Category: Mission

Genesis of God’s Mission

 

Genesis and God’s Mission

The first few chapters of Genesis answer the five most important life or worldview questions.

  1. Origin: From where did I come?
  2. Identity: Who am I?
  3. Purpose: What is my purpose in life?
  4. Morality: How do I know what is right and wrong?
  5. Destiny: What will happen to me after I die?

The purpose (or mission) question, which is the focus of this article, is answered in the following verses.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 (ESV) 

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Genesis 2:15 (NASB)

The basic purpose of humankind can be summarized in three points: multiply, take dominion, and tend the garden.

These commands were specific to Adam’s and Eve’s situation, but a case can be made that they are still in effect, since there is no record anywhere that God rescinded them. The “garden” should now be understood as the entire earth in which we live, tainted as it is by sin.

While these purposes apply to every human being in a practical and natural way, I also believe that they apply directly to the mission of the church.

If we make the Great Commission (multiplication) our top church priority through proclamation of Christ’s Lordship (dominion), it will bring the church to spiritual maturity (tending). Conversely, if we make tending (helping people achieve spiritual maturity) our top priority, we may fail to pursue the Great Commission (dominion and multiplication) with the vigor it deserves.

The missional priorities of multiplication and dominion and the pastoral priority of tending people and helping them to grow to maturity can all point to important scriptures for support. The missional view typically uses Matthew 28:18-20 for its foundation; while, the maturity perspective uses Ephesians 4:11-16. Both missional and pastoral priorities are vital aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work in the church. Romans 8:29 states that all things are working towards conforming us to Christ’s glorious image (growing us to maturity). God wants to make us into “little Christs” or Christians who represent and glorify him as wonderfully as possible. In addition, Christ commissioned his followers to go into all the world to make disciples who will make disciples.

The Holy Spirit is working in us believers to conform us to Christ’s image. Christ assigned the church, however, to pursue fulfilling the Great Commission.

If we make mission (the multiplication of disciples) our top priority, the Holy Spirit will concurrently do his internal transformational work. If we focus on character transformation and biblical literacy to the neglect of the mission, we may miss God’s main priority and inadvertently promote a self-centered and consumerist version of Christianity.

Fruitfulness and Multiplication

It is important to note that the top priority, based on the order in which these commands were given, is to be fruitful and multiply. This command was restated after the flood. The earth then and now needs to be populated. The Great Commission was another restatement of this foundational command after the resurrection.

“Go and make disciples” is another way of saying, “Be fruitful and multiply.” The earth now desperately needs to be populated with born again believers who seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.

It is instructive to note that the New World Order (NWO), which is satanic in origin, seeks to reduce the population of the world. The reasons given are many.

  • There are already too many people. If we don’t cut back on births, the earth will be over populated, which will usher in many calamities, such as famine starvation. This is part of what motivates the world’s love affair with killing babies through abortion.
  • Humans are bad for the environment. The NWO believes that humans are a detriment to nature and need to be curtailed or eliminated.
  • Children are too expensive and get in the way. People are told that we cannot afford to have kids or that they get in the way of our pursuit of happiness or career. This excuse is used to justify abortion.
  • The world is too evil to bring children into it. Misplaced compassion for the not yet born motivates people to avoid having children. Obviously this is very short sighted and shows disregard for God’s ability to redeem and bless his creatures.

Western nations have embraced abortion, birth control, fear, unbelief, and a self-centered lifestyle in direct defiance of God’s command to be fruitful and multiply, causing the West to become culturally non-viable because of low birth rates. World dominion will go to those groups which continue to have large numbers of children.

In the natural realm, multiplication leads to dominion. The same is true in the spiritual realm.

Our nation and culture have embraced an anti-God mentality. Unwittingly, many churches have adopted variations of these arguments. Below are some examples.

  • We disobey the Great Commission when we choose to no longer reach out because we feel we have already maxed out our facilities and capacities.
  • We disobey the Great Commission when we invest most of our finances in maintaining the building, programs, and operational costs of maintaining the church plant, instead of spending time, energy, and money on pursuing the Great Commission.
  • We disobey the Great Commission when we think that having a missional lifestyle is too much trouble. It is far easier to contribute money or volunteer to serve in crisis intervention programs than to get involved in the lives of people who have untold needs and will make unanticipated demands on our time and finances.
  • We disobey the Great Commission when, rather than put our people at risk by asking them to immerse themselves in lifestyle evangelism and connecting with broken, unsaved people, we opt for the safety of the Christian fortress called the church.
  • We disobey the Great Commission when we devise so many programs and activities for our members that they are worn out and have little or no time or energy for pursuing the Great Commission.

These arguments are used by some churches as a form of “birth control” to circumvent their obligation to pursue the Great Commission.

