Every Christian a Missionary?

Something as simple as a different view of the definition of a single word can lead to great misunderstanding.  One of those times is when we use the word mission in the context of the local church.  We have heard the phrase, “every Christian is a missionary,” and there is no doubt that good intentions motivate the use of that phrase; but is it valid to teach that every one of us should be a missionary?  Before we can answer that question we must ask another question, which leads me to my first point:

What is the difference between mission and missions?

The word mission is used to describe the over arching objective that an organization desires to achieve.  In the case of Christ’s church, our mission is best summed up in our Lord’s great commission as recorded in the book of Acts, to be witnesses for Jesus from our homes to the ends of the earth. 

Missions is the term used to describe the activity and work of  a missionary, a person that is specially called out and equipped by God to perform the work of going out to the nations.

Now that we have a working definition of mission and missions we can address the original question:

Should every Christian be a missionary?

No, not every person who names the name of Christ should be a missionary.  A missionary is a person who is specially called out and equipped by God to perform the specific work of Word and prayer across geographic and/or cultural boundaries in places where is name of Jesus Christ in largely unknown, if known at all.  Every Christian should however be mission minded, that is to say that we should all be working in support of the mission of the Church. 

This principle could is best illustrated by looking at our United States Marine Corps.  Even thought the infantryman in the backbone of the Marine Corps, not every Marine serves in the infantry or even in a combat arms job.  These “support” Marines, while not directly performing the mission, are performing vital tasks that support the overall mission of the organization.

Christians seem to confuse being a missionary with being mission minded, which leads to either the extreme of “every Christian a missionary”, which is ineffective, or the fatalistic belief that we need not carry the message out, because God will take care of it somehow.

The Importance of True Genuineness in Discipleship: Part I – Why Genuineness is Important

Society today is inundated with insincere motives and some just flat-out fake people.  The “reality” television shows have given us “showmances” that are developed only to gain an advantage against another contestant or for entertainment purposes.  We constantly hear about politicians that are found in midst of the very sin that they condemned in public.  Our lives are filled with people and influences that are just plain disingenuous.

People in general are in need of a fresh breath of authenticity.  Most folks today are searching for something real, something genuine.  In generations past the issue was credibility, in the sense of establishing that you knew what you were talking about.  In this generation, where a vast amount of information on any subject is literally at your fingertips, the issue seems to be more about if you are “real”.  That is to say, are the concerns that you espouse are your true concerns, or are you simply attempting to fill a hidden and personal agenda.

Christianity is always in opposition to the fallen world.  Whether it is freedom from heartless rituals like in Jesus’ time, wholesomeness in the face of sexual depravity as in the early church, integrity in the face of corruption as during the time of Luther, or sincerity in the face of duplicity as in today’s culture, the Church of Jesus Christ has always stood opposed to the sinful state of the culture around it.  It is this tension between the Gospel and the sin depraved creation that draws people; Christ offers what the world cannot.

We must work prayerfully and diligently to guard against insincere motives when dealing with this generation.  If we do not our message will de indistinguishable from all of the other “static” in the lost person’s life that promises “real change.”  It is not good enough just to check our motives, but we must ensure that we do not project the appearance of an ulterior motive.  To do anything less is to risk not reaching this generation and failing to fulfill the great commission.  The next step, now that we understand why the relationship between genuineness and discipleship is vitally important, is to look at what we need to do to make sure that our message of hope is received and not disregarded as “spam”.

Thoughts on Discipleship and Evangelism

Traditionally, evangelical Christians have done a poor job of discipling people post-conversion. I have heard story after story from folks who were intensely evangelized, only to be abandoned once they had prayed a prayer, participated in believer’s baptism, and joined a church. The prevailing attitude seem to be that once someone has made a decision for Christ, they should know what they need to do and do it without too much involvement from other Christians. The biblical witness of the first disciples seems to contradict this idea. How many times did Jesus have to guide the disciples back on track?
This lack of continued discipleship has resulted in many Christians (who are not doubt converted and eternally secure) living lives in defeat and not becoming effective witnesses for Christ. God’s redemptive plan does not end with a person’s conversion or salvation; His plan is for us to participate in His glory and join with Him is his work while we are still on earth. This means that we should be joining God in his plan to seek and save the lost. If a new believer, or an old on for that matter, is not effectively discipled their ability to participate in this work is greatly hindered.

