Mission matters

The visits to wealthy Manila brought to mind some attitudes to consider, especially when it comes to a gospel for the well-off. The efforts of individuals and organizations in the Philippines also made me think about the impact we can have on this world if we just partner. I came across a blog item about how our everyday work matters to missions. The key points are:

• "Everyone can be involved in more than going or sending."
• "Your faith is more than hot air."
• "You can model the power of the gospel to people around you."

The blogger encouraged readers to think of their involvement in missions as more than becoming a missionary or supporting missionaries. It means treating every day in their lives as a day on mission. The three points seem basic, but they are foundational and reflect a framework I have come to conclude is virtually universal. It's the servanthood framework.

Servanthood has three elements: agency, duty, and accountability.

• Agency: A servant represents (is an agent) his or her master, not himself or herself.
• Duty: The servant takes on his or her master's priorities, not his or her own. This means servants must also develop a level of competence to discharge that duty.
• Accountability: The servant must account to his or her master about the results of his or her activities.

The blogger's three points correspond to the servanthood framework this way:

Servanthood	Blogger	Comment
Agency	"Everyone can be involved in more than going or sending."	Changing one's perspective about missions recasts missions as alignment with God's will in all things.
Duty	"Your faith is more than hot air."	Thinking of missions as more than a specific profession leads to the realization that faith becomes the priority in all areas.
Accountability	"You can model the power of the gospel to people around you."	Rethinking missions underscores the importance of demonstrating faith with action. Action is what God requires.

Those three elements could also apply to the workplace and show the workplace is a mission field. For example, the basic functions of managers correspond to the elements of servanthood, creating an opportunity to turn management into a servanthood opportunity and a way to turn the workplace into a mission field:

Servanthood	Blogger	Management functions
Agency	"Everyone can be involved in more than going or sending."	Alignment. Managers align plans with business objectives.
Duty	"Your faith is more than hot air."	Integration. Managers make priorities real by integrating the different business functions under the business priorities and objectives.
Accountability	"You can model the power of the gospel to people around you."	Management. Managers ensure accountability to the business owners by doing things to turn plans into action.