We sometimes place building and strengthening the local church, the command to tend the garden, ahead of the Great Commission, the command to multiply. Having great meetings (the internal work of the church) may become more important than spending time with the unsaved and unchurched (the missional work of the church).

Only by re-prioritizing the Great Commission will the church become the missional force God intends it to be and grow to spiritual maturity. Self-centered people and churches never fully mature.

Taking Dominion

When Jesus rose from the dead, he took dominion back from Satan. Although God’s ultimate rule has never been in question, man’s place in the kingdom of God was jeopardized when Adam ceded authority to Satan. When Jesus arrived on the earth, he became the Second Adam, the progenitor of a brand new edition of humanity through the “genesis” of the new birth. He powerfully rose again from the dead as the Lord of Lords, to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given. As representatives of Christ, we administrate his authority.

The Gospel message is a proclamation of Christ’s authority to forgive sins and set the captives free.

In the limited scope of this article, I use “taking dominion” to refer to our proclamation of the Gospel of Christ’s dominion or lordship in order to reach and save people out of this fallen world who can be developed into disciples.

The proclamation of the Gospel, therefore, is a necessary prerequisite to making disciples, which is God’s purpose for the church.

Churches which fail to adequately emphasize, train, and launch their members into Gospel proclamation will probably never become disciple making churches in the fullest sense.

Tending the Garden

People need responsibility. Taking on responsibility creates an environment in which we more rapidly can grow up or mature.

Just as having children forces young couples to grow in all sorts of ways, having spiritual children through proclaiming the Gospel will provide us with wonderful opportunities for spiritual growth. Putting mission (preaching the Gospel and making disciples) first, will end up requiring us to spend large amounts of time tending the garden, or helping them to grow to maturity. Part of the Great Commission is “teaching them to obey all that I have commanded.” This makes tending the garden a very important part of the Great Commission and disciple making.

Tending the garden means caring for the sheep, but always with an end game in mind – that they also become disciple makers in their own right.

Tending sheep is never supposed to be the end all. Just as young children are prepared for life as adults and sent off into the world to start their own families, disciples of Christ should be taught, prepared, and sent to multiply themselves.

The Great Commission, the Church’s Top Priority

We cannot simply tell young men to “grow up” and expect that to happen unless we put them into situations that require them to mature. Boot camps place men and women under extreme pressures to produce qualified soldiers.

Whenever people take on greater responsibility, it will foster growth to maturity.

In the church, we should not expect our people to grow to maturity without their embracing the Great Commission responsibilities of preaching the Gospel and making disciples who make disciples. Instead of making the Great Commission priority one, we have substituted other things: Bible study, moral development, leadership training, and serving church programs. When we do this, we produce caricatures of true disciples.

  • Prioritizing Bible education and theological training ahead of the Great Commission may end up creating a modern version of the Pharisees, who considered themselves to be guardians of the truth, but at the same despised and excluded the very people Jesus loved and pursued.
  • Putting character and moral development at the top of our priority list runs the risk of producing self-righteous and self-absorbed legalists, whose focus is on their own spiritual development and who demand that others adhere to their standards of behavior, while looking down on those who do not measure up.
  • Teaching people that their main priority is serving church programs can make the church inwardly focused and sap the energy and time that could otherwise be given to pursuing the Great Commission’s first point: “Go.”

In the West, we long ago adopted the Greek system of education, which demands vast investments of time in lectures, studying books, and testing in order to prepare and equip people to enter into responsible positions in society and the church. Jesus used a much different approach, which was more “hands on” and action-oriented, what might be called apprenticeship. He taught and then immediately required his students to use what they had been taught. Putting what we learn into practice is the best way to increase understanding and retention. Often we think we know something until we have to use it or teach it. Then we find out what we do and don’t know or understand.

Disciple making the Jesus way is action and ministry oriented.

Discipleship is best done in a “hands on” manner, in which the mentor teaches, demonstrates, oversees, and, finally, launches. Our disciples will learn far more after they have been launched than they did in the secure environment of having the mentor readily at hand.

Young parents learn how to parent by doing. They become much more open to advice when they see the need for it. What may have seemed boring and academic suddenly has a real life application! Likewise, when we help people to get out of the safe confines of the local church and into their communities in obedience to the Great Commission, we place them into an environment in which they must sink or swim. Immediately they will find out what they do and do not know. Hopefully they will thirst to grow in the knowledge of the scriptures and in their ability to minister to others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Pursuing the Great Commission will excite our desire to grow to maturity in the Lord. Confining ourselves to the local church context may cause us to stagnate.

Have you ever noticed that young couples without children are often experts on how to raise and discipline other people’s children? They are sometimes critical of how parents are doing their job. But once they have kids of their own, they find out how difficult and challenging parenting is.

