by Dave Miller
We are straining out a gnat of perfecting events and swallowing the camel of neglecting daily walking on mission with Jesus. Notice the moments required to rally believers in the US to anything and you will see the necessity of events. Creating momentum for mission without an event is, in my experience, at best difficult. Here are four recurring ways Event Christianity treats mission implicitly as an event:
Great Commission activity has a start and stop time.
Great Commission activity must be scheduled and strategized.
Great Commission activity is confined to the schedule and strategy parameters.
Great Commission activity has an on/off switch.
We never once see Jesus plan a large event. We often see Jesus becoming the large event. Yet, after all of the gatherings of the crowds a consistent pattern emerges. Crowds leave. Some return later. Disciples stay with Jesus.
Fundamentally understanding Christianity as a series of events is buried so deeply into the fabric of American religion it has become the lens we look through. This lens has recolored everything we see and blurred the edges. The center may be Jesus, but the edge is mission. When the edges get blurry, the center is out of focus too, it is just really hard to tell.
The result? Superholds on evangelical Christianity strangling mission. This discussion will not be event verses everyday, but everyday + event. [1] We will not neglect the gathering, but ask questions about the purpose of the gathering in relation to the other six days. Specifically, how has an overemphasis on the events in our Christian rhythm brought us to the place of consumer Event Christianity?
Over the next few weeks, we will look at 20 significant barriers to empowered Great Commission Christians that stem from Event Christianity. Here are a few resulting barriers in our forthcoming discussion...
Methods are the answer, not people.
Authority comes from paid church or organizational leadership.
The people can’t be trusted. Especially in the ministry.
Baptism has become conferring our name, not Jesus'.
I hope you will join me.
Until there's #NoPlaceLeft...