Back from a Long Absence...

Sorry it's been awhile. Let's just say Easter season for a pastor is like summer for a youth pastor...only with more variables. Notes from the Easter series were not really blog friendly, but I thought folks might enjoy this take on the Great Commission. Also, I want to thank Rex Miller who has commented a couple of times for writing a great book The Millennium Matrix. Still working on the application, but I loved the questions and observations in the book. Also just finished Transformation by Bob Roberts. A highly recommended read. Now for the notes.

Abs

16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

“The measure of a church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.”-

The Church- God’s Idea
When you get right down to it, the church was God’s idea. When Jesus prepared to leave the disciples, He left them with a plan, a mission, that resulted in the formation of the Church. Now that’s Church with a capital C. See the church was God’s idea from the beginning. He never intended for men and women who followed Jesus to do so isolated from one another. Following Jesus was a community call. And the church was God’s plan to unite people.

The Church had a singular purpose, to take the Gospel to all nations. And the church had a singular goal, the salvation of mankind. That is the command given to the disciples in Matthew 28- go and help people to become disciples, welcome them into the community of the church, and teach them to do the same thing. What a mission!

Today some churches focus on simply teaching. They are interested in correct doctrine alone. There is nothing bad about knowing what you believe and why you believe it, but alone it produces an asceticism that is unhealthy and unbiblical (James 2:14-26)

Other churches focus solely on actions. People are encouraged to conform to a certain lifestyle alone- be it celibacy, serving the poor, building up large amounts of possessions, not using medicines, etc. This social gospel focuses on how men can make one another’s lives better and leaves God out of the equation.

The church is called to be both. We are called to share the Gospel and teach one another what we are learning from Scripture. All methods are open to us- lecturing, music, the arts, film, books, classroom settings, etc. But the church is also called to put that teaching into practice outside the walls. It is this two pronged approach that Jesus lays out in the Great Commission- make disciples- model for people what they are to do, teach
them- explain to them the reasons for the changes in your and their life.

So what is our motivation for doing this work?

1. Our own relationship with Jesus- if you are in a relationship that is good you can’t help but talk about it- sharing our faith flows naturally out of our own faith

2. The command of Jesus- being a Christ follower means giving up your own agenda and adopting Christ’s agenda- and taking the Gospel to the nations is the agenda!

3. The reality of hell- knowledge that without knowing Christ men, women, and children will spend an eternity separated from God in hell- this adds urgency to the need for evangelism
So here’s the question for the ages, why are we not seeing more people coming to Jesus and becoming a part of our church or any church for that matter?

Danger Signs

Comfort- we have enough people here already- the more people we reach the more complicated gathering together becomes- how will we take care of the kids- we don’t have enough room- if we grow I won’t know everyone- OR- everyone I know is already a Christian- it’s hard to make friends with people who have little in common with me- people know I am a Christian and they don’t like me-
Both of these issues are problems of comfort. We like to be comfortable just as much as anyone else. But we are not called to be comfortable, but to be faithful.

Familiarity- the brother danger to comfort- we know how it’s done- we think because we have shared our faith once or twice we have it mastered in method and are just waiting for the right opportunity- that’s backwards- the Gospel is relevant in lots of areas of life- we need to be looking for creative ways to inject faith into the conversation- Kori’s Da Vinci Code story- we need to get it out of our heads that there is some secret method to sharing the Gospel- there’s not- we also fall into the trap of familiarity when we only associate with Christians- we forget there are people going to hell and living lives apart from Christ- we become comfortable in our American world with our American conveniences and we shudder at the thought of going somewhere else without all of these familiar things

Apathy- it’s someone else’s job- the era of paid ministers at churches has bred this- we think someone else is responsible for doing our evangelism- it’s not like your job where you can delegate- evangelism is everyone’s job and each of us will answer to God for how we spread His message, or failed to-

Reckless Evangelism- The Sea Doo story

We need to shake off the dangers and focus on the end result. Our church, all churches, need to have a greater focus on reaching those who Jesus misses most- both at home and abroad. We need to shake off this passivity and get active. The greatest thrills, the biggest feelings of being alive are found at the moment of greatest risk.

Risk #1- New people- it’s time to get uncomfortable- We need to make an intentional commitment to making new friends, encountering our co-workers, and committing to seek out internationals who come here for school or work so that we can see the Gospel expand beyond our borders- 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 19Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Risk #2- New places- it’s time to go adventuring- whether it’s getting involved in a sports league, becoming involved in a neighborhood pastime, or working with the homeless- we need to see some new places- further, we need to turn our eyes outward to beyond our borders to people who have not heard the Gospel and will not until someone pushes their fear to the side and comes with the message of the Good News- Romans 10:14-15 14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Risk #3- New priorities- to shake off apathy we must have a cause, something we believe in and seek to see ahead of all else- our priority must become the Gospel- not building a big church, not being comfortable, not having conveniences- the Gospel- Jesus needs to come first- Romans 15:17-21 17Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation. 21Rather, as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand