To Boldly Go! - Peter Baker
I have been on the road and in the air during the last couple of weeks. In Oxford for a consultation with Christian leaders from the UK and Korea and then, in Poland, at the annual Gathering of European Leaders.
Many things stand out. Here are two of them.
A bold sense of mission continues to inform and shape those Christians, Churches and agencies that are keeping the mandate to make disciples at the top of their agenda.
Whether a French theologian in the Academy, a Ukrainian translator working with Croatian Muslims, a Latvian artist or a Korean mega-church pastor, what drives and motivates them all is a sense of the Great Commission of Christ.
God blesses with His Spirit those who go in His name with the gospel. There was an entrepreneurial energy and godly ambition to dream dreams and fly kites which I appreciated.
Secondly, we are always so much better and stronger together, than in isolation.
In Oxford, the Heads of many of the leading Mission agencies and Church networks in the UK along with two Bishops, one of whom was a “flying” bishop !, listened humbly to each other and shared the gospel threats and opportunities there are today in our post Christian culture.
Then, we heard from a Korean delegation, where Church congregations of 10000 people are not uncommon, about their heart to understand and invest in the Western Church and be a cultural bridge between the Global North and South.
These cross stream, inter denominational, global Church gatherings, generated conversations and potential co operation between Asian, Western and Eastern Europeans, the French and the English/Welsh, and perhaps most movingly of all, Ukrainians and Russians.
In the spiritual “Eurovision Song Contest” held in Poland , the only winner was the Kingdom of God.
Among the dreaming spires of Oxford, what impressed me was the one, new humanity which Jesus is bringing about through the power of His cross. Walls of hostility and suspicion are being demolished, in their place is being built mission without competition.
At its best the Church is a great advert for the transforming and unifying love of Christ. So that in Him denominational labels and silos don’t matter. We build his Kingdom together not our empires. And in union with him we can go so much deeper and further together than we could ever do on our own .
To boldly go, Lansdowne, what does that mean?
Keeping mission and evangelism, whether local or global, right up there as a priority. We need to reflect that in our budgets and in the investments of our time and people.
The world of cross cultural mission is exciting and rapidly changing. We need to respond to that with creativity and imagination. So whether across the street to our neighbours or on a plane to Albania, the disciple making Church lives and breathes mission
Better together. I hope that we will have an opportunity to express that as we hear from and support the Ukrainian Student leader Marina Gtanskya later this year.
Marina lived for a while in Bournemouth and worshipped with us as an intern on the Michael Ots Evangelism Trust (MOET).
I met her in Poland. It’s very tough for her and her ministry right now across Ukraine. We need to stand with and support her.
But before that we can look forward to a beach baptism in July. Several churches will come together in one of the largest Christian events we have organised . This large scale witness to the power of the gospel of Christ is an example of this “better together” approach to mission.
So, let’s boldly go! The world needs us to be on mission together.
- Peter Baker, Senior Minister