Your Unique Role in Fulfiling the Great Commission!

Ask Christian believers what comes to mind when they hear the words, 'the Great Commission' and what response do you receive?  What feelings do these words evoke?  Guilt?  Inadequacy?  A feeling that this command of Jesus is for the more gifted Christians to get involved in ?  Something certain Christians are called to?  A special calling?  Those with evangelistic giftings?

Surveys in the United States indicate that most Christians feel disempowered.  There are reasons for this.  A lack of teaching that releases people to identify and then pursue their God-given gifting.  Wrong thinking that separates the whole of life into essentially two different categories: what is spiritual and really important, and what is material or secular and doesn't count for as much.  This results in a division within the church between the clergy and the laity, those in 'full-time Christian ministry' and those who are not.

God has appointed and anointed some within his Body with equipping gifts.  In the Bible, these are described as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.  In line with all good leadership practice, these giftings are not intended to result in the leaders doing everything or holding others back by too much control but rather to release and empower others to be all they can be and in so doing contributing to the whole.

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the EQUIPPING of the saints FOR THE WORK OF MINISTRY..." (Ephesians 4:11-12, capitals mine)

Given the clarity of this verse of Scripture, it begs the question why so many Christians feel they are in passive mode while a relatively small number of believers do the work of ministry?

God has always wanted all of his children to engage in his mission and the 'family business', but as we look back through history, for the most part, this has not occurred.  The major reason for this non-participation has been a diluted worldview which has robbed many believers of the joy of knowing they had a unique contribution to make to the kingdom of God.  This wrong thinking has also separated them from their mission, as part of God's mission, on the earth in their lifetime.

Before I quit my career and became a 'missionary', I worked for a number of years in the UK electricity industry as a corporate administrator.  On my last day at the office there was a staff gathering where management and staff thanked me for my service and wished me well for the future.  I remember my senior manager's opening remarks clearly.  He said, with a hint of emotion in his voice, 'I am very disappointed Stuart is leaving us but I believe he has found his vocation in life.'  Clearly, my manager recognised that since I was prepared to give up my career prospects and a good salary in order to pursue a new direction in my life that I really believed in, I had found my vocation, my purpose, my life's calling.  The truth is, whether it requires a seemingly dramatic change in our lives or not, each of us has a unique vocation and purpose in life to discover, one that only we can do and one that is of equal value in the sight of God.

For the Christian believer, every area of life should be an act of worship, not just what happens within the confines of a church meeting.  What is important is discovering who God has made you to be and being released into expressing God through your life!

Rather than viewing work occupations like a kind of football league table indicating varying degrees of 'spirituality', with the role of 'church leader', 'pastor', or 'missionary' as being 'premier league' occupations compared to other work roles filling in the slots in the lower divisions, every Christian should find joy and freedom to do what God has uniquely called them to do.  Your God-given gifting and calling is not necessarily to be outworked within the context of 'church' or 'mission'.  This is just one sphere and will therefore only equate to a certain part of the Body of Christ who are appointed by God to focus on this domain.  If you are called to the business world, your purpose is not solely to finance the preaching of the gospel or the next church building programme.  This might be a part of it but there will be other things related to the economic sphere that God may ask you to do in terms of bringing a biblical worldview and modeling kingdom business run on godly values and principles.  Gifted teachers and educators are not to be limited to Sunday School programmes, and accomplished musicians and communicators should not feel that they are only using their talents for God if they are involved in a worship service or producing the church bulletins each week.  At the entrance of one church I know they have a banner which the congregation can see as they leave the church premises.  It reads: 'You are now entering your mission field!'  What a great perspective to have for the remaining six days of every week.

In the past, due to a dualistic worldview, the Church has largely stayed away from being an influence in major areas of society.  Some spheres have been viewed as being too worldly or even evil.  In some countries Christians will not even cast their vote in an important national election because they believe politics to be 'of the devil'.  For too long, Satan has been given too much slack by the Church to influence and bring a needed contribution in many significant spheres of life, particularly in the entertainment industry, the arts world, media and communications, and politics.  I am not suggesting that the Church should be overseeing or ruling in these different arenas.  However, Christians across the globe should be actively engaged in every area and bringing a positive 'salt and light' ingredient and demonstration of the kingdom of God in each and every one.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for people, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving."  (Colossians 3:23-24)

Engaging in the Great Commission doesn't require a special calling from God.  It does, however, require us to discover and use the gifts and abilities he has entrusted to us for kingdom purpose and influence. 

