M15 Conference

I spent this week at the Mission ’15 conference, or “M15” for short, or #M15 for you twitter-heads. It’s presented by the USA/Canada region of the Church of the Nazarene to equip pastors and leaders to engage in the mission of God.

We had some difficult conversations at M15: How do we reach a post-Christian culture? Is one form of worship better than another? What does it look like for the Church to remain true to the biblical teaching on homosexuality and marriage, and yet, be loving and Christ-like to our LGBT neighbors? How do we pass along the faith to the next generation?

Needless to say, my brain is on overload!?!

I don’t have time to sum up the fruit of these conversations, nor would I dare to say we answered all of these questions. I will tell you this: I left Kansas City optimistic, hopeful, and determined. Many people are ready to write the obituary for the Church. I admit there are serious challenges ahead, but God confirmed to me that our church, Bentonville Church of the Nazarene, has been raised up for “such a time as this.”

I hope you share my optimism, hopefulness, and determination. If we ever been begin to doubt, let’s lean hard into this promise: “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (1 Thes. 5:24) 

A Global Family, Church, and Mission

I really enjoy working in downtown Bentonville. It affords me the occasional stroll to the Square, which cannot happen without a visit to the Spark Café for ice cream. I made the mistake of ordering something other than mint-chocolate chip one time. It’s not that butter pecan was that bad, but it was clearly NOT mint chocolate chip. Case closed.

I decided to take one of these walks last Wednesday. When I got to the Square it was adorned with all the flags of the different nations that will be represented at this week’s shareholder's meetings. Guests from all over the world have converged on our little town. I had the chance to interact with one of our international guests, and my prayer is that he was able to experience a little Southern hospitality. I actually was able to keep him from making the mistake of his life by recommending the mint-chocolate chip. Tragedy avoided.

The wheels of commerce that drive our town extend around the world. Many of my parishioners work in the retail industry are intimately connected to the global economy. My shareholder report reflects a profit in 27 different countries. That’s really impressive.

As I enjoyed my ice cream on the Square in the presence of these 27 flags, the Lord began to speak to me about my connection not to a global economy, but to a global family. As a connectional church, we are united with brothers and sisters in the Church of the Nazarene in over 160 world areas. In just a little over 100 years, we have taken the Gospel to the “uttermost parts of the earth.” This mission is to “make Christ-like disciples in the nations”, including nations that will never have a flag represented on the Bentonville Square, but are eternally important to God. We engage in this mission without regard for a nation’s GDP or the average annual income of its citizens. Our reasoning for entering a country is simple: Do people there need to know Jesus? The answer is always the same, and so we go.

Ironically, our students leave today to go to the Dominican Republic, a country not represented on the Bentonville Square. The people they will be serving this week would have difficulty finding something they could afford in a Supercenter. We send our students to the Dominican Republic, however, because we are driven by God’s mission. This mission is much different than the one that drives the economy. The one who calls us to go says this:

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Isaiah 55:1)

Living this verse out makes for a lousy shareholder’s report, but it produces a great Church.