Bullseye: Unit of Mission

“We assume that people leading middle judicatories must believe that the local congregation is the basic unit of mission in the world” (p.14).

We beg to differ. The basic unit of mission in the world is the individual. The Great Commission was given not to a congregation or organization, but to individuals.

“Each individual has a mission to fulfill which involves weal or woe to some other soul. If faithful to his trust, he is a light that shines to God's glory; by his Christian example, his constancy and fidelity, he represents Christ to the world. If he is unfaithful, he becomes a false light, an agent of Satan to allure souls to ruin. As the sentinel who sleeps at his post endangers the liberty and life of his comrades, so does the professed Christian who is untrue to his high calling endanger the eternal welfare of his fellow-men” (Review and Herald, April 24, 1883 par. 3).

“Letters come to me from near and from far, asking for definite instruction in regard to individual duty. I gladly refer these inquirers to the words of Christ, spoken just before His ascension to heaven. ‘And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world’” (Jehovah Is Our King, pp.5, 6).

Whether the basic unit of mission is the congregation or the individual may not seem significant at first, but the position taken on this point has consequences for how other issues are approached. Here is how Borden presents the logical outgrowths of treating the congregation as the basic unit of mission.

“Obviously relationships are important, but relationships are not the primary purpose for local congregations existing, just as sports teams do not exist so the team members can develop a sense of family” (pp.39, 40).

If the basic unit of mission is the congregation, then individuals become expendable and, as with sports teams, can and should be replaced if they are not "benefiting the team" sufficiently. We find that logical conclusion unacceptable. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). There is no such thing as an expendable soul. If souls were expendable there would be no need to spread the gospel in the first place. Each soul is of infinite value.

“The larger plans will be laid at the right time; but personal, individual effort and interest for your friends and neighbors, will accomplish much more than can be estimated. It is for the want of this kind of labor that souls for whom Christ died are perishing. One soul is of infinite value; for Calvary speaks its worth. One soul, won to the truth, will be instrumental in winning others, and there will be an ever-increasing result of blessing and salvation” (Review and Herald, March 13, 1888 par. 9).

“Upon every individual who has had the light of present truth devolves the duty of developing that truth on a higher scale than it has hitherto been developed. The Lord will hold us accountable for the influence we might have exerted, and did not because we did not earnestly try to understand our accountability in this world. We need not think that because we are only a tiny light, we need not be particular about shining. The great value of our light lies in its shining amid the moral darkness of the world,--in shining not to please and glorify ourselves, but to honor God. If we are doing service for God, and our work corresponds to the ability God has given us, that is all he expects of us” (Review and Herald, September 21, 1897 par. 2).

This doesn’t mean that the individual should be completely independent of the congregation. The congregation acts as training ground, resource depot, sounding board, support network, and amplifier. It is a well-known fact of group dynamics that the total amount of work a group can accomplish together exceeds the totaled amounts of work that could be accomplished by all of the individuals of that group working separately. This is why individuals band together into congregations, congregations band together into conferences, etc. We work more effectively together than apart, but it all starts with the individual.

“We cannot expect that ministers will be permanently located in settled charges, as they are located in other denominations; but each church member must individually learn to bear responsibility, and become a worker, making the advance of the cause of truth the first and highest interest of his life. Each one must devote his God-given power to the work of God; for every one has a part to act if the church is to be successfully established and carried on. The ignorance and inexperience of church members in regard to their duty in the church cannot be pleasing to God” (Review and Herald, October 22, 1889 par. 2).

Borden presents another logical outgrowth of treating the congregation as the basic unit of mission, namely that the congregation should receive primacy in attention and resources.

“A judicatory intentionally decides to expend the majority of its financial, time, and human resources on meeting congregational needs rather than fulfilling institutional and denominational demands” (p.15).

“Given the obvious scarcity of resources and competition for dollars, it also may mean that some dollars that have normally come to the denomination may need to stay with the congregation for it to have the resources to grow” (p.15).

“Our commitment to the mission and vision took precedence over everything including those specific denominational concerns that we felt hindered the accomplishment of the mission and achieving the vision” (p.63).

