In light of your reflections on Donald Messer's stories, what do you consider to be "the essentials" of mission?
Do you think the 5 Marks of Mission identified by the Christian churches in the UK are a good enough summary? The 5 Marks are:
Do you think anything needs to be added or deleted from these Marks of Mission?
Try now to write a summary of your understanding of mission. Add it to your journal if you want.
Now, just supposing you had the chance to implement mission as you understand it in your working life. Would anything change? For instance:
What might change in the way you understand and go about your work in college?
What might change in your relationships with staff and students?
What difference would you want to make or suggest about the way the college goes about its job? For instance, in terms of its:
Are there any other key areas of college life that you think should be looked at?
What recommendations would you want to make to the Corporation, or to a Learning and Skills Council, about the purpose, policies and practices of the college or about FE generally.
If you were asked to justify any suggested changes in terms of your faith, beliefs, values and understanding of mission what would you say? What biblical sources would you draw on?
If, after all and on reflection, nothing would change - Congratulations!
On the other hand if some things would change then perhaps you may have to make some adjustments and/or decisions to act in light of your understanding of mission. You may like to talk through any implications of your reflections on mission with colleagues in the college, or through the various channels that fbfe provides, or perhaps with your church community.
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