In one week I’ve had a number of conversations about missiology. Missiology is the theological study of the mission of the church. So I think it’s time that I share my missiology. Though my thoughts are not complete the starting point is clear: I believe the pastor’s primary role is to study the mission of their own church rather than the mission of the whole Church. I believe the work God accomplishes through His church is diverse, difficult, and beautiful. God accomplishes unity without being confined to uniformity. No single church gathering accomplishes the entire mission of Christ through His body.  But together we accomplish the great and vast work for this generation.

I’ve found that the problem with the methods of our missions is that it can eliminate the need to seek the Lord. Many methods of the ‘how’ of ministry have a few established steps that will guarantee change, church growth, and community transformation. Our methods become so important that we conclude that ministries fail because they didn’t take the right approach. Can God work through a church who doesn’t accurately take each prescribed step? Or is success completely embalmed in the confines of methodical steps?

Sometimes I am tempted to put my hope in the methods. Fulfilling prescribed methods don’t seem as difficult as discerning the mystery of God’s work. However, the Lord has often led people toward unfamiliar and unpredictable actions because His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Is. 55:9). And how often did God only work through the predictable schemes? The approach to Jericho was different than the approach to Ai. Through Moses He dried up a path in the Red Sea but filled the earth with water in the times of Noah. Nehemiah left the king to rebuild Jerusalem but Esther entered the king’s palace as his wife. Paul ministered to the Gentiles and Peter ministered to the Jews.

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit preached.

People were cut to the heart and they asked, “what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).

Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit preached.

People were cut to the heart and they stoned Stephen (Acts 7).

The lasting mission for the individual believer and the family of faith is to discern the will of God through communion with God. It is our privilege to follow where He leads and trust what He says. I believe this mission takes priority over any method we may prescribe. The question brought before Jesus continues to echo throughout this generation.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

-John 6:28-29

Does our missiology cause us to depend more on man and his methods or God and His mystery?

God works in mysterious ways 

His wonders to perform…

Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan his work in vain;

God is his own interpreter,

And he will make it plain.

 -William Cowper

I read this book to learn what it takes to build a physical bridge so I could gain insight in building relational bridges. One of the strongest points I learned was that every bridge builder must consider how much of a load their bridge can bear. Bridges (even relationally) are about connecting two sides but also about withstanding the burden of those loads (people, cars, ideas) that need to travel over. With an uncertain challenges approaching the city I think the insights are applicable.

David McCullough is a prolific author and this book is one of his many works. There may be more details to the process than you can digest but its a good story.

A few quotes:

“It was an absolute no man’s land below, but here above it had been conquered, bridged, beautifully.”

“Nothing lasts forever. The most unforeseen circumstances will swamp you and baffle the wisest calculations. Only vitality and plenty of it helps you.” ‘

“The foundations for the support of these large masses of masonry must be unyielding.”

-The architect of the bridge about the importance of foundation.

I believe it’s important to read and learn about cultures and people we do not know. Particularly other nations, minorities, and women. With this goal in mind I just finished the book Desert Queen by Janet Wallach. It’s a biography about a women name Gertrude Bell and her engagement with the people, politics, and culture of the Middle East.

Gertrude was a wealthy woman from Britain who spent many of her years traveling the desert and living among the elite men in Arabia. It is impressive to learn the significant impact she had on the future of Iraq–especially as a woman in the Middle East in the early 1900’s. The books is full of information about the culture of the Middle East the determination of the human spirit–its flaws and its strengths.

A few quotes:

“Obstacles were made to be overcome.”

“She would find the untried and persevere to overcome it; otherwise, it was hardly worth doing.”

“There had never been an independent Iraq…Now she was not only deciding a country; she was devising its shape and determining who would lead it, how it would be governed, who would be included in its citizenry, what would be its law and institutions.”

One of the hidden responsibilities of leadership is the constant demand to make decisions. Leaders have to maintain a capacity to make decisions that resolve conflict, provide clarity, and define purpose. That is why wisdom is such a vital component to leadership.

