What the church has come to call the Great Commission, can be found at the very end of Matthew's account of the Gospel.
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.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
The United Methodist Church has formed a mission statement from Jesus' directive.
"The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."
Jesus trained apostles to go and make disciples of all nations. (Mark 16:15) He sent out His church just as God the Father sent Jesus from heaven to earth in order to save the world. (John 20:21) Jesus told His disciples to wait for power from heaven, which the church received through the Holy Spirit. (Luke 24:49)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
The church is to be the divinely empowered witnesses to Jesus Christ in the world. How are we to be witnesses? The Acts of the Apostles reveal that the church, in the authority of the name of Jesus, continued His ministry. Jesus' ministry was marked by three areas of activity: Teaching, Healing and Liberation.
He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. (Luke 6:17-19)
Luke 6:17-18 says the people from all over had come to hear Jesus. They came to hear Jesus teach them about the kingdom of God and to be healed of disease and set free from demonic oppression.
They came to hear Him - Teaching
To be healed of their diseases - Healing
Those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured - Liberation
The Acts of the Apostles reveals stories where the disciples are providing such ministry. They proclaim the good news that Jesus is Lord and the reign of God has come in Him. They announce forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God through the cross of Christ. They announce new life by sharing in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The church teaches hope, life-giving words, and Spirit-breathed good news. They perform signs of healing and exorcism as proof that the kingdom of heaven is here. Under the authority of the name of Jesus, the Lord, disciples healed the sick, resuscitated the dead, and freed people tormented by evil spirits.
Expressions of this kind of ministry in the United Methodist Church can be found in our commitment to evangelism, health ministries, and justice and advocacy ministries. While we may not perform exorcisms with biblical mythic drama, we do work to free people from whatever oppresses them, be it spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, or societal. Our General Commission on Church and Society is an expression of justice and liberation ministry. Our commitment to parish nursing is an extension of healing ministry. We try to connect people to the healing presence of a loving God. We work to connect people to health education and resources. In the third world we build clinics and fund low cost doctors and nurses.
Much of what we do in ministry is driven by a desire to lift lives.
But how does all this good ministry make disciples of Jesus Christ? How does our ministry transform the world?
More on that tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment