The first time I heard about Shadow Mission was at Willow Creek Leadership Summit a couple of years ago. John Ortberg spoke on Shadow Mission in a unique way that has changed the way I look at life. I cannot do the subject justice the the way that he can though. To put it simply, shadow mission is a secret and dangerous mission that gets in the way of one following their true mission in life.
Think of your mission as heading true north. What happens if you are just one degree off? Over a period of time you get further and further off course from the direction that you are trying to go. What if you’re more than one degree off? Everyone has a shadow mission and it’s a dangerous, dangerous way to live if you don’t figure out what it is.
I’ll speak from experience here on just one of my shadow missions. I spent a decade of my life in extreme denial about my alcoholism. Six of those years I was in full-time ministry! I justified and rationalized it all that I could. I told myself that my drinking was okay because I was working for the church. I was doing God’s work. I had a secret desire to dwell in mediocrity so that I could maintain my relationship with my real true love, alcohol.
That’s what it was for me, a relationship, a craving for it, a love for it. What if you were to insert something else into the place of alcohol? Does that make more sense to you? What about another woman, another man? What about a worsening problem you have with checking out porn on the internet? What if you are in financial trouble, have a desire to get out of that trouble, but have a serious problem with shopping sprees and impulsive spending? These are things that destroy our marriages, families and personal lives. We long to do something about it, but are so immersed in our shadow mission that we have lost sight of our true mission.
My shadow mission was on the way to killing me physically. But, we are all on our way to emotional and spiritual death if we are unwilling to take a stand and put a stop to our mediocrity through justifying that which is not meant to be justified!
Don’t let your shadow mission keep you from your untapped potential for living the life that God has called you to and that He longs to see you live.
Greg Coplen