Missio Dei

The A1 is a nightmare road that connects the North East to the rest of the UK. It is always full of road works, sections of it close without warning, and every time we go anywhere that involves a trip on that road it turns Into an ordeal.

Yesterday was no different.

We were on the way to see family in Leeds and then on to Liverpool to see even more family.

But when stuck in extremely slow moving traffic, I found my eyes drawn to the back of a lorry that was directly in front of us in the queue of traffic.

The massive truck was representing a well known clothing company and was probably delivering it's contents around a chain of stores across the UK, maybe beyond.

On the back of it was the company name and then a kind of strap line.

The strap line said this.

Follow me, I'm going somewhere amazing!

In my mind I immediately thought of Jesus.

I've been studying a lot lately. Studying all things mission, seeing as I am just completing a Masters degree in mission. A concept that is widely talked about in missional practice is the Missio Dei. The Missio Dei, loosely translated from the Latin as the God's Mission, is basically the concept that God is already at work in our neighbourhoods and our world in general. He is at work carrying out his saving work and basically us Christians need to join him there to carry out that work.

I thought of the times I have had to find a definition for this in books about mission, books that quite frankly are enough to throw the whole of Christendom off course forever. Written by academics who sometimes it would seem need to get out more. In fact they have given me a personal mission, never to read one ever again if I can help it!

But here in front of me on the back of an old red wagon was a fantastic definition of the Missio Dei!

Follow me, I'm going somewhere amazing!

Of course I can't use this as a reference!

Can you imagine.

Old red Truck: (A1, Scania Trucks, 2011)

The boundaries of academia don't stretch that far!

As I thought of that statement, follow me, I'm going somewhere amazing I thought of a meeting I had last week.

There is a guy who works for a Church in Durham who pops in to S21 for a coffee during the course of his kingdom business in the week. This guy, like me has a heart for the poor and the needy. We have had some conversations lately about the poor homeless or needy people that congregate in Sanctuary 21 the SA Corps I lead along with My missus Dawn.

We were talking about the need for these guys to have some structure in the day, something to keep them occupied yet something that will make a difference spiritually, emotionally and physically. Suddenly we found ourselves engrossed in a glut of suggestions about ways for S21 to carry that out. And before long we found ourselves praying together about it and after that felt we were armed with a way forward.

I love this type of meeting. We don't really bother with those formal lifeless agenda driven meetings in our place. We have what we call ICMs (Impulsive Creative Meetings)!

They would probably drive the perfectionist business type person mad! But at least they achieve something other than a date for the next meeting!

And God seems to like turning up to them! (of course not that he doesn't turn up to other types of meetings!)

After this meeting I went home really full of hope and scope!

And looking at this strap line on the back of a lorry seemed like the perfect thing that God was saying to us about this work. Follow me, I'm going somewhere amazing.

Of course venturing into the lives of people who have been in prison for long periods of time, who have rap sheets as long as your right arm, who are often drunk and disorderly, who demand your attention constantly, who have immense physical needs before we even start on the emotional trauma and the spiritual deficiency, to the human eye, doesn't appear to be a humans idea of amazing.

But in Gods eyes?

I can't speak for God on his idea of amazing because his ideas are far higher than my ideas.

But I'm guessing God finds the possibilities for transformation amazing. The potential for change in a persons life amazing, the ability to carry out his saving work amazing?

I guess this is what people like William Booth sensed when he said things like, " go for souls and go for the worst?

Sometimes our attitudes as Christians sometimes is that we want to reach people who fit into our idea of suitable for us to mix with. Maybe they are musicians and would be useful to the church? Maybe they dress smartly and would be good welcoming people in to Church on a Sunday? Maybe they are DIY enthusiasts and could fix our building up and keep it maintained?

I guess you get my drift?

You've probably seen it?
I know I have. (I've fell into that trap too)

So we make up the baseline for amazing!

It would be amazing if.............

But the thing about the Missio Dei , about following God into somewhere amazing is that the possibilities in Gods view of amazing are infinitely endless!

I remember being in Liverpool Boiler room a few years back. It was one o'clock in the morning. Dawn and I were just packing up to go home after a long day and we were tired.

There was a knock at the door.

We opened it up and there was one of our regular people. She was lady in her fifties. She was a lady who worked on the streets as a prostitute in one of the darkest areas of the City.

She had been working since four o'clock in the afternoon, and was in need of a coffee.

So we had to put our tiredness on hold and Dawn went into the kitchen to make her a coffee.

I sat with her in the main worship space. And began a conversation. It was always hard because I had to act level and normal with her as I always did, but inside my heart was always breaking.

On this occasion she looked at me with vibrant eyes and said, "Gary, I've got a song for you! Will you listen to my song?

Now at one in the morning when your shattered and just want to crawl into bed, a song is the last thing that you want to hear.

But me being me, I said OK.

She got up from her seat and walked over to the kind of stage area where the MIC stands and amps, and guitar stands, drum kit, keyboards all those things for the worship band were set up. She grabbed a MIC stand ( with no MIC on it) and began to sing this song.

It was a song that made absolutely no sense. Mentioning people like Saddam Hussain and other characters and it went on for about ten minutes! She was dancing around the stage and doing a mock version of a rock star with the MIC stand.

When she had finished she just stood in silence with a massive grin, waiting for me to say something.

Waiting for my approval.

Just then Dawn came in with the coffee and started to clap her hands appreciatively, so I joined in with the clapping and she sat down satisfied.

As we sat down, she said this.

"I'm so pleased you listened to my song. No-one listens to my songs."

As I thought about that, the tiredness, the slight annoyance at having to stay late when I'd rather be in bed, and the seeming inconvenience just faded away to nothing.

And I realised God was already working in this beautiful child of an incredible Saviour. I realised that I don't have to take Jesus to this woman he is already there working away with his saving work.

But I had to join him there.

And on a human level at one o'clock in the morning it didn't seem particularly amazing.

With this lady it wasn't about the quality or the content of her song.

She just wanted someone to listen to her, to appreciate her, to accept her, to open their arms to her. To love her.

Gods there doing that.

Already!

Are we?

Let God take you to places you never thought possible!

They might not be our idea of amazing.

the places he takes us may at first seem not so amazing.

But what does amazing mean?

God speaks this.

and its worth taking note today.

"Follow me, I'm going somewhere amazing"