Mission That Focuses on Soul Care

Tonight kicks off the next round of church planting for me. Andrea and I will be teaming up with a shepherd and his family that NewBreed trained back in 2015. Church plants are like snowflakes. No two are anything alike.

 

Our aim is to plant a network of churches and microchurches in the San Diego area, but with a caution. Ten years ago, the missional movement was in full swing. People talked about “being the church” instead of going to church. In order to reach this ideal, leaders began to talk about “doing life together” and established rhythms of hanging out, eating meals, and simply gathering.

 

The call went something like this, “You’re going to eat anyways. Why not invite another family to eat with you?” That’s compelling logic. But something went wrong, like it always does. Life got in the way of “doing life” together.

 

Things that sound too simple often ignore the complexities of reality. And when that happened, leaders doubled down on their ideals, making what was supposed to be a “natural rhythm” feel forced and coerced. As this increased, people began to drop off. No matter how well-intentioned something is, or how “right” an ideal may feel, if it’s outward conformity instead of inward necessity, it will always fall short and become a distortion of what was intended.

 

Enter COVID.

 

The pandemic changed everything. The collective mood of a global society has become exhaustion. People are tired. Addiction is on the rise. Cynicism is at an all-time high.

 

Anything that even smacks of compulsion or constraint will be counterproductive. No matter who you are, no matter what your COVID lockdown experience, right now, I’m pretty sure that what you’re craving is soul care.

 

I’ve been crying for years that church should be on mission. But now, the mission seems to be soul care. Think about it…isn’t that what the Great Commission is all about?

 

Isn’t the call to “go and make disciples” really a call to care for the souls of others? Isn’t that discipleship when you break it apart and examine its core?

 

What would happen if you began to look at everyone you come into contact with as someone needing soul care? How would that change your interaction with them? How would it change your focus? How you speak to them? What topics you bring up?

 

This month, NewBreed released a course on character for two reasons:

1. There have been yet another wave of scandals that have rocked the church and leaders
2. To provide soul care to others, you must first let your soul be cared for.

 

I’m convinced that if the church leans into soul care going forward, we will intersect the perfect crossroads of people in post-pandemic pain and the mission of God.

 

During the pandemic, like every other time in the past twenty years, when people flocked to the church for answers, they were let down. “Religion-as-big-business” cared more for what people could do to swell the church’s numbers than what the church could do for the individuals. Multitudes of people flooded into big box churches, realized that they weren’t going to get soul care, and hemorrhaged right back out looking for other options to caress their wounded psyche.

 

The rise of microchurches and house church networks are part of the answer, but it can’t have even a trace of demand because people are too tired for that. It’s like asking injured people to get back into the game and continue to hit hard despite their broken bones.

 

I know you’ve never heard me say this before, but this time, the mission is shepherding. Apostolics will look a lot more like shepherds, and shepherds will lean a lot more into the apostolic gifting.

 

This time around, we’ll be starting with soul-care, reinterpreting discipleship in that light, and making more disciples than ever before; pouring into people like Jesus and Paul did, and hopefully, discipling people into the kingdom.