180 Degrees: Go Love

I went on a missions trip.

Math Joke: When you cross a person with a calculator, you get someone you can count on.

Every Spring Break my church runs a local missions trip. I’ve had the privilege of participating three times, and it always makes for an inspiring and impactful week. This year was different in two ways. Instead of staying in our city, we drove to the capital and participated in a weekend program together with youth groups from many different churches. I was also the oldest guy in our group (aside from the leaders), which gave me an opportunity to “lead from the middle”.

All in all, it was awesome. There are so many amazing takeaways that I can’t wait to share with you. But first, you may be asking: What is missions? What does that look like?

Missions

In one of the Bible’s most famous passages (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus commands His disciples to spread His message of love and hope to the whole world. Until this weekend, I didn’t realize that this wasn’t where the concept of “The Great Commission” originated. It stems from God’s words in Genesis 1:28 (NIV), “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Missions is our way of living out God’s calling. Life on mission means seeking opportunities to show others the love of Christ and being bold for Him. Missions is classified as intentionally seeking God’s Kingdom and following Christ’s call. I view WLF as one of my missions – spreading truth and hope to those around me.

If the concept of living for someone other than yourself sounds strange, you’d be right to think so. Human nature believes everything should be for our glory and our happiness. To overcome this facet of human nature we must shift our mindset…

180 Degrees

While on the weekend missions trip, almost three dozen of us stayed in a church basement. We spent time as a group – hanging out, praying, worshipping, eating, and making memories. Here are eight (or 2³) takeaways from the weekend. If you want me to dive deeper into one – or all – of them in future posts, please let me know!

1. Ask the right questions.

One session emphasized the importance of asking good questions. Without knowing people and where they stand spiritually, we cannot spread the love of Christ.

Ever had a conversation like this:

Q: How was your day?

A: Good.

End of conversion.

Questions beginning with How will never evoke conversation. How come? Because. The same goes with starting a question using the word Did.

Q: Did you have a good day?

A: Yes. No. I guess. Kinda.

Instead, ask questions beginning with words like What.

Q: What stood out from your day? What were a few highlights from the weekend? What did you think about our math class? What stood out to you from the message?

It’s profoundly simple advice. And if someone asks you a question, I’ve heard it said to “add one more line.” For example…

Q: Hey, did you have a good day?

Answer #1: Yeah.

Answer #2: Yeah. I got to spend time with my friends in the afternoon.

And you’ve got a conversation going.

It starts when you ask the right question. So rather than asking, “How will you apply this concept to your life?” I’ll ask, “What steps can you take to apply this concept to your life?”

2. Spend time in community.

When you’re united with others – whether in faith, school, work, or through a common interest – you multiply your output. Think of it like a human reciprocal of the Inverse Square Law. The more people you have, the more times you multiply your output.

I’ll admit I need to improve in this area – it’s that important. Working with others strengthens us and widens our potential for new ideas, methods, and ways to serve. Find others who love the things you love, and get to know them. It worked for me, and it will work for you. Plus it’s way more fun.

3. Pray & Worship

I know these could be separate categories, but they tie together beautifully. I spent hours in worship during my missions trip, and while it was different than what I’m used to, it’s worship nonetheless. Worship isn’t about glorifying us, it’s about glorifying God. Let’s spend time singing about all He’s done for us.

I’ve discussed prayer in the past. Today I’ll emphasize listening prayer. As one of our prayer exercises, we spent a minute listening in prayer for each person, asking God what He wanted them to know. We then shared what we heard with the person. If you haven’t tried this for yourself, please do. It’s an awe-inspiring experience that will remind you how often God speaks. (Just remember, it’s done to encourage others, not to give them life advice. Human nature likes to throw its own ideas into our brain.)

4. Discernment.

In every circumstance, we must act with discernment and think about what we’re hearing. During the trip, I heard several things that made me go wait a minute. There are innumerable fallacies and lies out there, and if we’re not careful, we’ll get sucked in. Modifying our theology isn’t a sudden transformation, like many think. It begins with giving in on one point, (“Well, maybe Jesus really meant…”) then another, and another. Before you know it, you can start believing something entirely unbiblical.

I’m not saying everything I learned was bad; the majority of it was incredible. But it’s in these circumstances that we must be extra careful. It’s among the most powerful truths that the devil will hide his lies.

5. Be adaptable and flexible.

One leader reminded us that life on mission is unpredictable. The more you try to plan, the less your plans go according to…plan. We should be flexible and willing to change direction. We didn’t know what was happening half the time, but we followed God’s leading and saw incredible circumstances unfold. We can’t get so caught up in our schedule that we miss the spontaneous and unpredictable moments, which are so often the most iconic.

Like eating vegan pizza when the other pizza ran out. Like stopping to pray for people. Like playing baseball in a church basement. Like driving to the absolute wrong location. Those kinda moments.

6. Find your “Larry”.

Let me explain – we rented a bus to drive around the city. Our driver’s name was Larry, and he was a legend. Everyone cheered and applauded every time he picked us up. God used Larry to help us travel and minister for His Kingdom. Larry was a tool for the Lord, and we loved it.

In life, we have our “Larrys” – people and circumstances God has given us to help advance His kingdom. There are people (like Larry) whom God uses for a specific purpose. Look out for them, pray for them, bless them, and utilize their skills and abilities to further God’s mission. Have people you can count on when you’re in need.

7. Seek His Kingdom.

Matthew 6:33 was one of our theme verses. It says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The point is, if given the choice between serving God and doing what you want, there shouldn’t be much choice involved. Seek Him first.

8. Serve God wholeheartedly.

God doesn’t call everyone to live as a missionary (we need people in our communities too), but He calls everyone to live on mission. God asks us to serve Him. Will you love others like Jesus loved?

Throughout my weekend missions trip, I saw students doing that in various ways. They didn’t all do the same thing, but they all served God wholeheartedly. Some shared Jesus’ hope with others over lunch, some prayed for those in need, some played with kids, some assembled storage units in a basement, some served food. Everyone had a different job, but we were all united in our love for Christ. We served Him regardless of the task at hand, great or small.

My mini missions trip was amazing, and I loved every moment. However, life on mission doesn’t stop when you leave church or when your missions trip ends. Life on mission is an everyday commitment, all about giving our Yes to Jesus, no matter the circumstances. I’m committed to following God’s leading, wherever He takes me. Will you join Him on that journey? (Unlike what I said before, this isn’t meant to be a conversation starter. It’s either YES or NO.)

As James 1:22 says…

“You must not just read the Word, you must do what it says.”