The Reformation Of The Holy Trinity

Flemming shows how the mission of God was lived out by the apostles and the call placed on the community of the early church to live out that mission. Once again, the themes of being and doing come to the surface followed closely by the mandate to proclaim the gospel. The examination of Revelation is particularly interesting in a book about mission. Flemming aptly points out, “John’s vision of heaven and the end set the agenda for the church.” Consequently, living out the mission God is eschatological in its participation in the inbreaking of the coming New

In Let the Nations be Glad, the emphasis in the first chapter is that missions is not the most important aspect of the church, but worship is. Worship is the glorification of God by man and creation, and anything that gives God glory is attributing to worship. The fall however, ruined the intended perfect worship that man mas designed to give to God, in eating of the forbidden fruit Adam and eve distanced themselves and all of their offspring from God until the end of the age. Missions exists only because worship does not, because of the fall, missions must take place in order to share the love of Christ with those who are distanced from him by sin, and show them that a reparation of this separation is possible in Christ alone. Missions can work as an aid to worship, in that it brings glory to God by introducing the nations to him, and

(Romans 15:6; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31) He continues by sharing how “the purpose of the church is for the born-again believers within, as well as for the church’s community outside of the local body, whereas the mission, is reserved for the believers and it is what they are supposed to be doing, (110) Malphur also provides the five elements of mission; “first, it is broad, comprehensive, overarching, it is the primary goal which takes precedent over any and all other church mandates and goals. Secondly, it is brief, consisting of a sentence in length. Thirdly, it is Biblical, Fourth, it is a statement, and the fifth element-it is what the ministry should be doing.” (112-113) “Once the mission is developed, it must be communicated.” (126) Vision must be clear, compelling, a picture of what the mission will look like, (128) and it is the ministry’s future. It is personal and once developed it too must be communicated. (143) According to Malphurs, “it can and must be” (128- The author shares how “the mission under no circumstances changes, however, the visions detail and the words used to express them will

My personal view of mission revolves around Servant Leadership or what can be better called “Incarnational leadership”. This is rooted in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, as “He took a towel” (John 13:2-5) and washed Peter’s feet. He was efficient with people, had goals in sight, but was also relational over being task-driven. This kind of leadership produces new churches filled with real purpose and motivation as people are called, appreciated, loved, encouraged, discipled, involved by mentoring and discipleship before they are deployed in ministry (Prov. 27:23; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 22:26; John 13:2-17; 1 Cor. 3- 4; Eph. 4:1-16; Col. 3:13; 1 Thess. 5:13-14; 1 Peter 3:8;

Mission was very important in the development of the early church. The goal during this time was to spread the Christian Faith and to help those in need, just as Jesus did. The people that undertook this mission were sent out by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God.

Western Christians in global missions by Paul Borthwick is about the interdependence and unity of the global Church. The book starts at the conclusion of an era of missions where North America has taken the helm. As the global missions community changes, North America needs to reassess its role. There are 4 main integrated points that Borthwick makes that should change the perspective of the white American middle class missionary.

The overall purpose of the Roland Allen’s book is to convey the dramatic differences between the methods of modern day missionary organizations

God 's mission in the world. For me as a pastor, I enter into this mission field through the local church, but not exclusively based in the local church, but constantly reaching out to near and distant neighbors. This definition is a simple introduction to the concept of “missio Dei” which is basically saying that the work or mission of the church is a part of the work of God in the world, rather than something with an independent disposition. The overwhelming motive for mission is the compassion and love of God for his creation and the telos of mission is the Kingdom, the reign of God over his people.

Subsequently, the church has a mission which is to go into all the nations making disciples, baptizing them, and to teach them to observe the ways of Christ as noted in Matthew 28:19-20. When looking at the differences between the missional model and the attractional model is the missional goes out to win the lost, and the attractional seeks to bring the lost in not focusing the cultural boundaries. Stetzer and Hirsch state, “Missional represents a significant shift in the way we understand the church. As the people of a missionary God, we are entrusted to participate in the world the same way He does—by committing to be His ambassadors.” In retrospect, Hirsch cites that, “The attractional model, which has dominated the church in the West, seeks to reach out to the culture and draw people into the church—what I call outreach and in-grab. But this model only works where no significant cultural shift is required when moving from outside to inside the church.” Both have their uniqueness, however, they are designed to seek and make disciples.

Stephen Seamands proffers a Trinitarian description of Christian Ministry as the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Son, to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, for the sake of the church and the world. The author seems to presume that many in the Christian faith have not adequately observed or applied the doctrine of the Trinity significantly in the vocation of ministry. It is with this perception that he postulates a Trinitarian approach of ministry that emphasizes communion with God shaping our language about God to shape our heart so we might share in the life of God. In arriving at his conclusions, Seamands uses well-grounded Scriptural foundations, along with a descriptive of the Icon of the Holy Trinity painted in 1425 by a Russian Monk, Andrei Rublev, including the historical significance that is traced back to the Enlightenment, and the findings of renowned theologians beginning with Karl Barth. The preponderance of evidence provided supports the author’s contention that the grammar of the Christian faith and life is rooted in the doctrine of the Trinity having created the current Trinitarian renaissance.

It has been said that worship is the core or center of mission. The ultimate goal of any missionary is to bring people (entire people groups) into a passionate, relationship with God. John Piper states,

This assumption has all the evidence it needs to be upheld. Though millions of Catholics were brainwashed by higher-ranking church officials through cynical, selfish teachings, the reformation of the Catholic Church saved an immeasurable amount of lives by gaining religious freedom in Europe.

Butler argues that with the volume of social needs and the limited resources of the church, the church has to make a choice as to the priority it gives to social ministry. This, he contends will have implications for the life and ministry of the church. These implications, he points out has to do with both financial resources and human resources. Rev. Butler argues that the church will have to manage the conflict as to whether the gospel is a spiritual gospel or social gospel. This is necessary, he contends because the position taken will determine if the church is seen as a social institution or spiritual house. He holds the view that there needs to be a balanced between social and spiritual ministry because the extreme of each position does not represent the mission of the

No matter what path God calls a missionary to, the initial goals are the same. These goals are: 1) Build and edify the church, 2) Meeting needs, and 3) Spread the Gospel. The task of utmost importance is that of building the church, a community of believers. It is through evangelizing that men come to hear, know, and accept the redemptive plan of God through Jesus Christ. This is done by preaching and teaching this message when opportunity arises. It is also done by living out your faith in the day to day of mission life. We are to make the book of Acts our living example in growing and edifying a body of believers (Warren 26-31) (Hodges 61-62)

Furthermore, it is vitally crucial for the church leadership to clearly articulate its missional vision, which is to be embraced by the rest of the church’s community. The process of spiritual transformation starts from the invitation and continues through engagement and discipleship. This transformational process embodies the missional vision and the language for 'right now ' and 'here '. Surely, the church’s vision ought to be aligned with the missional attributes of the gospel itself, which are 'the good news is for everyone ' and 'belonging before believing '. Our witness should take place amidst relationship and listening. One principle that I consider to be exceptionally useful in my community is St. Patrick’s idea of Celtic Evangelism: establish community, engage in conversation, and invite commitment (2009, 101).