Ten Massive Leadership QuestionsНамуна

What is my mission?

What is the Christian mission? Go ahead and answer that with a one-liner. I’ll wait… Now think about your one-liner. Are you sure that is it? What about discipleship? What about the needy? What about loving? What about preaching salvation? What about equipping the saints? What about building the Kingdom? I am willing to bet your definition did not include all of those concepts, yet, for all of those a case may be made, not so? For me, it is going to be difficult not to include the word “disciples” or “discipleship” in any working definition. I think I might be heavily influenced by that last part of what Jesus said just before he ascended into heaven: “Go and make disciples…”. However, let’s leave the great dogmatists out there to debate the issue (unless you are one of them) and just focus on a practical aspect of achieving the Christian mission (however you want to word it).

I want to suggest this word to you: “equip”. Not to be the be-all and end-all word, but certainly indispensable. If you want to achieve your mission – wherever you put the emphasis – you will have to equip the people you lead to carry it out. Part of that equipping is defining a target. If you know what you are aiming for, you will hit it every time! You have to tell your people what the mission is, in simple terms. And then you have to equip them to bring that about. They will need equipping in five very important areas: identity, definition (of what they are supposed to achieve), motivation, character, and skills. Without the necessary equipment in any of those areas, you will not be able to engage in your mission effectively.