From the Pastor - "Mission" July 2015
Dear Friends in Christ, What is the church? The church may be considered in terms of our location, nature, redemption, shape, and ministry. According to Everist and Nessan in Transforming Leadership, the church may also be described in terms of its mission. My seminary professor of Christian mission at the Boston University School of Theology, Dana Robert, describes how the body (mission) enacts the will of the heart (the gospel). To separate the gospel from the church’s mission is to kill it. Our love affair with the gospel is what keeps the heart beating, sends blood throughout the body, and gives life to the church’s mission. The purpose of the church is not to exist as an end unto itself. The church must be concerned about those persons who are beyond the fellowship of the church, especially those in need and on the margins of society. When we put our faith into action, such as feeding the hungry or tutoring a ch...