Mission Possible
Did you see the movie Mission Impossible, starring Tom Cruise? I was caught off guard as the film began, not by the plot, but by the flood of childhood memories that washed over me as the theme song thumped into my chest from the Dolby Surround Sound speakers in the movie theater.
Every Sunday night after church our family would come home, change clothes, and slide a frozen Totino's cheese pizza into the oven. If we timed it right, the pizza would be cooked, sliced, and served just in time to watch the television series, starring Peter Graves as Jim. Sitting in the movie I could smell the pizza and taste the crust. Even though viewing a big screen, I was transported back to our den at 1620 W. Main Street in Durant, Oklahoma. How many nights did I lie on my belly with two or three slices on a paper plate and anticipate the mission as the music introduced the episode?
"Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it…." The show always began the same way. A taped voice that was never associated with a face would dictate the mission to Jim and his team. As Jim looked over three or four black and white pictures included with the tape, the voice would conclude, "Good luck, Jim. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds." And then it would disintegrate in a puff of blue-gray smoke. Over the next hour, as I consumed pizza, saving the crust until last, Jim, Barney, Cinnamon, Rollin, Willie, Paris, Dana, and Doug ducked in and out of danger pursuing the mission that guided them in a crusade against evil and injustice.
Whether it is a TV show, the military, or business, a "mission" states the reason for being and provides intrinsic meaning on two levels: First there is the cognitive, intellectual level which establishes understanding and comprehension of what the mission is. In the case of the military, for example, the mission is to defend freedom against hostile aggressors and protect our country's interests against incursion. Second, the mission connects with us viscerally. That is, it hits us in the gut, touches our heart, provokes an emotional response, strikes a chord, creates hope, fosters pride, etc. It is this aspect of the military's mission that causes men and women to defend their country by laying down their lives with honor and dignity.
The mission of Lifetime Guarantee functions in exactly the same way. Intellectually, it addresses a cause that is crucially important in that it has been on God's heart since the foundations of the world were laid. Emotionally, our mission promises transformation, relationship, honor, satisfaction, and eternal reward.
Our mission is to be a ministry that has national and worldwide respect and impact; a ministry that Jesus Christ built; a ministry that stands as a testimony to the fact that the Spirit maximized our resources, talents, and gifts; a ministry that God uses to proclaim to the Church the reality of His reign in us and our acceptance in Him; a ministry about which our Christian family says, "They laid down their lives with clarity, transparency, and integrity such that I understand my relationship with my Father and am now living as He intended." This is the mission we have accepted from our Father.
Notice that our mission is to be a ministry that has earned the respect of those it ministers to in order to have maximum impact in their lives. This is a high calling. In fact, we feel a deep sense of honor that our Father would entrust us with such a mission. But notice that the mission of the ministry does not depend upon our ingenuity and personality. This is a mission accomplished by Jesus Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and used by God.
Lifetime Guarantee exists to make known the fact that Jesus Christ lives in us and we live in Him. More than anything else, He wants to live His life through us and convince us of who we are in Him. Failure to depend upon Christ in this way is independence, violating our deep desire to please our Father and going against His heart's desire for us to rely upon Him. In other words, it is an affront to God, selling short what He accomplished in Christ at the cross. Because this is the central message of Lifetime Guarantee, we conclude that this is a ministry built by Jesus Christ.
For years we have prayed two, repetitious prayers: 1) "Father, bring us the best, most talented, gifted people that You have available; and 2) enable us to maximize them and their abilities so that they become everything You have in mind for them to be and minister to the fullest extent You see possible." Our mission calls upon the Holy Spirit to do this work. While this is our determination, we know that it won't occur unless the Spirit empowers us.
Our mission is to be a ministry that God uses to proclaim to the Church the work He did in Christ. He lives and reigns in us and wants to have a vibrant relationship with us based upon the fact that He has accepted us and made us brand new people capable of loving Him and living with Him for all of eternity.
As we work within the ministry of Lifetime Guarantee it is our determination to appropriate the fundamental points of the mission into our own lives such that we are confident in who we are in Christ and who He is in us. Only by understanding this ourselves and implementing these truths into our lives will we be able to lay our lives down in a clear, transparent example of what our Father's plan looks like when applied on earth. It is our mission to live and minister in a way that will enable others to observe the work of Christ in our lives and understand what their relationship is to be with their Heavenly Father.
Where there is a mission, there must also be a vision for implementation; the mission is only the starting point. While the mission states why we exist as a ministry, the vision states how we are going to minister.
I was with a group of men the other day who gathered in a circle to pray for a friend who was going in for medical tests. But instead of holding hands around the circle, we interlocked arms and began to pray. That is the vision of Lifetime Guarantee Ministries. In fact, our vision states: Our mission will be accomplished by standing shoulder to shoulder alongside Church leadership and our Christian family with personal interaction, resources, and media to advance them toward their spiritual goal of knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection.
The mission and vision of the ministry will be carried out by radio programming, multimedia, books, audio and video tapes, training seminars for pastors, church staff, deacons, and counselors, training internships, national and international conferences, and making sure that we as a staff are focused on Christ and Christ alone as our source through regular prayer and Bible study together.
You are our vision and the people we reach together are our mission. As we work diligently to provide effective means of ministry, please allow us to come alongside of you to assist you and your ministry. Use LGI's materials in your personal pursuit of knowing Christ, take advantage of the tapes and study guides in your study groups, plan on participating in our training courses, contribute to the accomplishment of our mission and vision with your financial resources and prayers. Our Father has articulated the mission and we have accepted His call. It is "Mission Possible."
If the mission is accomplished as described in these paragraphs, from the perspective and attitude of dependence upon our Father, we will see lives transformed, the kingdom of God advanced, Believers living as our Father intended and, most importantly, we will hear "Well done. Mission accomplished."