Being on Mission 24/7

ANDREW: Hey, thanks, Dave. For the last few programs, Chip introduced us to a set of practices called BIO. That is “B”, before God; “I”, in community; and “O”, on mission. Chip, could you just give us a quick review?

CHIP: Absolutely. I'm listening to a book about Steve Jobs' life. It's a very, very long book. It's super interesting, but it's really interesting this idea of an operating system that's underneath all these apps and the operating system that he had about sort of a closed circuit system where from the beginning of what's created, to the software, to the hardware, it was all self-contained, so it would sync. And I think what's happening in many Christians' lives, they don't sync.

And so behind the apps of family, of life, of work, of finances, of tragedies and hurts, there's an operating system. And the spiritual operating system of those Christians that are experiencing God's power and are being transformed, who love Him and are loving others, there's a general practice of being before God, doing life in community, and being on mission 24/7.

ANDREW: So let's pick it up there, Chip. Being on mission. What exactly does it mean to be on mission?

CHIP: Well, it's twofold. One, it's a mindset and a lifestyle, a view of life. And then second, it has to do with discovering the mission God uniquely has for you. So I call it a Philippians 2 mindset. When Paul was speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit to the church in Philippi about how relationships work, how love is created, how joy and fellowship. He says, “Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus.” And then he talks about this others-centered, sacrificial, putting the needs of others ahead of yourself. He says in the command, “Don't think only of yourself, but consider others as more important than yourself.”

So it's getting up every morning, and whether you're married or single or have a roommate, it's this mindset of: what do other people need? It's that Jesus mindset where the Scripture says, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom of many.” It's driving out of the driveway and thinking, These neighbors need Christ. I wonder how I could help them practically, emotionally. It's getting to work and realizing, I'm here to be God's ambassador.

So being on mission is not just like going on a little missions trip or it's not just being a part of a church ministry. It's a mindset and a lifestyle. And when Christians live like that, I mean, people sort of like, “You want to help me with my job? You saw me raking leaves and you just came out to help me? You heard my mom's in the hospital and you took time off to drive me?”

And - And of course, there's certain boundaries, we need self-care. But I think most of us are not erring on the side of not caring about ourselves. I think most of us, our lives, we just don't see it. We get distracted. We have so much going on. We're asking other people, “Love me, help me, care for me.”

And the interesting thing is this, Andrew, it's so interesting to me. The kingdom of God is a counterintuitive set of values. Jesus says in Luke 6, verse 38, and He’s not talking about finances per se at all, “Give and it'll be given unto you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. For whatever measure.” In other words, that measure, it's like the size of the bucket or the basket, “whatever measure you give to others, it shall be returned to you.” This isn't karma. This is Jesus saying: you know, if you need friends, be a better friend. If you need time, give time away. It's this idea of an abundance mentality, of a supernatural God with the Spirit of God living inside of you where your eyes and heart and mind are serving others. And as you give your life away, He says that's how you find it. And so it's really counterintuitive, but it's the source of great joy.

ANDREW: It is. It really is a source of great joy. Another thing of great joy is when you discover that God has uniquely made me for a mission here on earth. You know, we all have, we're all part of the kingdom.

CHIP: Right.

ANDREW: We're all on the same team, but we all have different roles. And sometimes you play more of a background role. Sometimes you play more of a role in front. And that's what's really exciting, I think, about this Christian on mission life.

CHIP: Yes. What we know is by a book that I think is sold thirty million copies or more in multiple languages, The Purpose Driven Life, what we know is one of the deepest longings in every human being is: what's my purpose? When people retire, if they don't have a purpose, they die in about five years. What we know is as believers, God has gifted us specifically. He has a purpose for us.

