)

 

When local churches and missionaries grasp the strength and beauty of this synergistic relationship we will enter a new season of fruitfulness in going out and in growing up.