‘Mission and Discipleship’ by Anna Thompson
This article first appeared in Issue 5 (Spring 2011) of Flow Magazine.
Mission and discipleship are two concepts that we tend to keep in their own separate boxes.
The ‘discipleship’ box is quite cosy – it has carpet! Think of discipleship and we imagine a small group of people, sitting chatting about the Bible. The ‘mission box’ is just full of really loud people trying to get out of the box!
But I think it’s time to take mission and discipleship out of their boxes, tear the boxes up, and recycle them. Because I think they’re the same thing. Let me explain.
When we ask the question who is God and what is he up to in the world, parables like the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son (Luke 15:1-10) give it to us in a nutshell: something profoundly important has been lost and God is on a mission to find it and to bring it home.
God is missio dei – God on a mission. There is an incredible energy and dynamism about the character of God. And with all he is, in a million different ways, he’s breathing out ‘I love you.’
Our calling is to know God’s love – to receive it and to let it become the centre of who we are. We’re called to know our loved-ness. Some people, even Christians have never received this love and struggle with communicating this good news to others. The missing link is the profound knowledge that at the core of who you are, God says ‘I love you’. And when we experience that love, we discover he is missio dei – he is the God who is up all night looking for us.
What does it do to us to encounter this sent and sending God? In 2 Corinthians 3:18 Paul says, ‘as we reflect, we… are being transformed into his glory.’ If you genuinely experience God’s love for you it has to change you. Your brokenness gets gradually restored and your character begins to re-form around the reality of that love.
Love becomes your core. It has to change us from the inside out. We discover a new purpose for our being. Mission is God’s rush of love towards this world and as you are transformed by the love you have received, you rush with love towards this world as well. And not just the times you pluck up the courage to share a 4 Points tract with someone. Every time you treat someone with compassion and dignity, you show love to the world.
So we need to ditch the boxes, because discipleship is mission. Experiencing Christ’s love for us, emulating him, being transformed into his likeness means there’s no other option – you’re on a mission with him! To be like Christ is to be on a mission.
And mission is discipleship. Growing closer to Jesus, becoming more like him in his hunger for the redemption of this world. Love becomes your drive and love becomes your method. The only and inevitable result of an encounter with God is John 21:20 – ‘as the Father sent me, I am sending you’. Our daily prayer must be, ‘Lord, who are you and how can I be more like you?’
Mission and discipleship are the same thing – they are simply knowing God and existing as someone who knows God.
Anna Thompson is Eden Network National Development Co-ordinator. Alongside her work she is studying for a Professional Doctorate in Practical Theology researching ‘how God transforms’ in urban communities.
Hear more teaching from Anna and other great communicators for free on the Message Podcast.