Thinking Missionally

 

               Typically, my philosophical approach to fitness has always been: “Fitness, yes, I’m into fitness. Fittin’ ‘niss whole donut in my mouth!” Exercise has always been my “Achille’s heel”, (see what I did there?) Don’t get my wrong, it’s not that I hate to exercise, it’s just that I never seem to have time for it. Everything else seems to be so pressing that exercise is the last thing that’s on my mind. I know I need to make time for it because I need to live healthier. I want to exercise, but I’ve discovered that I must be missing the genetic DNA that calls my feet to action. I’ve also discovered that the older I get, the harder it is to get motivated! It’s so much easier to just think about exercising than it is to actually go and do it (but at least I thought about it, right?).

I have come to the place where I have accepted that exercise will never just spontaneously happen in my life. I must set aside the time and commit myself to it. While I sit here and try to summon the strength and will to get on the treadmill, let me give you something to think about: Training our bodies to be as healthy as possible is a good thing, but, as followers of Christ, we also need to train our minds to “think” spiritually healthy. All day long, we are bombard with the desires of the world and the urgencies of the moment. Every email, text message, phone call, and commercial seek to steal away our minds. We become so consumed with the world around us that we forget and fail to put our attention on the things of the Kingdom. Like physical exercise, we must make the commitment to think and focus on the mission that Christ calls us to. Paul told the church at Colossae to, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2 (ESV)

"Training our bodies to be as healthy as possible is a good thing, but, as followers of Christ, we also need to train our minds to “think” spiritually healthy."

This setting of our minds on the things of God’s Kingdom is not a natural thing to do. In our sinful state, we are not naturally drawn to God. Our natural state is that of rebellion and selfishness. In Romans, Paul reminds us that sin has separated us from God and that we must purposely seek to transform our minds to focus on the mission at hand. He writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” Romans 12:2 (ESV) If we are going to be obedient to Christ in our mission of making disciples, we must transform our thinking by setting our minds on the things of God.

"If we are going to be obedient to Christ in our mission of making disciples, we must transform our thinking by setting our minds on the things of God."

Let me ask you a couple of questions: How often to think about the mission of making disciples? Do you ever prepare yourself to mentally to think about the mission before you?

In the 1950’s, a professor from the University of Chicago conducted a survey where he took a group of 90 students, who had no basketball experience, and divided them into three groups and tested each group on how many free throws they could make. For 30 days, each group practiced and the professor recorded their results. The first group physically practiced shooting free throws every day for an hour, the second group simply visualized themselves making free throws, and the third group did nothing.

After 30 days, he tested them and had them do this again for another 30 days. The results showed that the first group improved by 24%, the third group showed no improvement, but the second group improved by 23% without ever touching a basketball, except for the test! Our minds have so much to do with our outcomes!

The things that we focus our minds on, affect how we choose to live! If we are constantly focusing on the world around us, in entertainment, hobbies, and knowledge, we will reap a lifestyle that puts God’s Kingdom, at best, second. We will always be drawn away by the newest craze, the next big adventure, or by our exhaustion from keeping up the culture.

Instead, if we want to be obedient to Christ’s mission, we must start by daily transforming our minds and committing our actions to follow.

It’s time for the church to not only produce missional literature and quote Matthew 28:18-20, but to really begin to constantly “think missionally” on how and where we fit into Christ’s call to, “go and make disciples.”