Missional Magnificat at the bank

I spent time with a crying woman at the bank the other day. She is what I imagine Mary, the mother of Jesus, was like. As we got out of our respective cars, she recognized me. She wanted to talk “church.” We weren’t in the conversation for more than 60 seconds when tears filled her warm eyes in deep sadness that conveyed a longing for the way things ought to be.

Let me back up and tell you about this woman. She is, and always has been, the kind of woman who notices the needs of others. A mother of several children, she has a natural propensity to care. Her heart pulses for the weak, the orphaned, the immigrant, the young, the alone and the “other.” She delivers care packages constantly, even when she is not serving as an office bearer at her church. She opens her home for countless small group meetings, and has had so many “strangers” around her table that her house may as well have a restaurant sign. I imagine one day her funeral will be a mighty gathering of the thousands whom she has selflessly blessed.

If Jesus’ mother knew this woman, she might describe her as being of “humble state [as] his servant.” (Lk. 1:48)

‘Why can’t our church do that?’

But why her tears? She had recently gone to a church other than her own. She spoke glowingly of the message: “The pastor spoke of Jesus, the call to tell others, to live out the Great Commission and to love all people around you.” She spoke yearningly. “It felt good to hear it again. I’ve missed it so much.” This is when her eyes filled with tears. “Why can’t our church do that?”

You see, for nearly three years the conversations from the pew, the pulpit and the perspective of the church council for which she is an elder have been anything but the core gospel. It has been nothing but dealing with denominational “politics and postulations” while everyone watches the church shrink.

Losing the mission

Why do I tell you this true story? Because her sadness is the very real impact that leadership and boards have when they take their eyes off the main purpose of their existence: the legal “objects and purposes” of their charity conveyed to the CRA [Canada Revenue Agency] and their central biblical mandate. The main thing gets lost when governing bodies get busy in handling, analyzing and politicizing their work without the lens of their central task – their mission.

Mary’s Magnificat is an annual reminder of the character of God. We are reminded who is the object of God’s love. It is the duty of leaders to ensure that remains the central thrust. The central mission (or some local derivative of it) should appear on the top of every agenda of successful Christian ministries, be considered after every major decision, be included in the mandate of every committee and be the closing consideration at the end of every meeting. And when this more-than-obvious element is missing, there are tears: outside of banks, silently in cars after church and in living rooms during small group meetings.