The missio Dei and Youth Ministry: Part 1
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–by Tim Ciccone
-The Mission Conversation-
The last few years I’ve found myself on a journey of discovery–discovery surrounding a healthy conversation concerning the missio Dei–the mission of God. My move to Kansas City more than 3 years ago placed me in a community of great youth ministry minds. The conversation concerning “mission” in youth ministry more found me than any real effort of seeking on my part. I’m grateful for this community and the way that God is using these wonderful conversations to shape who I am as a youth worker.
I really believe that this conversation about “mission” is wonderfully significant concerning the way we understand not just youth ministry–but ministry as a whole–and in so many ways shapes how we live out the calling on our lives as youth workers.
This is where I’d like to begin–a simple journey of discovery. I have more questions than answers. I won’t even try to pretend to be an expert on this subject, but rather a youth ministry theologian trying to find his way in the deep waters of the seeking God.
I’d like to begin where others have ended: examining different authors and theologian’s take on mission–and I’d love your input.
Recently a friend of mine urged me to read through “Transforming Mission” by David J. Bosch. I’d like to start with some of his introductory thoughts on what an “Interim Definition” of mission looks like—read this with me as I paraphrase much of what he states in the first section of his book.
Bosch’s Introductory Definition of Mission:
1. “The Christian Faith is intrinsically missionary”
–Mission belongs naturally to the faith of those who follow Jesus. Bosch goes on to say, “all generations of the earth are objects of God’s salvific will and plan of salvation”. Wow, what a great purpose! He goes on to say “Christianity is missionary by its very nature.
2. ”Missiology seeks to look at the world from the perspective of commitment to the Christian faith“
–Truly a way to filter our gaze on every created thing in the world.
3. ”Never delineate mission too sharply and too self-confidently. Ultimately, mission remains undefinable“
–Bosch suggests that at best, we can get close to understanding what mission is and how it works, but to characterize it further would be to take away from the beauty and vastness of mission.
4. ”Christian mission gives expression to the dynamic relationship between God and the world”
– “God’s self-communication in Jesus Christ”.
5. ”Mission is an act of faith“
–Bosch states “Our missionary practice is not performed in unbroken continuity with the biblical witness; it is an altogether ambivalent enterprise executed in the context of of tension between divine providence and human confusion. The church’s involvement in mission remains an act of faith without earthly guarantees.”
6. ”The entire Christian existence is to be characterized as missionary existence”
– “The church begins to be missionary not through its universal proclamation of the gospel, but through the universality of the gospel it proclaims.“
7. ”Foreign Missions is not a separate entity”
–”The missionary nature of the church is grounded in the gospel itself and not any one situation. The difference between home and foreign missions is not one of principle but of scope.”
8. ”We have to distinguish between mission (singular) and missions (plural)”
– “The first refers primarily to the missio Dei (God’s mission), that is, God’s self -revelation as the One who loves the world, God’s involvement in and with the world, the nature and activity of God, which embraces both the church and the world, and in which the church is privileged to participate. Missio Dei enunciates the good news that God is a God-for-people. Missions refer to particular forms, related to specific times, places, or needs, of participation in missio Dei.”
9. ”The missionary task is as coherent, broad and deep as the need and exigencies (demand) of human life….”
–This is the mission of God meeting our whole life….
10. ”Mission is God’s ‘yes’ to the world”
–”When we speak about God, the world as the theater of God’s activity is already implied. God’s love and attention are directed primarily at the world, and mission is ‘participation in God’s existence in the world”
11. “Mission includes evangelism as one of its essential dimensions“
12. ”Mission is also God’s ‘no’ to the world”
– “If on one hand we assert God’s ‘yes’ to the world as expression of the Christian solidarity with society, we also have to affirm mission and evangelism as God’s ‘no’, as an expression of our opposition to and engagement with the world. If the Christianity blends with social and political movements to the point of becoming completely identified with them, it becomes a religion of society.”
13. ”The church-in-mission may be described in terms of sacrament and sign”
–”It is a sign in the sense of a pointer, symbol, example or model; it is a sacrament in the sense of mediation, representations, or anticipation….it is a foretaste of its coming, the sacrament of its anticipations in history.”
