Adjectives.
Those describing words. The modifiers, classifiers, and identifiers.
The words that separate the world into categories.
Pretty. Ugly. Black. White. Rich. Poor. Smart. Dumb. Hip. Lame. Good. Bad.
Going. Sending.
It was my first time attending this camp on the dune-covered beaches of the Oregon Coast. I had heard rumors of it since I was a kid, but I had never been invited, and so it stayed off my radar. But this year was different. This year, I was invited to come teach a workshop at Wi-Ne-Ma Week of Missions.
An event with a long heritage of gathering and supporting those would dare to serve God as a Missionary. Almost 600 people gathered from all over the West, taking turns declaring their historical claim on this traditioned event, as we listened to some of the best and brightest talk about what it means to join God on His Mission to redeem the world. Booths lined the halls, showing different displays of ministries on almost every continent. Between the morning and evening sessions, slots were available for Missionaries to “report” on their works or for recruits to try to explain their ambitions.
And somewhere in the mix of all of this, Tony.
This whole adventure has been a roller-coaster ride for me, from the moment I decided to contact Phil Tatum (the director of Globalscope), through the application, acceptance, and training process, all the way to this last week in Western Oregon. I have been doing my best to just keep up with where the Spirit is leading. And as I do my best to follow, I see that He is challenging some parts of my very core.
You see, I never planned on being a Missionary. I have had full intent on participating in God’s Mission, but I never thought that I would be given the formal term… the noun-turned-adjective that is now being used by some to define my existence. And now as I go from place to place, sharing about what God is doing in my life and in Germany, I find that my eyes are being opened to the powerful role these adjectives play.
Going. This is used to describe those who are “taking up the mantel” to follow God’s call overseas or into the “mission field.” These are the goers.
Sending. This is used to describe everyone else, all of those Christians who are not a “goer.” These are senders.
These are our terms. You belong in one category or the other. Pick your adjective, and do so wisely because it will define you.
The more I look around, the more I see this great divide. And it terrifies me. And it makes my heart sad. I’m not going to say that the Missional movement is getting everything right, but the idea of “everyday missionaries” seems to be much more inline with the story of Scripture and the movements of the Holy Spirit that I see in the world. If the Church is required to split into these two categories, what will become of her?
If I’m required to join one of these two categories, what will become of me?
I’m moving to Germany. I’m going to join a spectacular team of people who are make Jesus known in a powerful way. This is the life that I am choosing for the next years and I am stoked about it. This choice, however, was never meant to extend into the way my identity is understood here in the States. The separate, semi-elitist identity of the “Missionary” is absolutely terrifying to me. It’s not that I don’t want to be a person on Mission. It’s the danger of pride that would seek to consume my soul that is terrifying for me.
No. I am not Tony the Missionary. I’m Tony.No adjectives necessary.As I tie my life more and more with Christ, it is out of this Tony-ness that everything else flows. But if I start attaching a lot of modifiers, classifiers, and qualifiers to Tony, then I will lose him in the process. So I look to the cross, which shows me what is worth clinging to and purifies my identity.
And I fight for Tony.
And I fight for the person before the adjectives.