This is yet another consequence that we take a rather dim view of. To start with, it isn’t entirely clear what all these extra resources would be needed for. Borden does suggest that congregations would need extra funds to attract and hire a higher quality of pastor, but that particular need doesn’t exist within the Adventist system. Beyond that, the sort of individual to individual evangelism which is most effective really doesn’t require much of a budget, if any at all. Further, the question begs asking what “institutional and denominational demands” are to be sacrificed to free up all these additional funds. Is worldwide mission work to be sacrificed? Or perhaps our worldwide system of hospitals and clinics which spread our health message and thereby open hearts to the gospel? Frequently the Adventist proponents of Borden’s philosophies have targeted our educational system—seeking to close the schools that work to win the hearts of our youth for God during the ages when they are most receptive to the message. In our view none of these “institutional and denominational demands” are expendable. Some of these functions might conceivably be taken over by the local congregation with its new primacy and funding priority, but for the most part a local congregation simply cannot accomplish these things as effectively as the denomination at large can.

"If the enterprise is under control of the General Conference, the way is open for deliberate counsel and a careful consideration of the matter, and if it is undertaken, there will be a united force to give it influence and standing, and this will contribute largely to its success. Under such management, a class of workers could be enlisted that otherwise could not be secured, and thus the enterprise would prosper when it would prove a failure in ordinary hands. And furthermore, there must be an authority to guard such an institution, so that persons who are not qualified shall not be allowed to grasp responsibility through selfish ambition…” (General Conference Daily Bulletin, January 30, 1893 par. 5).

Borden also spends considerable time discussing what he considers to be the differences between the operational mentalities of large and small congregations. “Larger congregations are not simply smaller congregations that now have more people attending” (p.58). His position is that small congregations put their emphasis on people and status at the expense of effective function, whereas big congregations are able to view the work objectively and make good functional decisions because they don’t allow it to get personal. He believes that the line between big and small congregations occurs when a congregation has 200 people in regular attendance.

“In North America most small congregations are small and remain that way because they are spiritually and organizationally dysfunctional. Many large congregations have become large as a result of pursuing organizational health and in many cases spiritual health as well. If small congregations are truly healthy they will not remain small, but will grow and reproduce in one way or another. If a large congregation becomes unhealthy, it will eventually decline” (p.59).

We have no problem with the assertion that health will translate into growth, but we don’t buy into Borden’s blanket portrayal of smaller congregations.

“These are the congregations that in our day have become large and have the opportunity and ability to change communities. The criticism we often hear of such congregations is that they are a mile wide and an inch deep. Yet often those offering the criticisms are involved in congregations that are an inch wide and an inch deep. Our denominational polities have created organizations that promote a conspiracy of smallness that allows a handful of controllers to focus the church on membership privileges that are defined by their personal and family needs and desires” (p.141).

A conspiracy of smallness? The paranoia expressed in this statement defies logical rebuttal beyond pointing out that it is a statement of paranoia. God blesses congregations of many sizes, but His emphasis is not on congregations, but on people. It is people that He came to save, not congregations, and it is through individual believers that His work is carried forward.

“The believer in Christ is consecrated to high and holy purpose. Before the service of the royal priesthood the glory of the Aaronic priesthood is eclipsed. Called according to God's purpose, set apart by grace divine, invested with Christ's righteousness, imbued with the Holy Spirit, offering up the sacrifices of a broken and contrite heart, the true believer is indeed a representative of the Redeemer. Upon such a worshiper, God looks with delight. He will let his light shine into the chambers of the mind and into the soul-temple if men, when they lack wisdom, will go to their closets in prayer, and ask wisdom from him who gives to all men liberally and upbraids not. …As the sinner's sincere, humble prayers ascend to the throne of God, Christ mingles with them the merits of his life of perfect obedience. Our prayers are made fragrant by this incense. Christ has pledged himself to intercede in our behalf, and the Father always hears his Son. Pray then; pray without ceasing; an answer is sure to come” (Review and Herald, October 30, 1900 par. 7).