Episode 296: Christianity 202, Part Three--What's Our Mission?

Not too many years ago, it was all the rage for businesses, organizations, non-profits, and even churches to write "mission statements" to define what they understood to be their purpose.  But asking about the church's "mission" conjures up all sorts of different pictures.  Is it primarily about getting non-Christians to convert to Christianity--or even getting people from "other" sects to join your particular brand of Christian faith?  Is it about social service and humanitarian relief?  Is it about standing out as an alternative kind of community?  Exporting your culture to faraway lands?  All of those things have been different understandings of the church's "mission," in different times and places. Sometimes we have done more good than harm, but sometimes we've let our faith be co-opted as a tool for colonizing and empire-building, too.  Sometimes we've thought only about going to far away "mission fields" and forgotten to be missional people right in our own backyards, and sometimes we've just stayed inside our sanctuary walls without ever peering out through the stained-glass windows to even see the world outside.  So in this episode of our "Christianity 202" series, pastors Erica, Sarah, and Steve take a look at how we might answer the question, "What's our mission?" as the church, and we invite you to join us for the conversation.  Check it out here on this week's "Crazy Faith Talk"!