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MATTHEW 28:16-20

The last words of Jesus to his disciples represent the marching orders that are to be followed until he returns. We call it "the great commission." Wise observers of the mainline denominations have said "the great commission" has become our "great omission." There is not a single major mainline church that is growing significantly in membership in the United States. At least four of the major mainline denominations—Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Methodists—have internal battles that threaten schism.

JESUS' MINISTRY—AND OURS

At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus announced his mission:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:18-19 KJV)

At the close of his ministry, Jesus commissions us for Kingdom work:

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 observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:19-20 NKJV)

Register what should be obvious: only disciples can make disciples. Our mission statement in The United Methodist Church is "To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." Discipleship means following Jesus to the end that we are transformed into his likeness. Here is our problem. Most members of our churches do not have any compelling sense that their primary vocation as Christians is to practice those disciplines that will form them into the likeness of Christ—that the dynamic of being a Christian is the understanding of and conformity to the clear teachings of Jesus.

DISCIPLE-MAKING

Making disciples, then, is more than making "converts." How have we missed the point that the command of Jesus is to "make disciples"? Salvation is for more than forgiveness; it is also a matter of thorough moral and spiritual transformation.

Over 150 million people in America claim to be "born again" Christians. We have to question what that means. If all "born again Christians" were disciples, would there not be greater signs of the transforming power of Christ at work in the world?

Another problem is that, too often, in mainline churches, we have substituted an ideological social agenda for the Christian gospel. When our mission agenda is only a social action program that is devoid of any acknowledgment of sin and satanic power, then there is no need for repentance and forgiveness.

Religious pluralism and inclusivism have played havoc with our mission enterprise. Pluralism denies Jesus as God's unique gift of salvation, and inclusivism offers universal salvation. When these prevail, there is no passion for the Great Commission. We cannot denigrate the uniqueness of Christ as God's way of salvation, diminish the authority of Scripture, or idealize pluralism and inclusiveness as redemptive within themselves and have anything that will demand commitment, sacrifice, and a response to the call to go to the ends of the earth to share it.

Most observers of the Christian scene in the United States would contend that we are in a setting not much different from the time when Jesus gave the Great Commission. That means we must become "apostolic" in our passion and style of sharing the gospel.

Seventy million individuals in the United States are under the age of eighteen. Nearly one million foreign-born people immigrate to this country every year. Thirty-two million people in America speak some language other than English as their primary language. We have more unsaved and unchurched people in our nation than ever before in our history—172 million. Ninety percent of the population of the United States lives in urban settings. The Great Commission and an apostolic style demand that we "go to" all of these persons, not wait for them to come to us.

PASSION FOR SHARING CHRIST

Christ requires an apostolic passion. For the apostles, Jesus Christ was the good news. This conviction is the only power that will give us the passion to be for our age what the first-century Christians were for theirs. What we believe about what Christ can do for persons will determine how we order our life as disciples and the life of the Christian community of which we are a part.

It is exciting, yet daunting, to know that our marching orders are so expansive and demanding—to share the gospel with the whole world. Jesus knew we would tremble at such a thought, so he gave us his promise, "I am with you always, to end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). Here is the added promise to his earlier one, that when he "went away," he would send the Holy Spirit. And what would the Holy Spirit do? He would empower you to live as you need to live as a Christian. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8).

The Christian community is to be Spirit-empowered, where love and mutual caring, forgiveness, healing, reconciliation, restoration, deliverance, social witness, and the breaking down of racial, economic, and social barriers are anticipated as the norm—not the miraculous.

The Great Commission and the Holy Spirit go together. We cannot obey the Great Commission effectively without the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. But also, if we are following the Spirit's leading, we will be engaging in the Great Commission—not just talking about it; doing it. Michael Green has noted this bond as a hallmark of the New Testament church and a sign of poverty in the experience of the church today. He asks penetrating questions:

Could it be that we know so little of the Spirit in any powerful way because we care so little for evangelism? Equally, that we know so little of evangelism in any powerful way because we know so little of the Spirit? These two God has joined together, and we cannot put them asunder. No evangelism, no Holy Spirit; no Holy Spirit, no evangelism. There is a vital link between them; and that explains a good deal of the powerlessness in the modern church. (New Testament Evangelism: Lessons for Today [Manila, OMF Publishers, 1982], pp. 136-37).

Frankly, sharing Christ seems to be difficult, and evangelism seems to evoke too many negative images for many people, perhaps even you. Yet you probably know Christ because someone loved you enough to share Christ with you. Do you love enough to share Christ with others?

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

In what way and to what degree are you practicing disciplines that will transform you into the likeness of Christ? How can you share the good news with your family, your friends, your co-workers, people at church? What needs to happen in your life and in your congregation to reflect apostolic passion?