The Great Commission - Coming to a Church Near You.

I am an unashamed Southern Baptist. If you cut me, I bleed the cooperative program. I believe that my denomination has the best mission sending capability of any Christian denomination in the world. This does not mean that God doesn't use other denominations by any means; in fact, I do work with other denominations all the time.

Recently, leaders in our denomination have called for a Great Commission Resurgence - a return to gospel-centeredness and active proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ. Considering the current state of decline in our denomination - evidenced by the fact that we have reached a 22 year low in baptisms - I say it's about time!

So many churches have lost confidence in the power of the gospel message. We are often told that evangelism doesn't work anymore and we have to use other methods to reach people. Of course evangelism doesn't work when you don't do it.

I believe we need a revival of confidence in the power of the gospel to save whosoever, whenever wherever it is proclaimed.

I have been privileged to share the good news in 10 different countries and 16 different states. I have shared the gospel with many people in places like Mombasa, Kenya, Los Angeles, CA, San Antonio, TX, Kampala, Uganda, Indianapolis, IN, Denver, CO, Cartagena, Colombia, Portland, OR, St. Johnsbury, VT and Raleigh, NC - just to mention a few. I have shared in every kind of context you can think of from refugee camps, to special events, to churches, to the streets and so forth.

In every context that I have ministered in, I have seen God at work in the hearts of people. I have seen people experience genuine life change through Christ. I have seen people become followers of Jesus. It was not because of me, but in spite of me. It was all about God.

I believe that every church and every denomination can experience a Great Commission Resurgence when we become the resurgence that we long for. In other words, enough talk - now is the time for action. It's time to get out there and obey God.

As John Piper said, "Go, send, or disobey."

A Good Look at the Great Commission - Part 2

In the previous post, we looked at the authority that Jesus gives to us in order to accomplish the great commission. In this post, we are going to talk about the assignment that we are charged with.

Some of you may recall the old television program from years back - Mission: Impossible.

As the plot went, one of the IMF team members would receive a message which said something like..."your mission, should you accept it..."

Jesus is telling his disciples - and us - in Matthew 28:19-20 that their mission was to "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 that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - ESV

This was an active assignment. In other words, Jesus was saying that as the disciples went about their daily activities, they were to proclaim the gospel message and teach people about salvation.

Your assignment, should you accept it, is to look for ways to tell people about Jesus within the context of your daily activities. As you go, seek to make disciples of the people that God places in your circle of influence.

A Good Look at the Great Commission - Part 1

First of all, Pastor Chris with Evangelism Coach has posted a simple yet thoughtful article that reminds me that God is sovereign in evangelism. It is entitled: God - the Evangelist. It is worth reading - especially if you think that your the one doing the evangelizing!

now for my post...

I had the privilege of leading the Wednesday Bible study at my church the other night in the absence of our pastor. God had laid upon my heart to teach on the Great Commission. I believe that it is very important to remind ourselves of the basics every great now and then - as we have a tendency to complicate things.

I found myself drawn to verse 18 in Matthew 28 and taught primarily from that verse and the first few words of verse 19. "And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore...""

When Jesus talks about authority in this verse, he is not referring to His authority as King of kings and Lord of lords. (See. Colossians 1:15-17, Ephesians 1:20-23, Philippians 2:9-11) Rather, He is referring to his authority as the mediator between God and man for salvation. (See 1 Timothy 2:5 and John 5:22-27)

Keep in mind, this was not too long after His death, burial and resurrection.

After reminding his disciples of this authority, he said to them, "Go therefore..."

“Jesus came close to them… and made this astounding claim. He spoke as one already in heaven with a world-wide outlook and with the resources of heaven at his command.” (Robertson’s Word Pictures)

Do we recognize the authority that Jesus has passed on to us as his followers - to go and spread the good news? Do we recognize - and draw upon - all the resources of Heaven that he has passed on to us as his witnesses?

I like to think of it this way...

My dad used to love to watch western movies and TV shows. I remember the plot line sometimes involving the local sheriff rounding up a posse of men (white hats) to go and catch the bad guys (black hats). After the sheriff had gathered the men together, there was a solemn swearing in ceremony.

It was then that the sheriff would deputize these men therby passing his authority on to them. In so doing, he made these men equal to himself in the eyes of the law. They would then tear out of town on horseback, ride to the bad guy's lair, shoot it out and arrest the bad guy. They would ride back to town, turn him over to the sheriff and justice would be served.

As witnesses for Him, Jesus has made us a part of his posse! He has deputized us with his authority to go out and round up sinners. Our Job is to bring them to Sheriff Jesus. But instead of justice, they find in Him infinite mercy.

Jesus told the disciples (and us): "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Every time we announce the good news of Jesus Christ, we are using the keys to the kingdom. Not that we have any authority to remit the sins of those that we witness to. But, we open the doors to the kingdom so that Jesus can welcome them into his salvation by faith. Knowing that you have been given the authority of Jesus and all the resources of heaven, shouldn't it be easier to spread the good news of Jesus Christ? I'll let you decide...

Invite Them to Church Therefore...

We’re back! Having spent the weekend in beautiful Atlantic Beach, NC I have returned to the blogosphere a nice shade of cooked lobster red! It is rare to have a weekend away for our family and we enjoyed every minute of it.

On Friday night, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of deacons at their annual church retreat. (This was the only way we could get away to the beach.) My subject was “Deacons are Called to be Beacons.” In my message, I looked at the example of Stephen from Acts 6 & 7 pointing out that even though he had a rather short ministry Stephen had a powerful evangelistic witness.

As I was waiting for my wife to return to the hotel to pick me up, a few of the deacons and I were discussing the need to get out of the church and into the world. One of the older deacons understood that churches tend to do evangelism backwards. “We build big buildings and expect people to come to us when we should be going to them,” he said.

Another deacon, who came into the conversation late, said, “We have just got to get people into the church so that they can be taught about Jesus and eventually accept Him.”

Two different philosophies; one is biblical.

Jesus never said, “Invite them to church therefore and make disciples of all nations…” He said, “Go.” In fact, he really said, “As you go.”

Jesus set the example. Out of 132 contacts that Jesus had with people recorded in the New Testament, 6 were in the temple, 4 were in the synagogue, and 122 were out in the mainstream of life. (Adapted from Why Christians Sin, by J.K Johnson, Discovery House, 1992)

Churches are great places for discipleship and community, but not the best place for evangelism. If only everyone thought like that older deacon.