Maintenance or Mission?

I read an interesting blog post this morning. Matt Soper wrote about a conference he recently attended. His post, Where the Power Is, was thought-provoking.

Some of his most provoking thoughts:

My point is that my early Christian years directed me towards the Great Commission and an evangelistic commitment in my faith life. How curious that five years of school and thirteen years of “church work” actually softened that commitment. How sad that “church life” often (indeed, usually) leads us into maintenance and away from mission.

…

One speaker at the conference delineated three types of “issues” churches spend their time on: 1) the essentials (kerygma), 2) convictions (doctrine emanating from the essentials), and 3) preferences (matters of style and taste). Now which do you think occupies most of our time and, alas, disagreement in the local church?

It’s not only “church life” that can lead to maintenance and away from mission. It is a constant work in my own soul to stay focused on the mission, not just get by with maintenance. Years ago, a mentor taught me that “The main thing is to always keep the main thing the main thing.”

Yours for staying true to the mission,
Keith