Mission Unlikely... Unless

As I write this, my understanding of the mission Jesus gave his followers is: make disciples. In other words, “Follow me, and help others follow me.” (Mt 28). This seems simple and straightforward enough. It is also profound. We will spend our lives learning more and more about what those words mean, not just as we talk about them, but as we also live them.

There are a few things that make fulfilling Jesus’ mission for us unlikely.

LONE RANGER DISCIPLES

Some people have decided to shun other disciples because of past hurt or even outright disgust with others. The problem with becoming an LRD is that you cut off the life in the Body of Christ you see in Ephesians chapter 4 and other verses. We need to value the expression of Christ through others in order to grow up strong, healthy and without undue delay.

RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHERS

Jesus said “Follow me” not “Study me”. There is too much talk, too much watching and not enough doing for many disciples.

I’ve been a religious philosopher before. It promotes pride by showing one person has more facts crammed in their head than another. On the other hand, sometimes a religious philosopher does not know much of anything on a particular subject, but they have learned how to drone on and on to perpetuate the illusion of intellect. Does this sound like Jesus and what he called us to, or does this sound more like the Pharisees?

Further, some people are just more book-ish or more avid readers than others. Other people prefer doing over reading. Is there really room in God’s family for only one type of person?

ALPHA MALES AND QUEEN BEES

Men and women who have not found their true worth in God’s view of them seek to establish their worth among people. If they can’t charm their way into influence, they try to intimidate or dominate others. They may manipulate and deceive others to gain influence behind the scenes. In any case, if people do not find their worth in God, they will seek for it from people. This puts their core understanding of themselves in the hands of other people.

Alpha males and queen bees seek influence and control over others for their own benefit. They may cloak their words in “Christianese” and their actions in Cheshire-cat smiles, but make no mistake – power is their goal.

CONCLUSION

To be clear, I have not given up on the Body of Christ. I am saying that unless we learn to live and work together as his Body, fulfilling our mission is unlikely. That said, we CAN live the truth of the gospel if we will CHOOSE to. We can be God’s family on his mission to make disciples of every people-group on earth! We can be the Body of Christ who truly carries on the life and service of Jesus to the people of the earth, right here, right now!

Imagine…