The Mission is Clear

Last week, we did something we had never tried before. Our church, a rural church in the heart of North Carolina, hosted a writer's conference, the North Carolina Christian Writer's Conference. Admittedly, I feared that we would fall short in our attempts to make the conference what it needed to be, but when God is in control, there is nothing to fear. The conference was a success as writers from all over the United States came and worshipped together, learned how to grow in their craft, and were focused on reaching a lost world for Jesus Christ.

As I watched people bustle from classes to appointments to meals to worship, I noticed a joy, an atmosphere of encouragement and excitement, that is often missing in the world today. There were dreams and ideas, hopes of fulfilling a calling that had been placed upon those lives from before they had drawn their first breaths. Silently, I prayed for each person, those attending the conference, those on faculty, and those who were working behind the scenes, and in the midst of the prayer, I uttered those words, "Lord, this is church." People from different places, various backgrounds and races, all joined together for the cause of Christ, focused on the message of the gospel.

Then, it hit me. Shouldn't this be the atmosphere and the overall environment of the church today? Rather than the constant complaining, bickering, and focus on what we want on a weekly basis, what might happen if a group of people, united by the cross of Christ, unified in their mission, came together with the expressed purpose of glorifying God and changing the world for Christ? The church might then fulfill its purpose and reach a world that is lost and facing a Christ-less eternity.

Here is a passage I read that tied in with what I was observing at the conference, a passage that speaks not only to writers but to every follower of Christ. As Paul wrote to the Romans, he posed the questions that all of us must answer and then address by our actions. Paul wrote, "But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things." (Romans 10:14-15 HCSB) We are all called and we have been given the message. The cross of Christ, the gift of salvation, the assurance of eternal life, these things are our message and when we see the beauty in the call, we focus on the joy of being called, the dream of reaching a lost soul, the blessing of being used by the Lord.

An atmosphere of excitement exists when those joined together recognize the beauty of the presence of the Lord and embrace the mission that has been laid out before them. It becomes a place of joy because it is not about us, it is all about Jesus. We have the greatest gift in the world that we can share, knowing that sharing the gift of gospel is pouring into someone's life that which quenches the thirst of the soul. The mission is crystal clear and when the mission is in focus, we find a joy that is unspeakable as we live for more than ourselves. The beautiful feet are the ones that are in motion, carrying the gospel throughout a world that needs it so desperately.