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how we work this out in youth ministry….take for example, the young man or woman who are finding the fresh place of faith discovery—really turning the corner of owning their faith–how are we showing, leading, teaching, preaching, breathing this idea of mission to them?
So, consider the following questions:
–What parts of this to you understand best and practice?
–How do we work this out with our youth?
–And, if your willing, what areas of growth do we as youth workers need to be paying attention to in God’s mission?
tim, this is going to be a fun conversation. i think we will to put our thinking caps on as we recognize that missions and mission to students in an increasingly post-christian context will require some new ways of telling an the gospel story.
i have been wrestling a lot with doing mission to students. here are a couple of posts regarding this topic:
http://www.averageyouthministry.com/2011/01/14/retelling-a-lost-story/
http://www.averageyouthministry.com/2011/02/14/bringing-the-4-laws-back-a-needed-return-to-the-simple-gospel/
i can’t wait to see what everyone has to say!
Tim,
I too am wrestling with this idea of God’s Mission in the world. I am wondering though if the non-bolded/non-numbered parts of the preliminary definition are Bosch’s or yours? Many of them seem to be quotes so I will assume that they are just you summing up his thoughts as I don’t have the book yet.
What I like:
-Christian faith is intrinsically and entirely missional (excellent!)
-Foreign missions is inseparable from God’s mission (It isn’t our own thing!)
-Mission is God’s “yes” and “no” when appropriate (Obvious, but worth stating)
What I don’t like (yet):
-Mission is ultimately undefinable
-The Church-in-mission is sacrament and sign
I am basing my reflection purely on your summary, Tim, so I may be missing Bosch’s point. I apologize if I am.
What I don’t like about the statement that “Mission is ultimately undefinable” is that I think we can have a very good sense of what Mission is. We can trace themes of God’s interaction with creation throughout the Bible and history. We can look at what God has done and is doing in our own communities and in our own lives. We can also see those things that are antithetical with God’s mission in the scriptures and define those things outside of the Missio Dei. Sure, we can’t know everything about God or God’s Mission, but I don’t think anyone thinks they can. I don’t think the statement gets us anywhere.
My second issue is that I am nervous to call the Church a sacrament. I don’t know what exactly what is meant by “the Church-in-mission”, but I can only assume this means the Church when it is aligned with God’s mission. Would this have to be the Church perfectly living out God’s Mission? If so, then Bosch is again making a statement that gets us nowhere. At best we are flawed creatures, adamantly seeking to understand and partner with God in God’s mission. If we are a sign, then it is because God is gracious.
The Church as sacrament? I am struggling to figure out what the “it” is in the quote, “mediation, representation, or anticipation…. it is a foretaste of its coming, the sacrament of its anticipations in history.” Christ gave us Baptism and the Eucharist as sacraments to mediate grace, represent inclusion, and anticipate the second coming. They are a foretaste of the coming and already here Kingdom of God in history. I am interested to hear what Bosch says the Church does that makes it a Sacrament instead of merely a Sign? Maybe I just need to buy the book and read it
In case anyone took the time to still be reading, here are my thoughts on how we work this out in youth ministry. I definitely do not think that I have all of the answers (or any really for that matter), but here are some ideas that might help:
-I think that we need to help young people see beyond themselves. Missio Dei is grounded in the fact that we all inherit a story that we are a part of. We all need to understand our individual and communal stories as part of the larger narrative of who God is and what God is trying to accomplish in our world.
-We need to equip young people to play an active role in partnering with God in the shaping of the story of our world.
These are two huge issues because youth ministry has been really really good at making faith an individual response, without understanding the communal aspect. Guilt, awkwardness, and peer pressure are probably the three major motivating factors in faith commitment in my experience with young people. We have to stop this! Their faith needs to START with a larger perspective as well as an individual perspective. The communal nature of faith doesn’t sell as well, but I think it will help people better understand a communal God more fully.
I’ll stop now because this got out of hand!
Some good stuff here, Tim. As we learned this week during our Intersections Small Group, Blackaby notes that we have no better model than Jesus. During His walk on this earth, He never failed to go about His mission, which was to the do the work of the Father.