Yesterday, I asked what your vision statement is. A vision statement is an overriding idea of your purpose in life. A mission statement gives flesh to that vision; it tells the world how or what you will do to bring that vision to fruition. It isn’t the exact tasks or projects or goals; rather, it is a handful of themes that will be lived out in a variety of ways, and those ways or tasks can change – probably should change – over time. For example, Starbuck’s mission statement is, “to inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” Do you think they have accomplished this?
For me, my vision, professionally, has always been to be the best servant of God I could be, and I failed and succeeded in various ways over the years. I was raised in the church – on a larger sense – that was already obsolete, and I knew that the way I lived out that vision would have to change. I’m not sure most of us knew just how much we would have to evolve. The way I did ministry in the 1980s seems like an alien mission now; the needs of the world, while often the same, have also changed dramatically. We were a voice of reason and respect; now, much of that is no more. My mission has changed.
Many of my tasks are the same, and my values (which I will consider tomorrow) are also, mostly, the same. My values have moved from a simple checklist to a spider’s web of intricate and, sometimes, contradictory ideas. The vision – to be the best servant of God I can be – is the same. The mission has changed from a place of steadiness and predictability to non-stop re-evaluation, and it will continue to morph in ways that have yet to be uncovered. The trick is to keep one’s mind open enough to change where necessary and hold fast in what matters to God. That discernment is challenging, to say the least.
What’s your mission statement? If you can’t live it out in your work, are you able to find ways to be in mission in your community? A vision matters, but the mission is, in many ways, even more important. It is how the world knows whether you mean what you say. Or not.
Prayer – Holy God, You have sent us out on missions to bring light into the darkness. May we keep our lamps trimmed and burning. Amen.
Today’s art is untitled by Ben Pease.