Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community

I have just finished reading Total Church, A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. In this book, to be centered around the gospel means to be word-centered and mission-centered. Word centered because God speaks through the words of Bible, not only to save us, but to give us the instructions for life. Mission centered because our reason for existence is to spread the glory of God through the proclaiming of His word. We are also to be community centered because we are not individuals, but rather part of the body of Christ, the church.

"Being both gospel-centered and community-centered might mean:

-seeing church as an identity instead of a responsibility to be juggled alongside other commitments

-celebrating ordinary life as the context in which the word of God is proclaimed with "God-talk" as a normal feature of everyday conversation

-running fewer evangelistic events, youth clubs, and social projects and spending more time sharing our lives with unbelievers

-starting new congregations instead of growing existing ones

-preparing Bible talks with other people instead of just studying alone at a desk

-adopting a 24-7 approach to mission and pastoral care instead of starting ministry programs

-switching the emphasis from Bible teaching to Bible learning and action.

-spending more time with people on the margins of society

-learning to disciple on another - and to be discipled - day by day

-having churches that are messy instead of churches that pretend"

(p.18)

Being mission-centered "'turns inside out and upside down some of the common ways in which we are accustomed to think about the Christian life. . . It constantly forces us to open our eyes to the big picture, rather than shelter in the cosy narcissism of our own small worlds.'

-We ask, 'Where does God fit into the story of my life?,' when the real question is 'Where does my little life fit into the great story of God's mission?'

-We want to be driven by a purpose that has been tailored just right for our own individual lives, when we should be seeing the purpose of all life, including our own, wrapped up in the great mission of God for the whole of creation.

-We talk about 'applying the Bible to our lives.' What would it mean to apply our lives to the Bible instead, assuming the Bible to be the reality - the real story - to which we are called to conform ourselves?

-We wrestle with 'making the gospel relevant to the world.' But in this story, God is about the business of transforming the world to fit the shape of the gospel.

-We argue about what can legitimately be included in the mission that God expects from the church, when we should ask what kind of church God wants for the whole range of his mission.

-I may wonder what kind of mission God has for me, when I should be asking what kind of me God wants for his mission."

(p.35)

What if we lived our lives as if we were missionaries living in another country and culture? Would we worry about getting the best education and the highest paying job? Would we buy the best house we could afford? Would we be as bothered by the insignificant, everyday worries. How would we view and pursue evangelism? How would we respond to personal hardships? How important would the community of fellow believers become? How would it change our daily devotions and walk with God?

In short, why would we live so much different in another culture as missionaries than we do right here at home? Nothing changes, our ultimate goal in life should still be to glorify God by living missional lives for Him.