Someone who is wise has the “power of discerning and judging properly as to what is right or true.”  Gaining wisdom is an important element to strengthening your leadership. When Solomon was faced with the daunting task of leading, his primary request to God was for wisdom (1 Kings 3:9). To this day God continues to generously give wisdom to those who ask:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. -James 1:5

In all of the various leadership qualities and attributes you are working to improve, don’t neglect the practicing of asking your heavenly Father for heavenly wisdom.

In a few words…

The Half Has Never Been Told by Edward Baptist is a well written book that tells the story of the atrocities of slavery, the forced migration of slaves to Southwest America, the entrepreneurial enterprises that caused the migration, and the financial impact on America’s economy. Edward Baptist provides a fresh perspective, heart-wrenching stories, and interesting facts in our country’s history.

A few quotes…

“It was very strange for such white men to sing ‘Oh, Susanna, don’t you cry for me’–a story of an enslaved man trying to find his true love, who’d been taken to New Orleans…”

“The Woolfolks also shipped slaves across the Chesapeake to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Employees there offloaded enslaved passengers by night and marched them east up Pratt Street through the heart of today’s downtown Baltimore.”

“[Slaves] hoped that in that future, children or children’s children–their own blood–would be free. For this future to arrive, however, someone had to survive.” (on why slaves who didn’t fight back were just as strong as those who did)

“Slavery undermined freedom’s future for whites as well as blacks.” (Abraham Lincoln)

It’s been one year since we started a church in Southwest Baltimore. This year has been full of intense challenges and encouragements. Over all it’s been a tremendous start. Yet today I find myself wondering how I will finish.

Truthfully, how I finish will overshadow how I’ve started.

Whether I’m reading a book, exercising, or starting a church, I’ve found that its more difficult to finish than it is to start. I’ve been thinking about this because Jesus said,

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” -John 4:34

For some reason those final three words stood out to me. I’ve often found encouragement to do God’s will but now I want an appetite to finish His work. Jesus found delight in finishing. I actually think that envisioning how we want to finish is a good place to start. There are so many new works beginning in Baltimore. I pray that we will all finish better than we have started.

I’m not sure if we live in hard times or just a hard world. Haven’t the times before ours been hard too? I can at least conclude that we have our share of challenges as a country, a city, and a church. I keep looking to find God in the midst of it all.

I need to see Him working in the midst of this brokenness. Otherwise we have no hope to fight for tomorrow. So where is God in the midst of all this ugliness? Where is He in the disgusting acts that have stolen the lives of the innocent? Where is He when people write bitter words that cut at the humanity of others?

I think God is near in this time of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

A man named Simeon once told Mary that through Jesus the “thoughts of many hearts will be revealed” (Luke 2:35). Today the true thoughts of peoples hearts are on full display. The ugliness of brokenness was already there but now it’s being displayed through a new medium–social media. Videos now expose candid moments that would have gone unseen in the past. And written posts give a snapshot of peoples thoughts toward others. Many times it can all be ugly.

But it’s when we see the brokenness of our hearts that we realize we need healing. What have the challenges revealed about your heart? How is God working to heal you in that place of brokenness?

The word reconciliation can be perceived as a passive path around conflict. I’ve learned that it is the costliest path through conflict and toward healing. Reconciliation comes at a cost…are we willing to pay it?

In my personal life I’ve recently been reconciled to my dad. Prior to this year I had 2-3 encounters with my dad throughout my life. His decisions and actions have caused great pain in my family. When I received a letter from a man I hadn’t seen in 10 years I didn’t know how to respond. I knew I had every right to be angry and lash out at him. But I had forgiven him long ago when I didn’t want to his decisions to limit my future.

So I reached out to my dad and listened to his story. He shared his life challenges and his remorse for not being in my life. I held none of it against him though I had every right. For me the greatest gain wasn’t his remorse…it was my dad. My dad, with all his flaws and strengths was the greatest gain for me.  Reconciliation comes at a cost…are we willing to pay it?

My faith in Jesus also teaches me a great reality about reconciliation. I believe that Jesus died for our sins so that we could be reconciled to God. The powerful truth of the Gospel of Jesus is that He died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). God did not wait for us to agree with Him before He willingly paid the cost of reconciliation. Are we willing to be reconciled to our enemies or those who don’t agree with us? This comes at a greater cost than being reconciled to our friends…are we willing to pay the cost?

