A basic question that each church must come to grips with before it can do anything is, "Why do we exist?" The question can be asked many different ways. "What is the mission of the church?" "What is the purpose of the church?" Just through observation it seems that the answer for most churches to these questions is, "Survival of the institution." That is not only an insufficient answer, it is the wrong answer.
I have worked with churches that struggled to answer that question for weeks, months and even years. I have really never understood the struggle. It seems to me that the mission of the church is the one Jesus gave us in Matthew. In chapter 28 verses 18-20 we read: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
I have to agree with Mark Twain who said, "It's not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that bother me. It's the parts I do understand that bother me." And that part seems pretty clear and very challenging to me. What we call "The Great Commission" is the marching orders of the church – our mission – our mission statement. Go and make disciples. Not church members – disciples. A disciple is a learner and a doer. One who learns from the master and does what the master does. The mission of the church is to connect with people who do not yet know God, help them come to know God and by teaching them everything Jesus has commanded us, help them become fully functioning followers of Christ. It is simple. It is not easy. But it is simple.
After years of grappling with the basics of faith, I have come to the conclusion that God's basic plan for our lives is that we are conformed to the image of Christ. God is in the transformation business – big time. We live in a culture that places a high value on comfort, peace and happiness. Thus we have "created" a God that serves us to make sure we are comfortable and happy. Unfortunately that is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is discomforting. He is discomforting because He places high value on our spiritual maturity. More than anything God wants us to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus. And that does and will continue to make for some uncomfortable times.
Jesus has given us, what I call, The Three C's that should drive the church.
- The Great Commission – See above
- The Great Commandment – Matthew 22:36-40 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
- The Great Commitment – Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?
If we would do these three things consistently and well, I believe we would be the Church Jesus intended us to be. And until we embrace these callings and make them central to our lives as individuals and as a church, we will never really be THE CHURCH. I don't know about you but I want to be all that God has called me to be. And I want to be a part of a church that is the church the Jesus intended.
Copyright © 2012, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved
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