“5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10  Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11  Give us this day our daily bread, 12  and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Mt 6:5–15 ESV)

Mission day means a certain sincerity afforded the Soldier, who in uniform and emblematic of the Crew, wears heart on sleeve. Mission day is such a day as when Sincerity triumphs over glib, evil eye, skeptical baseline. Baseline and bedrock Convinced, Sincere, having Integrity, Coherent, and possessed of a Plethora of Top-to-Bottom Verite: the Missional Posture invites and cajoles and cures and calmly assures the Target, the Supplicant, the Recipient, the Beloved.

To be Soldier of Christ’s Cross means more than signing on a dotted line, more than singing manner discomforted some hymns, more than even lifting holy hands in worship. The Cross borne by Today’s Soldier is a rugged reminder that hey, perhaps even at this late hour, church has no time in our missional schedule, rather, it is a Dying Breed, a Consigned Crew, a Missional family indeed, but one Embracing all manner of malfeasance as writ out in the clouds, as writ into our holiest of holies having been trampled upon, as writ into our nerves and our Soup-to-Nuts bedrock, baseline, integral Being. 

Because they claim to write in the clouds, but it is merely a parlor trick. It is merely to go oomph and shove on Any sign of gentility or softness. We, in turn, also play the game of football, also debate and negotiate every point, also shove and argue about yardage Constantly. Because the best minds out there do drive the soldier at times batty and crazy: why, O why, was everything sold down the river? Why was our Country bartered for a little respite from our own personal sphere of comfort zone? Why… does God allow mockery of the faith-filled Decision?

Therefore our place may after all be briefly Church, yes indeed a fine morning for Church, but our Mission: this is safeguarded in our Heart, as Transmitted from Authority, as Instilled by Headship, as Reminded, Reassured, by Spirit, by pings and boops and pleasing affirming voices: you Heard, you Asked… and you Heard. We “Hear” not because of some internal unvoiced monologue from on High, but by Asking in prayer, and Listening in return, for what the Spirit tangled up in legions of brain waves and neurons, has in light of the Rested and Blanket Trusted Posture, revealed to us: our Mind is Created in God’s Image and Hears what God says.

Yet for this to work, one must escape all Magic and Speculative Soothsaying Fictions. Everything will go Superstition and Delusion unless couched in a Theologically Sound and Creedal Cross. See everything not in terms of, Hey, neat parlor trick of the mind, but in terms of God will give a strong delusion to those couching Religion in a delusion. God’s magic does not deny the World’s magic, only it is a Special type of prayer that He listens to and He responds to.

Because all of us have errant strategies. All of us have weird Reliance or Hope in a Divine Parental Logic from On High. We “sue” our own religion for “well, God had better be God and answer this tripped-up concession, prevent me from erring, honor His Name as Holy”. No, but a Cruciform mindset and theology does battle in a Void and minus any Promises of relief. We are not to be assured or assuaged; we are to Fight because clarion Vision may be ours and ours alone in the Room we dwell in.

So we pray not, “Fix this”, but “I can’t”. I can’t go on, I surrender my sins and prideful thinking, I was hoping you’d swoop in and Fix Up the bind I created to test you; I acknowledge I “test” holy things, when instead I should Go Your Way of Golgotha and Minus any casual insincere day of worship.