A Letter from Pastor Mark - September



Dear Friends,
Last month I talked about the church becoming a missional movement.  Remember a church becomes a missional movement when the good news of Jesus goes viral.  When every disciple who is a part of the church becomes so in love with Jesus that they live his message in everything they do, then Christ’s message goes viral and is passed on from person to person.
Last month I shared that for a church to become a missional movement then the church must have missional DNA as its lifeblood.  We will refer to missional DNA as mDNA.  The six elements of mDNA are as follows:
· Jesus is Lord
· Disciple-making
· Missional-incarnational impulse
· Apostolic Environment
· Organic systems
· Communitas

Those terms might seem strange and mysterious but over the next several months I will be explaining and defining what they are so that we will be able to know if Southport UMC has the necessary ingredients to become a missional movement.
The first element of mDNA is Jesus is Lord.  This is the spiritual heart and soul of churches who become missional movements.  To proclaim that Jesus is Lord means that we serve Jesus totally and completely.  To proclaim that Jesus is Lord means that Jesus sits on the throne of our lives and is the center and directing force of the church.  When Jesus is Lord, nothing is more important than Jesus.  


When a church truly lives with Jesus as Lord, then Jesus is never an afterthought used to justify what we want to do.  Jesus becomes the first thought and everything will be about sharing his love and good news of forgiveness with everyone.  Everything a missional church plans will have “Jesus is Lord” at the center.
A missional church will take Jesus with all seriousness in every possible way.  So, a church cannot become a missional movement if it is not Christ-centered and Christ focused.
Next month I will explain the mDNA element of disciple-making.
In Christ’s Abundant Love,
Pastor Mark

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