What does it look like to keep ourselves accountable to joining with God on his mission in our neighborhood?
Progressing in our faith can be hard to measure, but I think it is important to think about what maturity looks like as a Christian. Then we can begin to assess our growth. Self-accountability questions have a spiritual formation element in that we are able to discern the way that the Spirit has been at work in our lives. The Spirit will gently challenge and affirm where necessary so that we reflect the image of Jesus. There is no need to see accountability questions as guilt-inducing or burdensome if we understand that God’s grace is our foundation.
Accountability questions do not have to be guilt-inducing or burdensome. Click To TweetThe definition of spiritual formation by Jeffrey Greenman in Life in the Spirit: Spiritual Formation in Theological Perspective is that spiritual formation is “[our] continuing response to the reality of God’s grace shaping us into the likeness of Jesus Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit, in the community of faith, for the sake of the world.”
What I love about this definition is that there is a balance between God’s work and our cooperation with an emphasis on community and missional intent. This is the purpose of spiritual practices, they transform us into people who join with God on his mission. What we can also see in this definition is that our goal as Christians is to reflect the likeness of Jesus.
Reflection Questions for Local, Contextual Engagement
Often I find that the questions we ask ourselves in terms of spiritual disciplines revolve around Bible reading, church attendance, tithing, and perhaps, evangelizing. None of those things should be discarded. However, if we want to be a people of God who discern and join with God’s work in our local contexts, I think we can go a little deeper and craft reflection questions that lead to practices which will keep us engaged in our local contexts.
Leaders, pastors of congregations, and neighborhood activists can model being missionaries in their local contexts and then encourage others to also join with them on that journey. Leaders can also encourage individuals in church cell groups to ask these questions of each other so there is mutual accountability present and formation happens in the context of community.
Here are six questions that I have personally found helpful in order to join with God on his mission.
How am I loving others?
That might seem like a simple and broad question. However, if we define love as putting others before ourselves and freely sacrificing our own resources for the sake of others, it is worth asking. This helps us live a life that is not primarily about our own advantage, progress, and self preservation. Have I taken time recently to meet the needs of others even though it comes at a cost to me?
How am I paying attention to “the least of these”?
It’s easy to love those who are like us but harder to take notice of and love those who are different than us. If we are privileged enough to have a life that reflects the results of a solid education, good health, strong relationships, comfortable shelter, and sufficient income, then how can we show hospitality to the least of these? The expression comes from Chapter 25 of the gospel of Matthew where the least of these are the hungry, the strangers, the naked, those in prison, those thirsty, and the sick. How am I paying attention to and loving the weaker members in my neighborhood and world?
What faith conversations am I having?
Being on God’s mission means connecting with matters of faith. It means thinking about what else might exist beyond us and our world and connecting with our Creator. We can incorporate faith elements into our conversations when there is an opportunity. This brings a bigger perspective into our daily conversations, shifting discussions away from the mundane which can dominate our lives. Everyday matters are important, but we so often live superficially, without ever asking the deeper questions of life. How can we weave the story of the gospel into our conversations?
How can we weave the gospel into our everyday conversations? Click To TweetWho am I eating with?
Sharing food around a table with others helps us to prioritize community. As we alternate between playing host and guest, we learn reciprocity and build relationships with people who we might not otherwise engage with. If we are eating with people who are always similar to us, maybe it is time to invite someone different from us to the table so that mutual learning can take place and respect for each other’s differences can grow.
How is God’s rule growing in my neighborhood and world?
The rule or reign of God is a vision of the world as we long for it to be. A picture of this kind of world would be one that exhibits beauty, perfect love, truth, salvation from our self-absorption, healing of wounds, and peace. Is this vision growing in our neighborhoods and contexts where we work and live? Are we joining with others who have a similar vision to flesh out the essence of this rule in our world?
Am I inviting people to join me?
As we work with others to grow this vision of a new society, are we inviting people to join with us? When we embody this picture of peace, reconciliation, justice, and beauty, we will have opportunities to welcome others to cooperate with God’s work as we engage in it. Who am I asking to walk with me on the road towards this presently unfolding reign of God?
What are some questions that you ask yourself, to keep your focus on living a missional life in your neighborhood?
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.