Skateboarders With A Mission
I’ve always had
a very addictive personality; I suppose this is due to my family background and
genetic wiring, and of course God’s sovereignty. But, long before I was ever
introduced to drugs or alcohol, I found myself becoming obsessed with the
things that interested me. For the bulk of my childhood on into my adult life,
my primary addiction/obsession was skateboarding. I thought about skateboarding
day and night. When I wasn’t skateboarding I was reading skateboarding magazines
and watching skateboarding videos.
As weird as that
may sound to you, it turns out I wasn’t the only one like this. I had a whole
group of friends that were just as obsessed as me. Most people looked at my
buddies and me and thought we were just a bunch of punk kids obsessed with a
toy on four wheels, but for us skateboarding was life. We got up each morning
with a list of places we wanted to skateboard and a list of tricks we wanted to
do at each place. While the world looked at us as though we were a bunch of
kids with no purpose in life, we thought of ourselves as skateboarders on a
mission.
Most people
don’t realize that in most cities skateboarding is illegal; especially in the
places that have the things that skateboarders like to skate on. Things like
ledges, benches, stairs and especially the handrails on the stairs; these are a
skateboarder’s paradise. However, the majority of the world uses these things
for there intended purpose on an everyday basis, so when some punk kid on a
skateboard comes flying down a flight of stairs while a businessman is trying
to walk up them it creates a problem; and thus the city outlaws skateboarding.
But illegal or not, we were going to skateboard wherever we wanted.
Again, looking
back now I can see why the world was upset with us. But, their view of us, as
punk kids with no purpose was completely wrong. We were motivated. We knew what
we were there to do and we knew that we had a limited amount of time to get the
tricks done that we wanted to get done at each place before the police showed
up. We went to each spot with great intentionality, on a mission to accomplish
the things that we had set out to do. We knew our time was short, but for us
the mission was worth it. So with great urgency we went about achieving the
things that we felt we had been put on this earth to do.
A Church With A Mission
Many years have
gone by since my skateboard-obsessed days. Though I still skateboard as often as
I can, due to injury, the business of life, and God’s call on my life that’s
pretty rare. But, by God’s grace I have been given a new obsession. God in His
kindness took my addictive personality and redeemed it for His glory. These
days I spend my time obsessing about Jesus, His Word, His church, and the
mission He has given His church. And as I sat this morning thinking about my
days that were filled with skateboarding and the intentionality with which my
buddies and I went about our days, I thought to myself, what if the church was
like this?
What if God’s
people went about their days knowing their time is short, their mission worth
it, and then with great urgency they go about achieving the things that they
have been put on this earth to do? What if we thought about Jesus and His
mission for us day and night? What if we treated every day as an opportunity,
perhaps our last opportunity to accomplish our mission?
The church has
been given the mission to glorify God by making disciples. We are to make
disciples every day of our lives, not just on Sunday morning. But I’m willing to
bet that if we became more intentional about Sunday by itself we’d see a huge
difference in the impact the church is having on the culture around it. What if
we were intentional about inviting the lost, the hurting, the bruised and the
broken to church? What if we were intentional to invite our neighbors, our
co-workers, our friends and family to church? What if when we got to church we
were intentional to be hospitable, be loving, share the gospel, rebuke,
encourage, and do each other and each visitor spiritual good—seeking to help
them know Christ and grow in Christ?
In my
skateboarding days I broke numerous bones, tore numerous mussels and tendons,
and was basically on a first name basis at the local Emergency Room. My friends
and I were so motivated to learn the next trick, to go bigger and faster, that
we were willing to put ourselves in traction trying to accomplish our goals. Along with that we gave great time and effort to learn and grow in the sport, and we all sacrificed our money in order to pay to get us where we felt we needed to go.
I fear in the
church we aren’t willing to be obedient to the commands of Christ, especially
the command to make disciples, because we fear rejection. We don’t go to the
ghetto or to the Muslim world, or to any dangerous area to share the gospel for
fear of getting hurt or losing our lives. And we certainly don't sacrifice our time or give financially because we have other things to spend our time and money on rather than investing it in the kingdom of God. Why is that? Why is it that a group
of punk skateboarders are more willing to give of themselves and hurt themselves to accomplish their
mission than the church is willing to give of itself and put itself in harm’s way or rejection’s way
or whatever, for the mission of Christ? Do we not have a greater mission? Do we
not have a greater cause? Do we not have a great Savior who is worthy of the
glory of every tribe, tongue, and nation—including your neighbor?
My friends and I
risked a lot for something that ultimately doesn’t matter. What are we willing
to risk for Someone that matters eternally? What are we willing to do in order
to accomplish our mission? Where are we willing to go in order to accomplish
our mission? What are we willing to risk in order that people from every tribe,
tongue, and nation might come to know, love, worship, and enjoy King Jesus?
Intentional
While I have you
thinking, let me close with a few more questions. Are you being intentional
with your life for the mission of the church and the glory of Christ? If so,
awesome! Keep up the good work and help others do the same. If not, why not? Is
not Christ worth everything?
Be intentional
church, Christ is worth it!
“To
him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a
kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever
and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6)
“[I]t is my
eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with
full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life
or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians
1:20-21).