And when I said initially, you said, “What's on mission?” I said it's twofold. So first is the servant mindset. And when massive amounts of Christians do that, guess what happens, is the world gets changed. God gets glorified because people are experiencing the good deeds of Christians. Right? “Let your light so shine before men that they might see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

But when we find our role on the team, that our spiritual gifts, our purpose, our unique role, like not just on the basketball team, but in the body of Christ, that's the Ephesians 2:10 purpose, where God says to every single believer, are you ready for this? You are My workmanship, My poem, My special creation that's unique, prepared to walk in a good work that I prepared for you from the foundations of the earth. To think that You have one, I have one, every believer has one.

And at Living on the Edge, we often call that your holy ambition. At Living on the Edge, we've created a little book called Your Divine Design. At Living on the Edge, we've created an assessment called The Real You. In other words, you've been behind creating all this stuff, Andrew. We are passionate to help regular people discover if this is the tools in your toolbox, it pretty much tells you this is your purpose. And what we've seen is when people discover that and get rolling, you don't have to motivate them. They want to meet with God. They're in community.

And when we do that, some amazing things happen. The Great Commission gets fulfilled. The Great Commandment is being actualized. And when we do this to the least of these, the Great Compassion, as we like to talk about it in house, where people with desperate needs, Christians living like Christians that are on mission, transform the world. And it's...it's so exciting because it makes a huge impact. It honors God. And for reasons only the Lord knows, it fills us with a level of joy and satisfaction that's just hard to replicate.

ANDREW: Yeah, absolutely. But, you know, we live in a day right now when Christians really don't have a great reputation. I mean, the Church is known more for what it's against than what it's for.

CHIP: As we talk about B-I-O, BIO, these aren't independent streams of the operating system. When we know that only sixteen percent of Christians are coming before God and getting in His Word, guess what. without His Word, there's not power to live this life. Without His Word, you don't see the needs.

If you're not in community and being spurred on and challenged to love and good works and hanging out with people that as they do things you realize, wow, you know, you hear a story of someone in your group and you think, Well, I could do that at my job.

Well, all of these things go together and that's our passion is we want here at Living on the Edge to equip and inspire the body of Christ to come before God, do life in community and be on mission. And, Andrew, I think we just need to pause and say a lot of the bad reputation for Christians is very well deserved.

ANDREW: Yeah.

CHIP: I mean, let's just own Christians posting hateful things, Christians going to churches and it's us against them. Now, we are absolutely committed because Scripture demands we're going to be truthful and not compromise on any doctrine in any area. But that has to be shared with winsomeness and love and bring light to issues, not just heat.

ANDREW: I think so many times we react in a way that people kind of go, “Man, I don't want to listen to you.”

CHIP: So true. I talk about the bricklayer a lot because it was all my formative years. And we were at a big conference, and as we were all leaving, there were hundreds of people there and it was pouring down rain was a car broken down. And this bricklayer, we’re in this old Volkswagen van and he pulls up behind it. And I'm thinking to myself, I'm this young Christian, I'm thinking, What are we stopping here for? And I'm getting really, really wet. And then Dave gets out, gets his tools, gets underneath this guy's car, fixes his car.

And while I was sitting there in the rain, I watched all the people who had heard about Jesus. And I remember thinking to myself, You know what? This guy with a high school education keeps teaching me more about what it means to follow Jesus. Because, well, what? He served. He saw. And I long to do that better and better myself.

But part of Living on the Edge, if we can do just a quick promo, because millions of people listen to what we say, our passion is that we just wouldn't learn about Jesus, that we'd actually follow Him.

ANDREW: Yeah.

CHIP: And following Him means we do what He did. And Jesus' life got interrupted by people with needs and hurts and leprosy and people caught in sin. And He didn't say, well, “Hey, you know, you're not on My schedule.” This being on mission literally, I think, is what causes the body of Christ to shine.

ANDREW: Yeah.

CHIP: And we have a great opportunity and we have a great need to restore the reputation of our Lord by how we live. And candidly, with all the deconstruction, with the celebrity failures, with the political division, the division in masks and vaccines. We have some repair to do. And part of having this conversation, Andrew, I know we talk privately, we're saying, oh, body of Christ, would you get an operating system that really matters?

ANDREW: Yeah.

