Being “Missional”

March 1, 2021

Did your church ever harp on the idea of “being missional”?

Man, oh man. Mine sure did. It seemed like every other sermon, youth group message, or Bible study told us to “be missional.”

If you’ve never heard that phrase before or don’t know what it means, it’s basically a cute, succinct instruction to live your life through the lens of always seeking opportunities to present the gospel to people and convert them.

Sounds simple, but if you ever made it your goal to “be missional” (like I did at one point) you quickly realized that you needed to rearrange the entire framework in which you viewed the world. Here are some examples:

• You’re assigned to work on a big project with your coworker. BUT it’s much more than just a big project; it’s an opportunity to share your faith and tell him about Jesus.
• You’re paying for your groceries at the register and the lady behind the counter is chatting with you. BUT it’s much more than just her being friendly; it’s an opportunity to share your faith and tell her about Jesus.
• Something breaks in your house and the repairman makes a visit. BUT this entire situation was orchestrated by God to give you a chance to share your faith and tell him about Jesus.

You get the idea.

Basically, every little nuance or inconsequential event in your day needs to first be reinterpreted as something planned by God to give you an opportunity to share your faith, and then you need to actually have the courage to make the awkward segue into that conversation.

That second step was the difficult part for me. I was extremely introverted (still am) and while I was able to eventually train my brain to identify these opportunities, I was rarely able to muster the courage to bring up Jesus. I walked away from many of these interactions feeling deep shame, like I had failed God and willfully denied Jesus.

Trying to “be missional” really took its toll on me back in the day.

So it might seem strange when I say that being missional is actually really good life advice.

The key difference, however, is how I define a Mission and how the Church defines a mission.

I have an entire chapter in my book dedicated to identifying your new Mission after your deconversion. It’s the most important chapter in the book. It’s the one that shows you step-by-step how (and why) to once again bring purpose and meaning back into your life. Often, that’s the biggest void left after a traumatic deconversion.

Once you’ve identified and clarified your new Mission after your deconversion, you then become a Man on a Mission—a man who knows what he wants to achieve in his life (and why) and seeks to leave his impact on the world around him. This Mission drives him every day of his life.

So when you move through your life “being missional” that means you view the entire world through the lens of the work you’re doing to accomplish your Mission.

• How you choose to spend your time reflects the things you’re doing to accomplish your Mission.
• What city you move to is determined by what location can help you best accomplish your Mission.
• What job you take is predicated on how much closer to accomplishing your Mission that job can bring you.
• If you’re ever having an “off” day and can’t seem to focus, all you need to do is remember your Mission and you’ll instantly identify something that can be done that day to bring your Mission that much closer to fruition.

Men thrive when they have a big, exciting project or goal that inspires them to focus their productive energy toward something that is much bigger than themselves.

And that thing is your Mission.

So there’s nothing wrong with going through life “being missional.” In fact, it’s much better than going through life aimless and adrift.

The only difference is that this Mission is yours, chosen by you and not your pastor, and one that can make a real difference in the world—unlike telling someone they ought to surrender their life to a carpenter that lived 2,000 years ago.