sustain:if:able kiwi

mission postcards

I shut the door this afternoon and found some space to do some creative planning. The result was some mission postcards – four in total. One side of each postcard is an art image, on the other side a Biblical text. The task will be for folk to work in groups to identify the mission practices present.

The occasion is that fact that I’m working with some rural churches in the Eyre Peninsula over the upcoming weekend. Rural as in 6 hours drive one way. So I leave on Friday morning and return Sunday evening.

I am doing three of these rural events this year. In May I was in Robe, while in September I’ll be in Laura. In Robe I did 3 sessions. But there’s only time for 2 sessions in the Eyre Peninsula, which meant I needed to find a new way to get to where I wanted to go.

I’d be playing with an idea for a while, emerging from Picturing Christian Witness: New Testament Images of Disciples in Mission by Stanley Skreslet.

In sum, mission in the New Testament involves four domains

• being a mate – being salt and light in our neighbourhoods
• having a yarn – voicing our story
• crossing the ditch – stepping across boundaries both cultural and generational
• sharing the load – the determination to stretch, to extend the reach of Christian pastoral compassion.

I’ll then provide some contemporary examples of each, hoping that in the mix of Biblical engagement, art, conversation and stories from today, folk will find fresh resources for their context.