Bubba Mission

When Bubba Watson won the Masters golf tournament, he made Bubbaugusta history. Commentators gushed about how an ordinary guy, a person who never took a golf lesson, a professional who didn’t have a cadre of coaches around him, proved that an ordinary man can win a major. His improvised hook shot off the pine needles was lauded as Bubba creativity. What carefully trained, meticulously coached, PGA groomed, institutionally produced golfer could even think of such a shot, let alone pull it off?

It’s a new era of ordinary winners. Or, maybe it’s an era of remembering that golf is meant to be played by ordinary people.

Might the same be true of mission?

We’ve come through a generation and a half of carefully trained, meticulously coached, church-system groomed, institutionally produced ecclesiastical professionals. What’s happened to the church? The culture is losing faith in it. The professionals are falling to the wayside in scandals--ala Tiger Woods. The institutional prototype is turning people off. People are leaving the church.

But there are some Bubba’s out there. Ordinary women and men, people both young and old, are getting creative with the Gospel. They’re meeting people where they live. They’re personifying Jesus in their communities. They’re inviting people into making Christ’s difference. They’re looking outward and giving the genuine love and care of Jesus to people around them. They’re meeting in homes, apartments, and coffee shops. They’re sacrificing, starting non-profits, and traveling both near and far because they believe Jesus is the most important person for everyone to know.

And people are coming to faith in Him. Around the world, the actions of ordinary people--of Bubba’s--are making Christianity the fastest growing faith movement on the planet.

Could your life use some Bubba mission? Could your church?

Go for it, Bubba!