We must beware of creating theological know-it-alls whose only understanding comes from a theoretical classroom context, instead of a “boots on the ground” experience.

Pursuing the Great Commission as our top priority will help ground our people in real life applications of God’s Word and preserve us from spiritual pride. It’s difficult to be proud when we are wrestling with real life problems.

Conclusion

Prioritizing the wrong things can torpedo our best efforts and cause us to miss the mark.

Many capable and promising followers of Christ have been deceived into thinking that God’s highest purpose for their lives is growing in biblical knowledge and serving in the local church. However, when we make the Great Commission our top priority, everything else falls into place.

Embracing the Great Commission draws us to grow in our knowledge of the Word and the ways of the Spirit that will help us to connect with people, share the Gospel effectively, minister in the power of the Spirit, and teach others to do likewise. This is the essence of what it means to make disciples. Let’s make the Great Commission our top priority so that we, like Paul, can rejoice in our spiritual children and grandchildren (disciples of disciples)! Let’s make God’s first priority from creation onward our first priority and watch how everything else falls into place.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
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The Answer to How Is Yes

When it comes to obeying God, the answer to how is a resounding “yes”! Many people use the “how” question as a veiled way of resisting. The underlying assumption is that, if we don’t know how to do something, we should not do it. We should wait until we know exactly how it can be done before beginning. This is not how faith and obedience work.

Sometimes we will not know how God intends to do something until we launch out in faith.

Negativity dries up creativity. Obedience by faith allows creativity inspired by the Spirit to flourish.

Churches should embrace the Great Commission and develop their people into disciple makers because it is the right thing to do… regardless of the cost or consequences.

Once we say “Yes” to God, he will show us how. Once we start the journey, our Lord will reveal the steps of faith and obedience we must take, and the Spirit will help us. That is one of his names – The Helper.

When we say Yes to God’s mission and fully commit to it, we begin an adventure of faith with the Holy Spirit.

Here are some possible steps you and your church may wish to make in order to pursue mission in a greater way.

  • Ask the Lord to show us if and where we need to refocus our efforts.
  • Ask the Lord what changes need to be made in how we are thinking and doing things.
  • Ask leaders to model what we wish to see our people do.
  • Bring people alongside us so they can experience first hand what we are doing.
  • Share the vision.
  • Train, equip, and launch people into the harvest field.
  • Expect resistance and a high price tag. Determine to keep going anyway.

The answer to how is yes.

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Be Intentional

We must be intentional in pursuing the Great Commission. It does not usually happen by accident.

Jesus said:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)

Jesus taught that we should let the light of God shine through us, but sometimes God’s people choose to hide their light out of laziness, fear, discouragement, or apathy. Those who take the Great Commission seriously often experience a struggle over whether to actively share the good news about Jesus with others or retreat into doing nothing.

The modern way of life invites us to wall ourselves off from the world in the safety, comfort, and convenience of our homes. Air conditioning, TV, refrigerators, video games, computers, and whatever else we have at our fingertips can keep the average follower of Christ fairly satisfied and happy, oblivious to the desperate need of lost people all around them. Those of us who acknowledge our responsibility to God and the lost are confronted with how best to let our light shine in ways that glorify God.

Lost and hurting people are waiting for followers of Christ to break out of our personal and church cocoons and take the gospel into our neighborhoods and the world at large.

There are multitudes of ways to love our neighbors that are not self-serving or obviously intended to add them to our church’s membership rolls. If people sense that our good works are part of a church-related agenda, it may repel them. However, if we serve out of love, expecting nothing in return, God will be glorified, and people may be drawn to Christ.

This is a challenge in two ways. Some of us are uncomfortable merely engaging people, which definitely hinders God’s mission.

We may have grown comfortable with being passive with regard to the Great Commission, expecting the world to come to us and our meetings. God calls us to go where our neighbors live, work, and play, and engage them on their own turf, so to speak.

A second challenge is that those of us who are willing to get out and engage people may have difficulty cultivating relationships with any kind of real depth. We may be task-oriented and feel that, unless we can get others to make some sort of  move toward accepting the gospel, we have failed or wasted our time.

People are worth befriending simply for its own joy, whether or not they are currently open to the gospel.

Many times people will not trust us until we demonstrate that we love them. Why should they open their hearts and lives to people they do not yet fully trust? The old adage applies. People don’t care what we know, until they know that we care.

Cultivating relationships takes time and work. Those who are looking for a quick turn around will likely fail at letting their light shine in a God glorifying way. Cultivating relationships for the kingdom’s sake requires love, commitment, work, and time.

Missional churches encourage their members to intentionally connect with unsaved and unchurched people in a way that clearly demonstrates Christ’s love.

