by Bishop Todd Hunter

God’s Church (us) and our specific mission fields are always in conversation with each other. When the people of God are at their missional best, rich interactions take place as the Spirit leads us to a non-compromised, but contextual engagement with what is real, present, and contemporary. The past is gone—we had our chance to love God and neighbor then. The future, with its realities, is not yet here. But we can be present to today, to 2022.

Some of the issues we must be present to:

  • Large numbers of young people hold views on human sexuality that vastly differ from previous generations.
  • The current mix of religion, politics and secularism are toxic in the extreme.
  • We have big issues with racism, with economic viability for the masses, with health care, with education.
  • Because of COVID, over 800,000 people in the USA have died. All over your city are grieving families, confused or angry about public policy, and trying to hang on to some belief in God. Millions of people have lost wages, school advancement, small businesses, and jobs. Tens of thousands of leaders in every place of human endeavor have been threatened, bullied, disrespected, and mistrusted.
  • Suicide rates are up.
  • Drug and sexual addictions are up.
  • Marriages, friendships, workmates, and schoolmates are under huge strain.

Resolution, redemption, and recovery from these issues must come from a transcendent source. Knowing this, Isaiah, describing the coming Messiah, said:

Take a good look at my servant.

    I’m backing him to the hilt.

He’s the one I chose,

    and I couldn’t be more pleased with him.

I’ve bathed him with my Spirit, my life.

    He’ll set everything right among the nations.

He won’t call attention to what he does

    with loud speeches or gaudy parades.

He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt

    and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,

    but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.

He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped

    until he’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.

Isaiah 42 (MSG)

We seek to be the people of the Messiah. We covet God’s backing us in the Messiah. We desire to be bathed in the Spirit. We want to cooperate with God in setting things right.

To do so, we must be lovingly near to bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. We cannot let religious or political purity tests keep us from the people Jesus came to save. Bruised humanity are objects of love. Those deconstructing previous religious views are smoldering wicks. I want us to be with them on their terms, tenderly putting our hands around flickering flames, shielding them from harsh winds that destroy faith.

That is ministry in harmony with Jesus the Messiah. The headlines will scream many things in 2022, but as C4SO leaders, we must do our best with a simple focus on the basics of ministry: mediating Jesus to the hurt, sick, marginalized, depressed, anxious, and outcasts.

To ensure the alignment of C4SO to the priorities of Jesus, I ask you to ponder these missional questions over the course of 2022:

  • Since a fundamental value of C4SO is engineering from the mission field backward, not from the tradition out, how has your personal mission field changed in the last two years, and how are you resetting your priorities and practices to address that change?
  • How might you engage in conversations about faith?
  • Since church planting is in C4SO’s DNA, have you considered starting or being part of a church plant? If you are part of a church plant, how is your community rethinking the way you plant in light of our current context?
  • Are you called to step out and be a leader? If you are already leading, would you consider mentoring, coaching, and encouraging potential leaders?
  • We are always safe in the Kingdom of God. How are you dealing with all the things (COVID, politics, sexual and gender concerns, and social justice issues) that rightfully make us feel unsafe? How can you model to others a life of peace in a world of conflict and anxiety?

Throughout the year, I will be asking leaders from around C4SO to share their answers to these questions so we can learn from one another. And I welcome you to let me know how you would answer these questions yourself. 

May you know the close companionship of God in this New Year. May Jesus be your constant teacher. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you and flow through you for the sake of others.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter is the founding bishop of The Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others and founder of The Center for Formation, Justice and Peace. He is past president of Alpha USA, former national director for the Association of Vineyard Churches, and retired founding pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Costa Mesa, CA. He is the author of Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Giving Church Another Chance, The Outsider Interviews, The Accidental Anglican, Our Favorite Sins,Our Character at Work and Deep Peace.