Mission Outposts

"‎If the size of the vision for your life isn't intimidating to you, there's a good chance it's insulting to God." — Pastor Steven Furtick, Elevation Church.

This year, we've put a lot of focus on missions. It was something I talked about last week, and something Pastor Graham hit upon in today's message. I think when most people here that word missions, they think of some big, grandiose, global activity. And that is missions, but it's not the only definition of missions.

I used a couple examples last week. One is "The Blind Side," which is a true story. It's about an affluent family that took in a teen who had no family, no support system, and no encouragement to reach his potential. The part I really love about that story is when the matriarch of the family, as played by Sandra Bullock, points out that it changed all their lives. Mission doesn't just help those we minister to, it helps us as well.

Donald Miller is a great writer, and in his book "A Thousand Years and A Million Miles," he tells a lot of inspiring stories about people who wanted to get involved and change the world. But it's actually a story he shared about his only life in a message I heard that has always stuck with me.

He talks about one of the struggles in his life, growing up without a father. In fact, he wrote a whole book about that and the trials of American fatherlessness is a topic that he is passionate about. Miller talked about the fact that, each year, he steals up to the mountains by himself and spends some time praying, thinking, and writing down his goals for the year. One year he felt this strong desire deep down, coming from a place that can only come from God, telling him he needed to do more. When he was making his list, he wrote down under goals the idea that he needed to do something to correct the epidemic of fatherlessness. He said that as soon as he wrote it down he wanted to erase it. It seemed big, and scary, and crazy. But he knew that it was something he needed to do. So Miller started a mentorship project, using his position as a nationwide figure and speaker, he connected with churches and created a mentorship network that is helping to change lives for kids throughout our country that grew up without a father, just like he did.

Now I know that’s a huge project and you’re probably sitting there saying how am I supposed to start a nationwide program, I don’t even know where to start. Or, how am I supposed to adopt a child and raise them and get them through college, I barely have enough to support my own family. And that’s all right, those are specific examples of how specific people were able to live out the ethic of compassionately helping others through their own blessings and means. We can’t all start a mentorship program. We can’t all adopt a teen and give them a better life. But we can ALL DO SOMETHING, and we all should do something. You could volunteer in the nursery a hour a month, you could mentor a child through the Boys and Girls Club, you could buy a meal for a homeless man, you could spend a day serving meals at Second Baptist Church, you could pray for those in need, you could take time out of your day to pray with someone who is struggling or lost. It doesn’t have to be big; it doesn’t have to be costly; it just has to be real.