Ways to Be Intentional

Below is a list of ten ways we can let our light shine.

  • Pray privately for our neighbors.
  • Be friendly.
  • Start conversations.
  • Visit.
  • Ask to pray for others out loud on the spot.
  • Invite people into our homes.
  • Use our home for ministry.
  • Serve when and where we see a need.
  • Share the gospel.
  • Invest in making a new convert into a disciple.

The key is to find out what we can do lovingly and in a way that is natural. When we are “up tight,” it often makes others feel “on edge.” Personally, I find it relatively easy to be friendly, start conversations, visit, offer to pray for people, and, when the opportunity arises, to share the gospel. I am also quite willing to develop interested people into disciples. It is more of a challenge for me personally to have people over and serve in practical ways. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. But what if spending time helping someone with a practical job opens their heart to us and the gospel? We should think about how we can best connect with our neighbors.

Leaders of missional churches model such a missional lifestyle in addition to teaching and equipping their people.

It is not enough to talk about letting our light shine. Leaders will make it their practice and take others along with them so they can catch the vision and develop a similar passion for mission. The challenge often is finding people who want to commit to the process.

Missional leaders configure their churches around the priority of training their people to be and make disciples.

That means we have to first develop people into disciples. We can only duplicate who we are.

Leaders of missional churches encourage and celebrate their people taking initiative and give permission for them to think and move “outside the box,” while at the same time building relational and missional unity around common priorities and values.

Nothing thwarts missional creativity so much as a decision-making bottleneck created by overly controlling leaders. We have to give the Holy Spirit room to lead people. The more trust that is developed, the greater is the freedom and latitude can be given.

Leaders of missional churches are willing to send people to start new ministries, groups, and churches and to be missionaries in other cities and nations.

Developing a missional culture in a church means that we abandon ourselves to God’s mission, no matter what the cost to us personally and to the church in general.

Intentionality is a big key to fulfilling the great commission.

Such obedience may happen “by accident” during times of revival and renewal, but in “usual” times, we need to consciously lead ourselves and the church in this direction. We acknowledge the necessity of continually relying upon the Holy Spirit to make mission an organic grace-filled operation, rather than mere duty.

Prayer

Lord, I see the need to be more intentional regarding being your ambassador. I have let some things slide and need your help in restoring my “first love” and zeal. Forgive me for being so self-centered and lazy. Holy Spirit, work in me to give me a renewed love and concern for your “lost sheep.”  Amen.

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Be Ambassadors for God’s Kingdom

Obedience to the Great Commission transforms us into official ambassadors from God’s kingdom who speak for God.

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NLT)

Jesus was the model ambassador for the kingdom of God. How Jesus connected with people was truly amazing. It is well known that the most unlikely people loved him; while, religious sorts despised him. Why was this? How was he able to set a very high bar regarding ethical and moral conduct; yet, those whose morals and ethics were lacking were often very comfortable in his presence?

The message God has given us as ambassadors of his kingdom is a gracious invitation to be restored to a right relationship to him.

Although there is a proper time and way to fearlessly confront sin, the kingdom message is essentially conciliatory, at least to those whose hearts are open.

Those whose hearts are open will understand and respond. Those whose hearts are closed will resist.

Ambassadors are known for their wisdom and tact. They often face hostile officials and must counter their aggression and resistance with words that can defuse a explosive situation and move people to accepting his government’s proposals. This is very similar to how we should engage people with the gospel.

By nature, we tend to resist truth, especially when it exposes our sin. Denial is part of the human condition. People without God live in darkness, resist truth, and need the Holy Spirit’s assistance in coming to the light.

The Holy Spirit works inside people while we engage them externally. Our words and behavior can either help or hinder the process. We do not want to distract people away from the words of the gospel and what the Spirit is doing inside them by acting unwisely. For some of us this comes naturally, but for others it takes focused determination and commitment.

The gospel is difficult enough to accept without our making it harder by being unnecessarily offensive.

A great example of being tactful is found in the following passage. The Canaanite woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter was initially rebuffed by the Lord, as we may be by those with whom we share. The woman asked Jesus to set her daughter free from demonic oppression. Our Lord seemed to close the door on her request, but she refused to give up.

He [Jesus] answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25  But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26  And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27  She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28  Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. Matthew 15:24-28 (ESV)

This woman was an outsider, a Canaanite, with no inherent right to God’s kingdom through Abraham. She approached the Lord in humility and desperation, but he apparently turned her away. Right there is where the tact of an ambassador was needed. Instead of giving up or going off in a huff, she humbly pressed the issue. Getting help for her daughter superseded everything else. She resolutely countered what Jesus said with words of wisdom and faith. Jesus saw her heart and faith and compassionately responded. It is reasonable for us to assume that Jesus was simply testing her resolve, wanting her to press through to get what she desired.

