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The Mount Mobile
The heart of the gospel and God’s heart for people is transformation. The measure of effective discipleship in a church is how much its people are changing into the image of Christ. The easiest way to demonstrate such a transformation is the exercise of an individual’s gifts and talents in serving the body and building Christ’s church. It is necessary, then, to ask “How have you been transformed by your relationship with Christ?” and “How are you performing His work?” simultaneously. As I see it, it’s another form of the faith-works relationship explained in James 2.
In our SLT meetings, we discussed the service of the body and the success of the staff ing effecting ministry by the church; that is, equipping the members to perform and lead the ministry. The trying reality is that no one can do a good job forever and that, at some point, everyone must move on. As a cold-hearted economics major, it’s easy for me to comprehend that there comes a point of zero and (even negative!) marginal returns for anyone’s work, even for church staff. Surrendering those relationships, though, is always difficult—even when necessary. We need not only to understand God’s direction, but to execute it ruthlessly, stripping away everything that inhibits, distracts, or otherwise prevents us from His goals.
One of the most interesting theological points raised here and in the SLT meetings is the role of “the call” of an individual’s life. It’s clear that God calls every believer to action. Ephesians 2:10 proclaims our design to do good works as a fulfillment of our salvation; at the same time, Romans 11:29 tells us that God’s gifts and call are irrevocable. II Corinthians 3 explains the believer’s role as a minister of a new covenant. These passages, and the promises of Psalm 139:15 and Jeremiah 1:5, suggest that God has issued a unique call for every professor of Christ: there is a job that only you can perform optimally. So, it’s important for us to understand the identity God has created for us and to accept His assignments for us.
A Christian’s identity must be found in the middle of who Jesus is. Here, the spelling lends itself to a memory device: a sense of self is not a stand-alone entity, but must find itself surrounded by “Christ”: “I” show Jesus only when “I” am a part of Christ. Beyond this, we’re lost in space. Similarly, outside of the calling God has given us, we can’t accomplish anything of eternal merit. In fact, the body as a whole will suffer if our calling and tasks don’t fit together. These fundamentals challenged me personally. Often, I feel a sense of loyalty to the teachers and role models in my life; but my loyalties cannot exceed my faith in God and commitment to what He wants to accomplish.
As “The Mount” moves forward, the mobilization implementation team, coached by Janna Ellsworth, and the evaluation team, coached by Gary Cartwright, will figure critically into our progress. Begin praying now for these teams and leaders. Pray too that we become a body of Ephesians 4 believers. Find out how God has gifted and designed you and how that shapes your ministry role (there are some links below to get you started). Pray for a deeper understanding of your calling and what form it will take in serving Christ in the community.
“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 1:18-20.
So then, how have you been transformed? How are you performing God’s work? The God we serve is extraordinary, and so are our lives when He is in charge.
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