Earlier this month, Mike Breen (of 3DM) wrote a blog post in which he asks: Is the church (and are we as leaders) sacrificing mission on the altar of family? (You can read the Mike’s post here.)
I think Mike makes some important points. For instance:
- The tendency to compartmentalize our lives into mission (ministry) and family is largely a reaction to a ministry paradigm in which family was sacrificed in the name of mission/ministry. I’m reminded of one of the pastors who preceded in ministry at my first place of ministry. He was a phenomenal man who had a deep care for people. His compassion led him to cancel family vacations and spend most evenings away from the home and his family. He did ministry and his family was the casualty of his ministry. (He also set an example that subsequent pastors could never live up to, which caused further issues.)
- We often treat family and mission as two opposing things that must be juggled. Let’s face it, the church often doesn’t help in this regard. Far too often, the church takes families and divides them up as they seek to pursue mission. When we gather for worship often the children are sent downstairs for “children’s church,” while the adults remain upstairs for “church.” Similarly, our youth go on youth group mission trips, while the adults go on adult trips. In doing so, we force people to choose between family and mission. How will they balance these two important aspects of their lives, while not giving up one at the expense of the other?
- Integration (what Mike terms “family ON mission”) seems to provide a much better, and far less reactionary, paradigm.
What do you think? Is Mike’s thesis plausible? What are its shortcomings?