After carefully and prayerfully evaluating this situation, I believe that the reason that we fail to effective disciple folks post-conversion is our disproportionate focus on evangelism and misunderstanding of the process of discipleship. I am not denying the importance of evangelism, but we must see it as part of a larger process and not our overall goal. In speaking with other Baptists in regards to discipleship and evangelism I have often asked the question, when does discipleship begin in a person’s life? Most people have answered that discipleship begins at the moment of a person’s conversion (fig.1). Their reasoning usually is that a person cannot be a disciple until they have been regenerated and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. I understand where they are coming from on this point, but I think that this is the reason that we miss the mark in discipleship. You can disciple someone, join God is His work, as soon as God has begun His work in their life. This work begins pre-conversion and is what leads people to the Savior.

Evangelism must be viewed a part of a larger process, the process of discipleship. When we make evangelism our goal we bring all of our resources to bear upon it and begin to neglect other parts of the work. To me it appears that evangelism is the first part of the discipleship process and both begin at the same point in time, the first time a Christian enters into a non-Christians life (fig.2). This is the biblical example of discipleship. When we see the disciples initial call from Jesus we must understand that this was not their first exposure to Him or the principles that He was teaching. These men would have heard of this man Jesus of Nazareth, of the things He was teaching and doing, and might have even heard Him teach. This initial exposure was the beginning of their discipleship. When Jesus came to them personally was the point in time that God extended His divine and eternal invitation.

We must remember that we are not called or commissioned to make converts or Christians; that is God’s business. We are called and commissioned to make disciples and to teach others about what Jesus has taught us. This teaching must not end at the point that the person makes a decision for Christ, but must continue for the rest of that person’s life. Evangelism is an extremely important part of Christian life, but it is only that, a part. We must ensure that evangelism is an integral part of the overall discipleship process, without an undue emphasis on any part over the others.

Baptist Polity and the Local Association

This morning I read a blog post (HERE) from a Pastor about the some of the purposes of the Baptist Association.  I greatly appreciated the post because I believe that many of us have forgotten where we came from, so to speak, as it related to the reason why we Baptists do some of the things that we do.  I have been debating publishing this post for the last week or so.  It has the potential to be controversial and some may take it out of context, but after prayerful consideration I humbly submit my thoughts on this subject.

If we wholeheartedly believe that our Lord commissioned us individually and corporately to take the Gospel to every person; if we believe that the Church is the body and bride of Christ and that the local congregation is the manner in which God has chosen to carry out His business of spreading the Gospel to the world, our focus should be on accomplishing this task though the local church.

Undoubtedly, more can be done to advance the work together than we can do on our own.  Not to mention that cooperation strengthens our witness with the world around us.  Understanding that “a three-fold cord is not easily broken” we should strive to work together, to cooperate with each other to accomplish the Great Commission, motivated by the greatest commandment.

One characteristic that our Baptist churches have that is somewhat unique to our denomination is that a Baptist church is autonomous.  Cooperation is voluntary and each local congregation is free to define its own faith and practice.  If a local church makes a decision to stop cooperation, they are entitled to do so.  But we must remember that “no man is an island” and by extension no church that is made up of said men is an island.  We are all part of one Body and serve one Lord.

I would encourage each one of us to prayerfully examine ourselves; to ask God to search our hearts and reveal to us if we have been cooperating with the other members of the Body as He would desire us to, or if we have been placing our own desires and agendas above His.

I look forward to serving Jesus along side of you all and may grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.