The Nature of Our Mission

1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

On June 16, 1982, at the Tenth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, Francis Schaeffer used his talk, “A Day of Sober Rejoicing,” to urge Christians to move beyond mere "accommodation" and engage in "loving confrontation" to speak truth into the culture.

Schaeffer was never just a theorist or an abstract theologian. He always sought to offer practical wisdom and guidance on how the believer should live in an ever-darkening world. In one of his first books, Death in the City (1969), he helps us think about reformation and revival. As we are engaged on Sunday nights in Kingdom praying for reformation, revival, and renewal, his thoughts on these terms are helpful:

     “The church in our generation needs reformation, revival, and constructive revolution. At times men think of the two words reformation and revival as standing in contrast one to the other, but this is a mistake. Both words are related to the word restore. Reformation refers to a restoration to pure doctrine; revival refers to a restoration in the Christian’s life. Reformation speaks of a return to the teachings of Scripture; revival speaks of a life brought into its proper relationship to the Holy Spirit.

     “The great moments of church history have come when these two restorations have simultaneously come into action so that the church has returned to pure doctrine and the lives of the Christians in the church have known the power of the Holy Spirit. There cannot be true revival unless there has been reformation; and reformation is not complete without revival.

     “Such a combination of reformation and revival would be revolutionary in our day – revolutionary in our individual lives as Christians, revolutionary not only in reference to the liberal church but constructively revolutionary in the evangelical, orthodox church as well. May we be those who know the reality of both reformation and revival, so that this poor dark world may have an exhibition of a portion of the church returned to both pure doctrine and Spirit-filled life” (p12).

This coming Lord’s Day, we will begin a brief series on the mission of the church. What has God called us to be and do as the church? Join us this Sunday as we look at the nature of our mission from 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5.

Because He Lives,

Pastor Wayne