CHIP: And could we join together and let's make a difference?

And you know that we've really emphasized the servanthood, the being on mission, caring for people, meeting needs. But let's be clear. It's not enough to be wonderful, nice people, right? There's cults that are wonderful, nice people that have great families. You and I know that the power is in the good news message. I love the quote by St. Francis that says, “Preach everywhere and when necessary, use words.”

ANDREW: Yeah, but isn't that kind of the problem? You kind of referenced it. I mean, why can't we make the leap to sharing our faith, sharing about Jesus? It's like we tend to go right up to the edge and stop. Why is that?

CHIP: Well, the number one is I think we're afraid. I think we're afraid of rejection. I think we're afraid to get canceled. I think we live in this contentious atmosphere. Like I'm just going to shut up. I don't want to be that person. And the fact of the matter is, is that if people don't hear the good news, they can't respond.

I think a second one is I think we're distracted. We lose sight of there are people that are going to be separated from God forever and ever and ever. And we forget that. Andrew, I don't know, you know, we've talked a little bit about where we're at in our personal before God journey, but I read Revelation recently and I don't know why I decided to read it again. I am perhaps like never before, God is shaking me and I'm seeing this Jesus of Revelation that is a righteous judge. And this, these words of, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” This reality that there is a heaven and there is a hell and the gospel is the power of God to salvation. We have to get this message out in a winsome, kind, loving way that matches our lifestyle. But it's a challenge.

ANDREW: Yeah, it's taking a risk. And I remember I was in a Middle Eastern country. I was having a conversation with somebody and I was with a friend of mine. I obviously didn't speak the language. And we just got into this spiritual conversation. You get to that moment, you're kind of like, okay, I'm going to take the leap here and I'm going to share something.

CHIP: Yes.

ANDREW: I've spent some time building a bridge, at least a little bit. You know, and so I did, I just told my story, you know, and turns out it was this, he was a police officer. I mean, he could have arrested me, but God gave the grace in that moment. You take the risk and God is going to honor, you know, I could have been arrested. That would have been okay. But there is taking that risk Chip, just practically though how do you just start these conversations? I mean, some of us just aren't great at it.

CHIP: Well, let me just give our listeners, I mean, maybe three or four very clear, simple bullet points to get started.

Number one, look for a need. God, help me see with eyes where someone has a need.

Number two, build a bridge. You don't even have to talk about Jesus. I mean, build a bridge, ask questions.

And then third, Eat a meal together. There's something powerful about, “Hey, do you all want to come over?” Just eat a meal together. Or someone at work, “Hey, do you want to grab lunch together?” And get out of the, okay, when's the right time? When do I pounce on them? When do I share this? Like, you're going to see a need. You're going to genuinely care. You're going to build a bridge. You eat a meal. And then tell your story.

And it can be as easy as, “You know, as I've gotten to know you, I've heard your story and, wow, you've been through a lot or this or that. And would you mind if I share my story?” I mean, that's how easy it is. Would you mind if I share my story? Ninety-nine percent of the time you're going to get, “I'd love to hear it.” And then you just tell them, what was your life like before you met Jesus? How specifically did you meet Jesus and how has it changed? And it doesn't have to be this glowing, amazing. Just share from your heart what's happened.

And then as that happens, keep building the bridge and then actually share the good news. And you're saying, “Ooh, I don't know how to do that.” We'll help you. Or what if they ask me a question that's hard about why is there suffering or, you know, what about all the other religions? We'll help you with that as well. Here's where we need to start. Let's get connected and be on mission personally. And then let's begin to share the story of what God has done in our life and then share the good news. And like you just shared, Andrew, every time people take that step, God's with you. The harvest is white. People are prepared. They're curious. They're hurting.

CHIP: I went to a, actually a seminar, kind of a workshop type thing that my son was teaching who happens to be a pastor, my youngest son. And he had us write down this sentence like a prayer. And it was: Lord, would You show me somehow in some way to communicate Your love about Jesus today? And he just asked us to pray that.