Sometimes we must be like that woman and humbly press through the resistance we encounter when sharing the gospel.

When people resist our message, we need to listen to the Spirit for the right words that may overcome their hostility. People need to know that we are not arrogant or self-righteous, as are many who name the name of Christ. Instead we want them to see that we are truly concerned about their well-being.

Words of wisdom can open hearts and defuse negativity.

I have watched this happen many times, but only if we are not easily offended or taken aback. Love presses on.

Missional churches commit to training their members how to be proper ambassadors for God’s kingdom, who use wisdom, grace, and tact, and relying on the Holy Spirit to lead the way.

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Become Gospel Fluent

Missional churches not only teach their people to accept responsibility for sharing the gospel and making disciples, we also prioritize equipping their people to be “gospel fluent.”

The gospel properly shared has the power to save people.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Romans 1:16-17 (NASB)

We do not want to alter it in any way. If we want to see the promised results, we should apply ourselves to studying how God presents the gospel in scripture and teach our people to do the same.

Many of us are not clear regarding exactly what is the gospel and how to share it properly. Modern evangelistic campaigns have tried to streamline the gospel message into something that can be easily remembered and quickly presented, but often at the expense of the beauty, breadth, depth, and impact of the true gospel. If we ask an average follower of Christ what they would tell a person who expresses a desire to become a follower of Christ, we would probably hear a response something like this. “Tell them to ask Jesus into their hearts.” If someone has already heard and understood the gospel message, this could be a proper next step, but it is not a good way to present the gospel. Others equate the gospel with the doctrine of justification by faith, but this is not the gospel. It is a wonderful benefit of believing the gospel.

What is the gospel?

Simply put, the gospel is the story of Jesus presented as an announcement of who he is, what he has done, and what he is going to do; all of which demands from us a response.

The appropriate one is to declare allegiance to him, receive the benefits he died and rose to give us, become his follower, and join his mission on the earth to go and make disciples.

John the Baptist was privileged to announce Jesus’ public ministry to Israel and the world. He told us four things about Jesus that are each important aspects of the gospel. Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Baptizer in the Spirit, and the coming glorious Son of Man. If possible, every gospel presentation should present Jesus this way and explain the meaning behind these four titles. (Click here to read more about this.)

  1. Jesus died for our sins as the Lamb of God to reconcile us to God the Father.
  2. Jesus rose from the dead in power as the Son of God, the messianic king, and the Lord of lords.
  3. As the Baptizer in the Spirit and the Lord of the harvest, Jesus ascended to the right hand of his Father in heaven and poured out his Spirit upon the church to equip and empower her to fulfill the Great Commission.
  4. One day our Lord will return in the clouds of heaven as the glorious Son of Man prophesied by Daniel. He will judge the living and the dead and rule over God’s eternal kingdom.

There are four books in the New Testament that are called gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. None of these are neatly organized theological summaries of the doctrinal implications of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. In them, Jesus is presented as an historical figure who fulfilled Old Covenant prophecies that God would rescue us from Satan’s dominion, bless the entire earth, rule forever as a king on David’s throne, be a prophet the likes of Moses, and come again in glory one day in the clouds as the divine and glorious Son of Man to judge the world in righteousness.

Each of the gospels presents Jesus in such a way that the reader is invited to recognize that he is indeed the Messiah promised by God, the one sent to die for our sins as God’s Lamb, who also rose from the dead as Lord of lords, and who is coming back again to rule the nations. The gospel invites people to surrender to Jesus the Lord and receive forgiveness of sins and life everlasting from Jesus the Savior. The gospel also invites every person to bow his or her knee to Jesus and join him in his worldwide missional enterprise. It is an invitation to be a disciple – a follower of Christ who fishes for people and teaches others to do the same.

Missional churches commit to training and equipping their people to share the gospel and to grow in confidence in their ability and responsibility to share it.

Missional churches expect their people to share the good news themselves, not simply bring people to church meetings to hear the pastor. Missional churches believe that sheep beget sheep, that disciples are competent to minister, and that the Holy Spirit is equipping, empowering, and leading the entire missional enterprise.

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Rely on the Holy Spirit

We cannot fulfill the Great Commission or even develop a missional culture in our local churches without completely relying upon the Holy Spirit.

He alone can change hearts and make us willing and obedient to Christ’s mandate.

Christ’s lordship extends to all aspects of the church’s life and mission. One of his titles announced by John the Baptist is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. 

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Matthew 3:11 (NKJV)

Jesus taught his disciples that the Holy Spirit baptism is a necessity and a huge key to success in our pursuit of obedience to the Great Commission. 

