Recovering From Mission Drift
Mission drift is one of the biggest things you will encounter in the long haul of multiplying disciples. For one reason or another, your initial drive, focus, and trajectory toward the vision God has given you will get derailed. You will find yourself off track and not making any progress. The question is:
How do you get back on mission?
Sometimes mission drift is the result of success. It’s the inevitable appetite for building tabernacles when we see that God is with us (like Peter at the Transfiguration). Other times it can come as a result of life’s different trials. It can be a huge thing like a death in the family or a dozen paper cuts that eventually knock you off course.
I recently suffered from mission drift after having no water in my house for five days and one of my cars stalling on me in traffic. Twice. The house and car were in need of repairs. And just to keep things interesting, my other car had a check engine light come on. These things can cause you to drift. The worries and cares of life can deter you from the mission of God.
I had all but stopped praying for the lost. I wasn’t pursuing practical steps toward the vision of disciple-making. My steps of obedience were halted, and I wasn’t connected to the vision God had given me.
Once I realized it, I had to figure out how to get back. What should I do in light of my present situation of being off-course? Here are four things that helped me get back on mission:
A Vision Inspired By Scripture
It may seem obvious, but the first thing I did was get back into the Word. I went back to the passages that stirred me and caused me to long to see God move now like He did back then. Reconnecting with the Jesus-inspired vision God has given you is essential.
I read and meditated on passages like Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:1-2, and my own personal life verse: Acts 20:24.
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
All of these are centered on making and multiplying disciples. This is the mandate God has given us and the foundation for everything we do. Soaking in this mandate will make you see the gap between your reality and the Scripture’s expectations and ideals.
Prayer
This will lead you to the next thing: Prayer. On the Dare to Multiply Podcast, I heard guest Phil Moore say that when you see the gap between the vision of Scripture and your present reality, it will cause you to pray. Prayer comes from a longing to close the gap.
Prayer is vital in getting back on mission. It’s the fuel we need to step out and pursue what God has placed before us. We may have a direction to go in, but we will not be able to get there without prayer. Prayer is necessary. Making and multiplying disciples is fueled by extraordinary prayer.
Being thrown off course comes from success or trials, and in both those situations, prayer is needed. Success breeds pride and hubris. It can make you do things based on your own self-sufficiency and wisdom. Trials breed discouragement. They make you want to throw in the towel.
Prayer combats both pride and discouragement. It helps you navigate opportunities and points you toward what God has for you. It also can boost your faith when your vision is clouded by distractions and disruptions.
Community
Another thing that helps you get back on mission is community. Just a few days ago, my cousin let me know that he and his brother – who is not a Christian – were meeting to read the Bible. Then one of the guys I mentor let me know that after three years, his golf teammate is finally surrendering his life to the Lord.
These kinds of testimonies help to keep you centered on God’s mission and not your problems. Knowing that there are other people on mission provokes a godly jealousy in you. You want to be on mission too.
It also lets you know you’re not the only one in the fight. Pursuing the mission God has given you can be a lonely endeavor. It’s encouraging to know you have comrades in arms.
One coal alone will die out, but when all the coals are together, the fire continues to burn. Walking out the vision alone will cause you to die out and burn out. Walking out the vision with others will cause you to burn brighter together.
Rhythms
Connected to community is this last thing: rhythms. Usually, when we are experiencing mission drift, we are not moving in our established rhythms. There are certain things that keep us grounded in the vision God has given us. For me, if I’m not in a 3/3rds group, I don’t have any obedience or sharing goals to pursue, and I stagnate.
During this time of getting off track, I also realized I hadn’t been meeting with my peer coaching group. We usually spend an hour on Mondays working through problems and obstacles to making and multiplying disciples. This was an established rhythm that I had dropped in the midst of trying to put out all the fires in my life. In one sense it was understandable, but I forgot how important it was to keeping me on mission.
Once I started meeting with them again, I could feel the passion welling up inside of me. The day after we met, I followed through on my obedience goal and I also had a spiritual conversation. Getting back into rhythms was helpful. It gave me the tracks to run on.
So those are the four things that helped me get back on mission. Which one do you need to take and apply today?
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared at https://thepeoplestheologian.substack.com/p/four-ways-to-get-back-on-mission