And then the other thing he said, “Would you just write down, three or four people in your relational network that you care about?” I mean, you just care about them. As far as you know, they don't know Jesus. And he said, “I mean, it's one simple prayer and three names on a card.” And then he just said to the whole church, “Would you all be willing to pray that prayer every day at the beginning of your day? And just those three names, ask God to speak to them.” And I mean, they did that for like five or six weeks.

And then, they had a celebration. It was mind boggling the number of people who came to know Jesus. And the gospel is powerful. We get the idea that it's all about us and I need to say this and say that. It's amazing what happens when you ask God to do what He already wants to do

ANDREW: Yeah.

CHIP: and you cooperate where He’s already working with the people that you already care about.

ANDREW: Yeah, I mean God's the one who's changing hearts.

CHIP: Exactly

ANDREW: I mean, we're just communicating the good news that we've received telling our story and we don't have to twist arms. Yeah, we do have to have an answer. You know, people ask questions, you know, we want to have answers, but you know, it's not our responsibility to convert people. It's our responsibility to communicate the good news to people.

CHIP: And I think back to this bigger picture, these things, I want people to remember what we're talking about is how can we be Christians who live like Christians? We all want that outcome. So we back it up. What's the operating system? What are the practices? What are the basic things that need to be sort of in and out of your life all the time? I'm going to come before God daily, I'm going to do life in community regularly, and then I'm going to be on mission. And one of the things I would say, I have ups and downs in my journey with God, okay?

ANDREW: Yeah.

CHIP: I feel really up and encouraged at times, and I have windows where I'm not so good, or I feel down, or I'm disconnected. One of the things I do is I pause and I say, “Well, am I coming before God? And is it relational? And is it genuine?” And then I say, “Am I in community right now? And am I on mission?” And when I feel kind of out of sync, sometimes the BIO, can actually be sort of a litmus test or a dashboard, if you will, to help you get realigned. And that's the big picture of these conversations. We want to help regular believers who God loves experience Jesus and pass that on.

ANDREW: Yeah, you know, that's so true. And we're so excited here at Living on the Edge because we see the fruitfulness from it when people live out this lifestyle, this operating system. Here's like spontaneous challenge. We have a million listeners that listen to us every week. What if you were just to take a risk this week and have a conversation with somebody? What if we as a community would do that together? What would God do? And when you do, let us know about it too. Send an email to [email protected]. We'd love to hear the story about how you took a risk and what happened.

CHIP: Amen. Amen.

ANDREW: Now this month, we're in the middle of our match. And you may be familiar that a small group of people have come together and said, “Every dollar that is given, in the month of June through July 9th, we're going to match it.” Literally, your gift is doubled.

CHIP: Mmm.

ANDREW: And when you give, it allows us to provide resources like the radio, like Daily Discipleship. We've got a brand-new curriculum that's coming out this fall called Not Beyond Reach, which will help you reach out to people who you might not normally reach out to, we're also helping pastors all around the world. I think we've trained now about a hundred and eighty thousand pastors in, like, sixteen countries around the world. Why do we do this? Well, we want the Church to be healthy. We want the Church to be on mission. Chip, would you mind just closing us in prayer as we wrap up today's program?

CHIP: I would love to. I would like to say that we know God's heart is for you to discover your purpose, for you to be loved and to love others, both those inside the body of Christ and outside the body of Christ. And we know that God wants to bring justice to our world. And that happens when ordinary people like you and me and Andrew come before God daily, do life in community, and are on mission 24/7, having a servant's heart in general every day, and then discovering our unique wiring and purpose, the gifts He has given us to fulfill the unique calling for each one of us.

Almighty and ever living Father, that's our heart's desire. And even more, it is Your will and Your desire. I ask that each person listening right now, God, would You give them a desire to discover how You made them? Would You give them a view for the needs of people around them? And would You grant them the grace to go on mission today and every day? Lord, we want Your reputation to be a good one, a great one, where You are honored, where Your name is holy. And to that end we pray.