Think on a Higher Level
Although I was involved in missions ministry for many years previous, when I began to network with leaders of church planting movements, my thinking was challenged a great deal. One of the early things that struck me was an attitude that seemed to be with the leaders of CPM movements. I think it can be expressed best with the phrase/word WIGTAKE. I first came across this on the cover of David Garrison's book "Church Planting Movements". It stands for "What's it going to take" and it sums up the attitude of missional urgency in church planting movements. In the years since I first saw that word, I have reflected on the difference in that kind of thinking and that which is typical among evangelicals today, whether in leadership or not. So I think I have identified 3 levels of thinking.
Level 1 Thinking: My needs
In Need based thinking (and this is where the majority of the West's consumer driven church is) the questions that are being asked are like these:
Am I saved?
How can I be delivered from this habit or sin?
How can I be healed physically or emotionally?
Can my marriage be saved?
How can my financial needs be met?
There is nothing wrong with these questions. In fact, I believe that no matter how long you have been a follower of Jesus, no matter how spiritually mature you are, these questions will always be important for you. God is our source and God is concerned with the needs of our lives. The Word of God is full of promises and commands that have impact on these and other needs.
Even the Bible highlights this kind of question. The Philippian jailer was here when he asked, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30)
The problem is not this level of thinking....the problem is staying forever and only at this level of thinking. Move higher.
Level 2 Thinking: My purpose
In purpose centered thinking (a concept made popular with Rick Warren's Purpose Driven books) I ask questions at a higher level. (I think that most ministers and leaders are at this level, especially the ones who are interested in church and ministry growth).
Questions like these abound:
What is God's will for me?
What are my Gifts, how do I discover them, and how do I begin to use them?
What is my Purpose or Calling?
How can my ministry (business, church) grow?
Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with these questions. They must be asked by all of us at sometime, especially when we want to excel in the work of God. Discovering our unique callings and gifts and using and stewarding them for God is to be commended.
My only critique is this. Did you notice the repetition in these questions of the words me, my, I, I, my, my!
The very question of "Purpose" that has garnered so much attention is inherently centered around the one who's purpose is being sought. Again, let me say that these questions must be faced and pursued, but don't stay forever and only at this level.
Move higher!
Level 3 Thinking: God's Mission
The missional level of thinking is one that focuses on God and His revealed purpose. One of the greatest things about the "Perspectives" course is that it forces one to rise to the highest level, the level of God's Mission, and traces this kind of thinking through Biblical, Historical, Cultural, and Strategic dimensions. It is why it is unique and lifechanging.
At the Missional level of thinking one asks questions like:
What is God's priority for planet earth?
What will it take to Evangelize my City?
What is it going to take to see CPM in Honduras?
What will it take to see Closure to the Great Commission in my generation?
What does Obedience to Jesus Christ mean in my life?
Once you have really been to Level 3 thinking, you cannot be satisfied to return to life at a lower level. You will be breathing the same air as World Changers like William Carey, Hudson Taylor, and Cam Townsend. And if you decide to live your life at this level of thinking you will find the truth that:
Seek to live at the Missional level of thinking, and you will discover that God will take care of your purpose and your needs. (A different way of expressing Matthew 6:33).
Level 1 Thinking: My needs
In Need based thinking (and this is where the majority of the West's consumer driven church is) the questions that are being asked are like these:
Am I saved?
How can I be delivered from this habit or sin?
How can I be healed physically or emotionally?
Can my marriage be saved?
How can my financial needs be met?
There is nothing wrong with these questions. In fact, I believe that no matter how long you have been a follower of Jesus, no matter how spiritually mature you are, these questions will always be important for you. God is our source and God is concerned with the needs of our lives. The Word of God is full of promises and commands that have impact on these and other needs.
Even the Bible highlights this kind of question. The Philippian jailer was here when he asked, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30)
The problem is not this level of thinking....the problem is staying forever and only at this level of thinking. Move higher.
Level 2 Thinking: My purpose
In purpose centered thinking (a concept made popular with Rick Warren's Purpose Driven books) I ask questions at a higher level. (I think that most ministers and leaders are at this level, especially the ones who are interested in church and ministry growth).
Questions like these abound:
What is God's will for me?
What are my Gifts, how do I discover them, and how do I begin to use them?
What is my Purpose or Calling?
How can my ministry (business, church) grow?
Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with these questions. They must be asked by all of us at sometime, especially when we want to excel in the work of God. Discovering our unique callings and gifts and using and stewarding them for God is to be commended.
My only critique is this. Did you notice the repetition in these questions of the words me, my, I, I, my, my!
The very question of "Purpose" that has garnered so much attention is inherently centered around the one who's purpose is being sought. Again, let me say that these questions must be faced and pursued, but don't stay forever and only at this level.
Move higher!
Level 3 Thinking: God's Mission
The missional level of thinking is one that focuses on God and His revealed purpose. One of the greatest things about the "Perspectives" course is that it forces one to rise to the highest level, the level of God's Mission, and traces this kind of thinking through Biblical, Historical, Cultural, and Strategic dimensions. It is why it is unique and lifechanging.
At the Missional level of thinking one asks questions like:
What is God's priority for planet earth?
What will it take to Evangelize my City?
What is it going to take to see CPM in Honduras?
What will it take to see Closure to the Great Commission in my generation?
What does Obedience to Jesus Christ mean in my life?
Once you have really been to Level 3 thinking, you cannot be satisfied to return to life at a lower level. You will be breathing the same air as World Changers like William Carey, Hudson Taylor, and Cam Townsend. And if you decide to live your life at this level of thinking you will find the truth that:
Seek to live at the Missional level of thinking, and you will discover that God will take care of your purpose and your needs. (A different way of expressing Matthew 6:33).
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