And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”… 8  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4-8 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit is our source of power and boldness for carrying out the church’s mission.  Receiving this baptism is part of what it means to surrender to Christ’s lordship.

Jesus operated in the power and gifts of the Spirit continually during his earthly ministry, which began officially at the synagogue in Nazareth.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19 (ESV)

Jesus only did what the Spirit showed him to do. He spoke the Words the Spirit gave him to speak. He wants us to do the same.

If we present the Gospel using only words, we will fail to communicate the fullness of God’s message, which comes in word and power.

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5  because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit is the power behind the authority and words of the gospel.

The wisdom and knowledge of the Spirit are also needed if we are going to minister as Jesus did. It is impossible to imagine our Lord’s ministry devoid of the prophetic element. How would he have captured the heart of the woman at the well in Samaria, if he had not told her the hidden truth about her five husbands? How would he have so quickly won over Nathanael, if he had not related that he had seen him by the Spirit standing under the fig tree? The Holy Spirit brings a spiritual element into our ministry, without which it is much more difficult, if not impossible, to go and make disciples.

We are not simply to argue and persuade that Jesus is Lord: we are to demonstrate his lordship by relying upon and expecting the Spirit of God to move in power through us.

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4  and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5  so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (ESV)

The early disciples were afraid of the Jews before they were baptized in the Spirit, but afterward boldly announced the gospel, even when threatened with persecution. Many of us are intimidated and sitting at home instead of going out into our communities to connect with our neighbors, make friends, and eventually make them into disciples. We need to receive the Spirit’s power and ability and realize that He is already working in the lives of those who live, work, and play around us.

Our job is to put ourselves in a position where the Spirit can use us. We never know what God may do.

This means we should be unafraid to ask God to demonstrate the truth of the gospel by extending his “hand” to heal the sick and set the captives free. The early church was filled with the Spirit and very bold in this regard. The Lord is the same.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NKJV)

The gospel has not changed. People’s need for a demonstration of God’s power still exists. Why is the church so reluctant to put ourselves forward in this regard? Have we been duped into thinking that Jesus is no longer working in this way, or are we afraid of looking foolish if nothing happens?

If we are to be used by God to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit, we must be willing to look foolish. Only then may we see a miracle. God’s glory must become all to us. Our own reputation cannot be a concern.

If we are going to develop a culture of mission in our churches, we must acknowledge that Jesus is the Lord of the Harvest and the Baptizer in the Spirit.

Disciple making churches should encourage members to receive the baptism and gifts of the Spirit and become proficient in their use.

We should encourage our people to listen to and obey the voice and promptings of the Spirit every day as we mingle with those who need Jesus.

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Be an Answer to Prayer

If we are to fulfill the great commission, we must become an answer to prayer.

Jesus understood that the task of reaching harassed and helpless people who are separated from God is great. He also realized that his time here on earth was short and his personal ministry was limited in scope by the fact that he could only be in one place at a time. He asked his disciples to pray that God would raise up more workers to join him in the harvest field.

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38  therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38 (ESV)

The beginning of the larger answer to this prayer occurred on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, thereby launching the church’s apostolic / missionary efforts in the world. After the Holy Spirit filled multitudes of his disciples, Jesus’ ministry was greatly expanded, as it continues to this day, but there is still a great need for more workers to respond to his prayer.

By context, in the above passage we understand that Jesus asked God to send people with a shepherd’s heart to help the harassed and helpless who fill our communities. Many of us think that gifted evangelists are the ones who bear the responsibility for bringing in the harvest, but this is not what Jesus prayed.

The Holy Spirit is raising up an army of compassionate people who have the Great Shepherd’s heart to enter the world of lost and hurting with an invitation to be reconciled to God.

In their desperation, many lost and hurting people cry out to God for help. I have knocked on more than one door to discover that the resident had been praying for God to send someone to them. What a privilege it is to be the answer to someone’s prayer! What a responsibility we have when we ask God to raise up laborers in the harvest. Why would we imagine that we are not among those who are called to join him in the work? It is one thing to pray, but quite another to obey.

If our prayers for the lost do not result in our entering the harvest field, we only may be playing at church.

Will you be an answer to prayer? Will you respond to God’s call? Will you enter the harvest field?

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (ESV)
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Seeing with the Shepherd’s Eyes

One of the most important qualities needed by those who wish to “fish” for people and make disciples is have the heart and eyes of a shepherd.

We need not be dynamic evangelists, but just people who care about people.

Jesus said:

For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ Matthew 13:15 (NLT)

How we see is a function of the condition of our hearts. Hearts filled with compassion see people quite differently from the way hardhearted people look at others.

Mission begins when we understand and embrace Christ’s Great Commission. It gains motivation and momentum when our hearts are gripped by his compassion for the lost and hurting.