Have you discovered your unique calling in the fulfilment of the Great Commission?  Don't allow wrong dualistic thinking to disempower you from doing your part.  Your life is significant.  Let it make a godly impact for the kingdom of God today!

(the above includes excerpts from Stuart's forthcoming book: The Fourth Wave: Every Believer finding their God-given place in fulfiling the Great Commission)

The Forgotten Mandate of Discipling Nations

Have you ever wondered why, if the Church worldwide is growing at such a tremendous rate and is now the largest it has ever been in history (as the preceding article highlights), the Christian faith is not having the influence that it should in the societies, cultures and nations where it is in evidence? Certainly, most Christians would say that Christianity will have a positive influence on a community and that the more Christians there are in a nation, the greater the benefit to society at large. So, why are we not seeing more of the blessing which should accompany the receiving of the gospel?

Take Africa for example. Africa is the most evangelised continent in the world and is estimated to be 80% Christian south of the Sahara. There are hundreds and thousands of churches and evangelists. We would expect, according to the Word of God, that Africa would therefore be a blessed continent. In Deuteronomy 28, we have God’s perspective on what a blessed nation looks like and what a cursed nation looks like. It is like a national inventory covering the different areas of life such as family, job and economy, defence forces, the weather, and the national debt.

However, whilst nearly every person in the southern part of Africa has been ‘reached’ with the gospel, the reality is that it has not really made a difference to the African nations where the gospel has been received. With 30 of the 40 poorest countries in the world in Africa, there is widespread poverty, along with violence, disease, corruption, injustice, chaos and devastation. The African nation of Rwanda has experienced revival in recent decades but at the same time terrible poverty and civil war. Uganda, which later became the centre of this revival, has experienced two decades of terrible suffering with its economy being destroyed. There has been torture, murder, civil war and displacement of people, all of this having taken place while the Ugandan Church was one of the strongest churches in Africa.

Some of you may be tempted to point out that whilst this has been the case, the important thing to remember is that the people in these nations have been blessed by receiving Jesus into their lives. It is true they have personally received the greatest gift available to mankind. However, this is where we as Christians, particularly those of us who would call ourselves ‘evangelical’ Christians, have tended to overlook something critically important. For the past 200 years there has been a division in Christian thinking between what is considered ‘spiritual’, eternal and what really matters, with that which is merely ‘secular’, temporary and material. While some have argued the case for or against a ‘social’ gospel, oftentimes churches and missionaries have preached an incomplete message that has left those reached with a segregated view of life.

Jesus made it clear that He would not return until the gospel of the kingdom (not gospel of salvation) had been preached as a witness to all nations (Matthew 24:14). He also taught His disciples to pray that His Father’s kingdom - God’s rule and way of doing things - come and for His will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

The truth is, on the whole (as there are always exceptions) the gospel that has been preached has majored on getting people saved and starting churches. As wonderful as this is, it is not enough as it only addresses one part of the Great Commission mandate. My previous article highlights that we still have more to do on this part as ¼ of the world is still waiting to hear the gospel. Preaching the gospel to every person (Mark 16:15) is just the beginning. God’s perspective is much bigger than just seeing people ‘saved’. His heart has always been for nations.

“Ask of Me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, the ends of the earth for your possession.” (Psalm 2:8)

The second and often overlooked part of the Great Commission mandate is recorded in Matthew 28: 19-20.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you…”

This vital part relates to discipleship which is the process of leading a person to transformation according to the Bible. However, whilst the process begins with individuals, the command specifically relates to discipling entire nations.

As we read in Psalm 2:8, God the Father has given the nations of the earth to His Son, Jesus. As the Church worldwide, Jesus gave us the authority and responsibility to disciple the nations for Him. Sadly, for the most part, we have failed and by default have handed over the nations to the evil one. Thank God for His grace and forgiveness whereby we can put behind us the mistakes of the past and have a new opportunity to disciple nations in this generation!

How are we to disciple nations? This will be the subject of my next article, but essentially as we teach and apply the Word of God to every area of society – government, church, economy, science and healthcare, family, education, communication, arts and entertainment. A biblical model is given in the Old Testament where we see God discipling, through Moses, the nation of Israel (the book of Deuteronomy is a good place to start). In about 300 years God took some 3 million refugees and turned them into a kingdom whose reputation and fame travelled far and wide so that another head of state, the Queen of Sheba, wanted to learn about its wisdom and education, just laws and prosperity (1 Kings 10:6-7).

It is time to return to the forgotten mandate and in whatever area of society we are called to, to be catalysts and nation disciplers bringing godly reform and transformation wherever we go!