the big picture

We ask: where does God fit into the story of my life?, when the real question is: where does my little life fit into this great story of God's mission?

We want to be driven by a purpose that has been tailored just right for our own individual lives, when we should be seeing the purpose of all life, including our own, wrapped up in the great mission of God for the whole of creation

We talk about applying the bible to our lives. What would it mean to apply our lives to the bible, assuming the bible to be reality - the real story - to which we are called to conform ourselves?

We wrestle with "making the gospel relevant to the world". But in this story, God is about the business of transforming the world to fit the shape of the gospel.

We argue about what can be legitimately included in the mission that God expects from the church, when we should ask what kind of church God wants for the whole range of His mission

I may wonder what kind of mission God has for me, when I should be asking what kind of me God wants for His mission.

Tim Chester & Steve Timmis, Total Church