How Jesus saw people is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:35-36 (ESV)

As Jesus went (the “go” part of the Great Commission), he encountered people who were hungry for what he offered – the good news of God’s family and kingdom combined with forgiveness, healing, and deliverance.

We see that Jesus’ motivation for ministry was compassion for the lost and hurting masses, the harassed and helpless.

The Jewish leaders viewed the common folk as the great “unwashed,” ignorant and relatively worthless crowds, who were not really deserving of their energy and attention. Jesus, however, was willing to invest himself in the most unlikely of characters. He saw past their ignorance, sin, and failures right into their hearts. He offered them what they longed for – love, healing, forgiveness, and someone greater than themselves to follow and serve. If we inject ourselves into the lives of those who live around us, we will encounter the same sort of people.

God wants us to understand, as did Jesus, that every person has a story worth hearing and every life has untold value with God.

Our Lord also understood that he was sent precisely to those whom the Jewish leaders despised, the spiritually defiled and sick.

But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. Matthew 9:12 (NASB)

It is natural for us to desire to put some distance between ourselves and those who are very needy, but a shepherd goes after those who most need him or her. Harassed and helpless people often appear to have little to offer, but that does not deter a shepherd. The spiritually sick may drain our energy, resources, and time, but the potential reward is great. These are the people who may become the greatest advocates for Jesus and the most devoted disciples. Who could have guessed that the woman at the well in Samaria would lead an entire village to Christ?

A local church’s culture of evangelism and mission will be directly connected to its developing the ability to see people through the Great Shepherd’s eyes.

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The Great Commission

The reason that we want to develop a culture of mission and evangelism in our churches is because that is God’s heart as revealed in the Great Commission and throughout Scripture. Jesus gave his church a clear mandate before he ascended to his Father.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

Until we adopt the great mission as our mission, we are missing the mark.

It is easy for the church to substitute any number of good things for the great commission. We can make great preaching and teaching our highest priority. If you ask average churchgoers why they like their churches, many will say that it is the great preaching. Many churches opt for community service, potlucks, worship, prayer, you name it… anything but sharing the gospel and making disciples.

A sure fire way to arouse the devil’s resistance, including that which comes from some church  members, is to advocate for the centrality of the great commission.

Generally, we do not want to leave the comfortable confines of our church culture to pursue those who do not know Christ yet.

It is not enough to simply adopt the value of mission as a subset of the church’s activity and effort. It must become the engine that pulls the train. Otherwise the great commission will always be an option instead of the priority.

The Genesis command to be fruitful and multiply has not been rescinded.

The “Go” of the Great Commission

Most people want to stay put and enjoy the benefits of being part of a local church, which are many. The fellowship is wonderful. There is comfort in knowing that the people around us are like-minded servants of Jesus. It is great to be enveloped in a culture that fosters sound biblical thinking and values.

The result is that many Christians adopt a fortress mentality in which we try to wall out the world and its negative influences. In this scenario, mission devolves into inviting people to enter the fort and become part of the enclave.

But this is not obedience to the first part of the Great Commission, which is “Go.” Jesus told his disciples that he was sending us into the world.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21 (ESV)

Going requires us to leave our comfort and safety zones and venture into the sometimes hostile world of those who do not know Christ.

For Abraham it meant leaving property, family, friends, culture, and familiar “gods” to serve the one true God in an unknown as yet place. It meant going by faith without the benefit of a well-designed plan or end game. All he had was the command to go coupled with a promise, and he went.

Jesus emphasized the “Go” when he taught the parable of the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to go after the lost one. He emphasized the “Go” when he prayed that the Father would send laborers into the harvest. Why then do we find it so difficult to go?

Going requires sacrifice, courage, faith, and a willingness to suffer and endure uncertainty, inevitable disappointment and setbacks, heartbreak, loss, and enormous challenges. Some of the people we “go” to will not appreciate it. Some will be hostile. However, some will be forever grateful, which makes it all worthwhile. More importantly, Jesus will be pleased and honored, and we will accrue eternal reward.

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30  who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. Mark 10:29-30 (ESV)

The going of mission is both the most rewarding thing you will ever do and the most challenging and costly.

That is why many of us shy away from obedience to the Great Commission. Jesus called it “falling away.”

And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. Mark 4:17 (ESV)

If we fall away from obedience to the mission in times of peace, what will happen to us when persecution arrives? In fact, does not the proper preaching of the gospel and obedience to the Great Commission actually invite persecution? Paul wrote:

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 2 Timothy 3:12 (ESV)

Perhaps the lack of persecution in our nation today betrays our lack of commitment to the Great Commission.

Making Disciples

The second part of the Great Commission is making disciples. There is a huge difference between a disciple and a mere churchgoer; although, disciples definitely have a strong commitment to the church.