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God

through the death of His Son,

much more, having been reconciled,

we shall be saved by His life.

-Romans 5:10

I’ve realized that there are still strong feelings about race in Baltimore. Many conversations are focused on the topic of race but not aimed toward the goal of reconciliation. Recently I heard the term “zero-sum” and I did some research on its meaning. What I learned helped me understand how our assumptions about reconciliation impact our conversations about race. My hope is that the overall sum of our conversations of race will lead us to reconciliation. Here are three different approaches:

There are conversations filled with anger. The assumption is that there is very little space for common ground. These conversations tend to become arguments and neither person involved gains anything. The only true gain is determined by who loses the less ground for their argument. Overall there is a regress from reconciliation so this results in a negative-sum conversation.

There are also conversations filled with exchanges of pain. There is an assumption that in order for one person to gain something, then someone else must lose something. So in order for me to feel validated someone must feel remorse.  There is an exchange of pain but there is no progress toward reconciliation. Overall steps toward reconciliation are stalled in blame. So it becomes a zero-sum conversation.

Finally, there are conversations filled with grace. There is an assumption that somehow there is enough healing to fully cover the deep layers of pain. So each person fights for healing with courageous vulnerability. For each pain exchanged there is forgiveness offered. And every strand of forgiveness strengthens the bond of reconciliation. So it becomes a positive-sum conversation.

Which conversations will you lead?

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

-Romans 5:8

My Top 3 Observations:

In response to the events in the city there has been an overwhelming effort toward the physical needs and an underwhelming effort toward the issues of justice and righteousness. Justice and righteousness are the more challenging and long-term work. But they are also a part of God’s heart.  What would change if we were committed to see justice and righteousness flow through our streets?

The Church needs to commit to the long term work of equipping disciples who make disciples. In my work with juveniles charged as adults I’ve observed that many youth are with adults when committing serious crimes. Many people have criticized the youth of our city but I wonder how many of us are involved in one youth’s life? What if we had adults showing them a different way?

There have been many people positioning themselves for power, platforms, or profit. It was painful to watch people vie for the spotlight and the microphone to capitalize from the attention of a city’s pain.  What would we learn if we listened to those who are doing the most and speaking the least? 

 

My Top 3 Recommendations

Potential is rarely fulfilled or realized without opportunity. This is true for many youth in the city but it is also true for many servant-leaders in the city.  There are many leaders with great potential to impact the city but their opportunities are limited. So here are my 3 top recommendations of how people can get involved.

Financially invest in a person. There are leaders who possess great passion, skill, and relationships but have little resources. Find someone who is positioned to make an impact and gather others to financially support their efforts. What would happen if the dream of leaders became realities in our city? Here is someone you can support today:

• Jeff Thompson–I will place my reputation on this sentence: Jeff Thompson is a hidden jewel that can have great impact in the city of Baltimore. For the purpose of this blog I will refrain from writing all I would like about this brother in Christ. Jeff is a former football player at Univ. of Delaware (He played with Flacco but don’t tell him I mentioned it.), young (30), African-American, godly man, husband, and father.  He has all the skill, ability, and potential to have an impact on the youth and young men in this city. He has a vision start a football league in Baltimore that is similar to a ministry called Timoteo in Philadelphia. Visit Timoteo’s Facebook page to get a glimpse of what could be in Baltimore. I would love to introduce you to Jeff. Send me an email at ghopkins@gallerychurchbaltimore.com

Personally invest your skill. Many great leaders need help with administration, organization, budgeting, marketing, IT, and volunteers to do the work. What would the city look like if ministries and non-profits had no lack of people to do the work?

Join with others and serve. Link arms, sweat, and serve with people who are laboring in the city. This is a great opportunity to build relationships, gain on the ground perspective, and benefit from what the city has to offer you.

• Every summer we serve the people in our city for a weekend.  Groups from other churches also participate in this event as a summer mission trip. Join us! Get more information on this serving opportunity called City Uprising.