How to Be Missional?

Texts:
- Psalms 141-144
- Matthew 9-10

"And the answer to your question is...I don't know." That was a quote from a play that my middle school students are putting on this weekend. We watched the dress rehearsal today, and every time a very hard question was asked, the wisest character would always say that line. That's how I feel when trying to think about how to be missional, how to get out and live my faith for more than just me.

It's a difficult question Lord. Let me just bring to You the reasons why it is so brain numbing. Number one, and admittedly this is inexcusable, there is the issue of my personality. Pretty introverted, pretty shy with others, take a long time to develop a relationship with other people, therefore don't have many "acquaintances" with anybody other than those I work with. Well, of course there are the friendships that I already have. Strong friendships that I believe I am already living missionally within. How and where do I meet new people? Do I just start walking the roads of the town? Where do I even find people with needs? And if I find them, how do I overcome my uncomfortability to even talk to them?

I mean, Lord, I could just glance over that. But it's a big issue! It makes me not want to meet anybody. Give me a room to paint, a roof to fix, some kids to play with, I'm fine. But ask me to talk and interact with numerous adults in different situations? Awkward.

And worse, I don't even know what You can do about it! I'm not trying to be a jerk here, just honest. I don't believe that You could actually make me comfortable in those situations. Maybe because I don't believe You'd change my personality, maybe because I don't think You want me to be comfortable. You want me to grow. Of course, I wish You could make me grow while I simply sit at home reading Eugene Petereson, the Bible, and watching soccer. But I'm convicted that I must be doing...

So the second thing that makes it so hard is following the example of Christ. I know that I should be like You when You walked the earth, so checking the gospels I find that You were going out to people and helping them. So what were You doing, maybe I can do that! Well, in reading today from Matthew You had healed a man who was paralyzed, forgiven sins, ate dinner with sinners, healed a woman with bleeding, raised a girl from the dead, made a blind man see and drove a demon out of a man.

Excellent. Healing (uh no, I don't think I'll be doing that). Forgiving sins (um...). Raising people from the dead (wow.) Giving people back their lost senses. Finally confronted demonic spirits (yipes!) The only thing from that list that seems remotely plausible is eating with sinners, and trust me, my mind is trying to think of every excuse possible to say no way.

Well, maybe You ask us to do differently? Not to be exactly like You? You don't expect Your disciples to have exactly the same power, I'm sure of it. That's why in Matthew 11:8 You say to Your disciples, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons." Oh right, exactly what You just did (and You took out the almost do-able part about eating with sinners, and just left the impossible).

So where does that leave being missional in the way that Jesus is missional. Well, maybe its not about exact imitation, maybe it is about the way that we go about it. Or maybe I need to be healing people. I don't want to just gloss over the New Testament commands, but then again, these things seem unbelievably difficult. So how do we wrestle with this? Lord where do we come out?

And the answer to your question is...