Stott on having a Christ-Centered Mission

John Stott wrote:

Nothing is more important for the recovery of the church’s mission (where it has been lost) or its development (where it is weak), than a fresh, clear, and comprehensive vision of Jesus Christ. When He is demeaned, and especially when he is denied, in the fullness of his unique person and work, the church lacks motivation and direction, our moral crumbles, and our mission disintegrates. But when we see Jesus, it is enough. We have all the inspiration, incentive, authority and power we need.

Motivation is a very important aspect of every human enterprise. We need to not only know what we should be doing, why we should be doing it. When our motives are strong, we can persist in any task almost indefinitely. But when our motivation is faulty, we immediately begin to flag. Sharing our faith is hard work, widely unappreciated and unpopular. The church will need powerful incentives, therefore if it is to persevere. It is my argument in this section that the exaltation of Jesus Christ to the Father’s right hand , that is, to the position of supreme honor, provides the strongest of all missionary incentives (Eph. 1:21, see 1:10 Jesus was elevated above all possible rivals to the highest place of supremacy; Phil. 2:9; Col. 1:18)

If God has given this supreme honor to Jesus, and desires every one else to honor him, the people of God should share this desire. This is sometimes spoken of as “zeal’ or even “jealousy.”
This same sense of pain whenever Jesus Christ is dishonored, and this same sense of jealousy that should be given the honor due him, should stir us... The primary motive for mission is neither obedience to the Great Commission, nor even love for those who are oppressed, lonely, or lost and perishing, important as those incentives are, but rather zeal or ‘jealousy’ for the glory of Christ. It is this zeal for Christ which integrates the worship and witness of the church. How can we worship Christ and not mind that others don’t? It is our worship of Christ that impels us to witness to Christ, in order that others may come and worship him too. (John Stott, "The Christological Basis of Mission," in The Contemporary Christian)