Tag: evangelism

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You’re already going, so make disciples

Jesus gives the disciples the great commission done in Byzantine art style

Do the words, “the Great Commission,” inspire visions of boldness, or do they inspire a guilty shudder down your spine?

The Great Commission is not the only commission given by Jesus, but it is deeply important. And it has dominated the attention of many strands of his followers today. Usually because we struggle with it. Usually to point out how inadequate we are doing with it.

Hence the guilty shudder.

God is not above making us feel guilty; but sometimes we feel guilty for our own reasons, rather than his.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. What is the Great Commission:

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, teaching them to keep all that I have commanded and, behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:19-20

Before feeling guilty about failing to make disciples, consider with me the first part of this command: “Go.”

 of the mechanics of this passage in Greek, especially how the command “go” and “make disciples” relate, see here.

Why does Jesus command “go”?

Why Jesus commands his people to “go”

Here’s 2 good reasons Jesus commands his followers to GO:

  1. He’s the king on the mountain, and his Kingdom should spread
  2. To check the disciples’ impulse of veneration on a mountaintop

Jesus is King on the Mountain…and beyond

Matthew does not record Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

He ends the narrative with Jesus as King on the mountain giving a royal command. So, at the end of Matthew, we see Jesus’ kingdom = the mountain they are on.

His territory + his people = his kingdom

That is good, but Jesus intends more. He is interested in God’s Kingdom come into the whole world. That’s a lot more than the little mountaintop they are gathered on. So, the logical next thing to do is for the disciples to go somewhere else and make disciples.

Where Jesus is worshipped as king, there his kingdom is. Thus, “go!”

Jesus wants his kingdom to spread. To do that, he needs to address the “stay where we are and venerate” impulse his disciples have already shown.

Go and take the Kingdom elsewhere, don’t build a shrine

The disciples already have an ambiguous track record when it comes to mountains, a glorified Christ, and what to do there.

At the transfiguration, Peter says to Jesus:

Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah

Matthew 17:4 ESV

In other words, let’s build a new tabernacle here because this is the place to be to worship!

Granted, it was a crazy experience and the response is entirely understandable. But here, now, at the end, Jesus is really clear that the point is not to turn this mountain into new shrine for his followers to tend. His kingdom is like a seed, compressed down into that tiny little space on the mountain, and it needs to ‘blow up.’

That ‘blowing up’ happens when they “go” and make disciples.

Need I point out that churches today tend to show a strong impulse to stay where we are and worship. We are better at building shrines than going where Jesus isn’t already worshipped as king.

What Jesus commands in the Great Commission

“Go” is an important part of carrying out Jesus’ vision for the Kingdom of God spreading.

Phrased more interpretively, here’s my stab at capturing the gist of Jesus’ Great Commission:

“Go out to where I am not honored as King, and wherever you find that place, whoever you find there, make disciples so that I am honored as King there, too.”

Wherever you happen to be in life, there is certainly room for “going.” And you probably won’t have to go far to find places where Jesus isn’t honored as king.

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1 Peter 4:5-6 – what about proclaiming the gospel to the dead?

Jesus harrowing hell

There are some passages of scripture that encourage endless speculation. What are we to make of 1 Peter 4:5-6:

5 They will face a reckoning before[a] Jesus Christ[b] who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 Now it was for this very purpose[c] that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead,[d] so that though[e] they were judged in the flesh[f] by human standards[g] they may live spiritually[h] by God’s standards.[i] (NET)

Here are a few thoughts on this passage.

There are lots of details to debate in this passage. But here’s the big picture: the dead in Christ have eternal hope; the dead outside of Christ…not so much.

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Evangelism, the church, and you

The outward facing relationship of the church to the world should involve evangelism and pursuit of biblical justice in society. The church is made up of people. What is the relationship which the people in the church have to that broader vision? While the church corporate must be evangelistic and pursuing justice, it is important to realize that each follower of Jesus ought to be evangelistic in their relationship to the world.

Evangelism as a church

The church ought to be evangelistic. If a church gathered is not engaging with the core truths of the gospel regularly and does not have concern for the spiritual welfare of the community it is in, then there’s big problems. The church, as a body of gathered followers of Jesus, ought to be evangelistic.

That means preaching and teaching on gospel truths. That means having programs and activities which are open to people who need the gospel. That means praying for people to put their lives into submission to Jesus. That means all this and more. The church needs to be evangelistic.

Personal evangelism

And the people in the church need to be evangelistic. It is great to be an evangelistic church and our church has lots of room to grow in that. But if we identify the responsibility for evangelism with just the church, we run into a significant practical issue: people who need to be evangelized almost never come to church.

Whatever else we talk and debate about regarding different ways the church should engage with non-churched people and be evangelistic, this practical issue is an issue. There was a day and time in the past when people flocked to massive evangelistic crusades (think Billy Graham), when people would come to evangelistic events at churches, and when people not associated with a church would come into the church with reasonable frequency. Evangelistic crusades and events were fine and good and God did some amazing work through some of those movements and efforts. But the simple pragmatic reality is that today that’s not happening.

Regardless of what we wish were happening, more often than not people aren’t coming to church. We’re a small enough congregation so that it’s pretty obvious when you look around that not a whole lot of new people show up with great regularity.

No matter how evangelistic we are as a church gathered, we have this simple and practical problem that that people needing to be evangelized aren’t showing up. Of course, there may be things we can do and ways we can change to encourage people to come. And those are concerns to pray over. But the fundamental issue remains that for most unchurched and non-churched people, going to church is a non-priority.

If the people around us are going to be reached, they need a point of contact. That point of contact is unlikely to be an advertisement for a church service. It is unlikely to be a neat social media marketing campaign, and it is unlikely to be a mass-mailing. Even though those efforts all are commendable. The most likely point of contact which may jar someone out of spiritual apathy is…you!

What to do

Living evangelistically is harder than not living evangelistically—which is why so many of us do it so little of the time. But it does not have to be that different. Here are a couple ideas:

  1. Pray (and read Scripture). The power for proclaiming the good news of Jesus ultimately comes from God. Nothing better directs and equips our hearts towards evangelism than consistent prayer. Pick a few people or groups and pray regularly that God will give you opportunities to point others to Jesus.
  2. Invite people to church. Sure, many people may not come, and inviting people to church is not the only part of evangelizing, but it is a worthwhile thing to do. Invite people to church events—Pioneer Club, winter reading challenge, picnics, etc. These are a chance to make a connection that may last.
  3. Go out to where people are. Where are you connecting with people in your life? What do you already do? What do you enjoy doing? Who are you connecting with doing what you do? People are more likely to connect with you rather than with the church. You can be a gateway and a guide to bring people in, to share truths, to teach people the basics about God. That can happen when you are with other people doing what you already do.

Moving forward

I don’t have the gift of foresight, but my assumption is that there is not going to be a time in the near future where lots of people in the community will one day decide, “Let’s all go to church.” The evidence suggests that more and more people are concluding, “Let’s not go to church.” To minister to the world around us is going to require more than just being present and having the church building here and open. That is a great starting point. But unless and until we take it upon ourselves to bring gospel hope to where it is needed, it is not going to get there.

“how then will they call on him and whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10.14)