the end of boredom

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."(Romans 1:14-17)

The center of the church’s purpose is the gospel. The way you view the meaning of the gospel in this context will affect the way you view the meaning and the mission of the church. C.S. Lewis makes the point in his book “Mere Christianity” that the essence of Christianity is to be drawn “into Christ” and that the purpose of His church is to help people live lives that are “in Christ”.

“The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose!” (C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”)

But is this our experience with the church? Let’s be real- people can come to a church building week after week, year after year, and be perfectly comfortable and feel completely satisfied with living in spiritual mediocrity. In fact, when the church stops becoming a kingdom building movement it actually perpetuates this kind of mediocrity. “Churchiosity” is not a guarantee of life in Christ.

The journey Christ calls us to is nothing short of radical kingdom building and a world changing mission. To be in Christ is the end of boredom. We all have a mission! We are all involved in building the kingdom. The role of the missionary is not just a mission in some remote country in another part of the world, but of reaching people in our own mission field. In the one we enter every morning; in our neighborhoods, businesses and schools. He has called us to be salt and light, to be witnesses to our Jerusalem (where we are) as well as Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:7). He has called us to live lives that have eternal impact, that altar lives and change communities. Our mission at CRBC involves two significant and purposeful strategies; 1) Loving all people to Christ and 2) Helping them on their journey.