Going to church meetings requires a relatively small commitment, but being a disciple means that we make the ultimate commitment to Christ and his mission.

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 (ESV)

Jesus violated just about every church growth principle in this passage. He comes across rather negatively, repeating the phrase, “cannot be my disciple,” three times. It is as if he were trying to weed out anyone who would not make the necessary commitment. The “leaven” of partial commitment is contagious, especially if leaders are infected with it. He did not tell us to try following him as best we can in the hope that gradually we might be able to become more committed. He encouraged us to become fully committed to him.

Although some move toward greater and greater commitment over a lifetime, the reverse is often the case. People can easily “backslide” from their initial devotion because the cost becomes greater than the price they are willing to pay.

Being a disciple means that we commit to Jesus the Lord as a person. We submit to his rule in our lives through obedience to his teachings and to the indwelling Holy Spirit. This will lead us to obedience to the Great Commission, which lays upon us the task of teaching others to be disciples who will also make disciples. Therefore, in order to create a missional culture in a local church, a commitment must be made by leaders and the flock to develop disciple-making disciples. In other words, we will prioritize duplicating themselves in the lives of others.

Churches that commit to making disciples will examine their values, priorities, and programs… everything… in light of whether or not it advances making disciples.

Disciple making is much more than giving lectures at church meetings. It involves one-on-one and one-on-few instruction and mentoring. It includes demonstrations of how to do ministry, followed by giving disciples the opportunity to put into practice what was learned with follow up instruction as needed.

The goal of discipleship is to produce a practitioner, not a mere theologian, churchgoer, or moral paragon.

Churches that commit to creating a missional culture will devote their energy, talent, time, and resources to pursuing the Great Commission.

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Introduction to Developing a Culture of Mission in the Local Church

The Great Commission deserves our full attention. It should be a top priority for the local church to develop a culture of mission. Here’s a novel idea that might shock some church growth proponents.

What works is not always what is best.

For example, advertisers know that sex sells products. If they can create the impression that using their product will enhance your sex life, they know we may be induced to purchase it. This is an easily recognizable ad strategy, but we still fall for it. What may not be so easy to discern is when local churches adopt methods that prey upon our human fleshly tendencies. It may be nearly impossible for us to see clearly how our own culture impacts the church because we think our culture is normal.

Modern churches are more greatly influenced by consumerism than we imagine.

Even how we measure success may be culturally driven. Since the advent of the church growth movement, success is largely measured in numbers of people in attendance. Secondary success factors may be facilities, income, and internet presence and reach. Using these metrics, leaders are under intense pressure to draw and keep ever increasing numbers of people in attendance.

If our goal is simply to draw people to our meetings, we may (must?) adopt the strategy of providing what people want,  perhaps at the expense obeying Christ and giving them what they truly need.

Modern American Christians have been conditioned by the culture and by the church itself to view the church experience through the eyes of consumers. We “shop” churches using consumerist criteria, sometimes looking for the one that provides the best value in exchange for whatever level of commitment we are willing to make. This is how consumers are trained to think. Those so influenced by the culture tend to measure a church’s desirability or value by the main speaker’s abilities, the worship experience, the programs for children and other social sub-groupings, and the general “presentation,” which includes facilities, audio-visual, and professionalism. Attenders of smaller churches are not immune and may also be consumers looking for a different product. They may put experiencing a sense of family near the top of their list. Of course, none of the above are “wrong.” In fact, we hope that all of our churches do their best to be attractive, but never in subservience to consumerism or at the expense of making disciples. Perhaps surprisingly, however, none of the criteria listed above is actually a “right” reason for joining a church.

Logically, the means by which we attract people to our churches is how we must strive to keep them, unless we can move them away from consumerism to a discipleship orientation to life and ministry.

If we allow that church leaders who use consumerist strategies have the best of intentions, we can believe that their reason for doing so is to simply have an opportunity to influence the greatest number of people. Their thinking is that if people  are not attracted to church meetings, they will never hear the truth of the gospel. Some churches use this strategy to gain a great number of conversions, but bringing a person to Christ is only the first step. After a fish is caught, it must be cleaned. This brings us to discipleship.

The opposite of consumerism is discipleship.

The cost of discipleship actually tends to sift people out of the local church because it requires so much from us.

A disciple-making church will adopt an equipping model for ministry, the goal being to equip the people to do ministry on their own outside the four walls of the meeting place.

Adopting missional strategies to equip and launch followers of Christ into evangelism and disciple-making ministries will run counter to what our consumer culture wants, but it will satisfy Christ’s Great Commission mandate, bring glory to God, and end up bringing fulfillment to individuals.

The next several articles will look at ways we can develop a missional culture in our churches.

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