Family Values Part Six: Mission

The New Revised Standard Version The Commissioning of the Disciples

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The Values So Far

Current

Family

Belonging

Youth

Aspirational

Laboratory

Life Together

Today’s Value

We will focus outside the walls of our building as a missional church. As such, we aspire to be a church that focuses outside the walls of our own building. While we celebrate with joy every time folks gather in our space, we long to be the church in the community, to meet people where they are, and to carry with us the message of redemption and hope in Jesus Christ. To do this, we dedicate ourselves to discovering new ways to spread the word to our friends, neighbors, and even complete strangers.

This might be the hardest value

In so many ways, it can feel like we’re fighting against our better instincts, because it’s a total shift from the way the church has been run for nearly 2000 years.

Bible Breakdown

Everything to this point

Jesus is born

Who doesn’t love Christmas?

But actually this is a vital piece of the equation:

Matthew 1:23 ““Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.””

From the very start, the magic of Christmas has been that God would choose to come and be with us in human flesh.

I’ve looked around, this is the only religion where this is true.

Everyone else is all about what we can do to get to God.

Christianity is all about what God is doing to get to us.

Jesus teaches

While he was here, Jesus had some things to teach.

Something that has really struck with me lately has been how little Jesus tells us what to believe.

What Jesus is really telling us is how to live.

Be generous

Be kind

Be forgiving

Anyone who has lived this kind of Jesus way will tell you two remarkable truths:

It is the best possible way to live.

And no one else thinks it’s the best possible way to live.

Jesus is killed by the Romans

In fact, the Jesus way is so counter-cultural, the Roman authorities see Jesus as a threat.

Hear that again:

Gentle Jesus meek and mild, he’s a threat to the world’s greatest super power.

He still is.

So he dies a criminal’s death on a cross.

Jesus beats death at death’s own game and rises

And yet, that’s not the end!

Death does not have the last word in this life, Jesus does.

As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:54 “When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.””

And this act has a ripple effect throughout all of human history.

We’re back on a mountain

Looking back over the entirety of the Scriptures, God does some of his best work on the mountains.

Some of the disciples worshipped him.

Some of the disciples know exactly what’s going on.

They know that the world has changed forever.

They know that death has lost the battle.

They know that God is with us and always will be.

So they worship!

Some still had their doubts

And others...

Others aren’t quite sure.

Others haven’t totally bought in.

Others are thinking about quitting.

Jesus gives marching orders to both groups.

Make disciples

Some folks confuse this with an idea that’s coming a bit later, but there’s a reason this gets singled out.

A disciple is someone who follows as Rabbi, and does everything they can to live like the Rabbi lives.

If the Rabbi eats fish, the disciples eat fish.

If the Rabbi follows this path through town, the disciples are right behind them.

If the Rabbi roots for the Flyers…the disciples do their best.

And so we might want to ask the question: If we’re making disciples of Jesus, that means we’re inviting people to live like he lived.

We’re inviting people to value kindness over animosity.

We’re inviting people to be welcoming and not judging.

We’re inviting people to be forgiving and lay aside their personal vendettas.

We’re inviting people to be generous and not to hold on to everything they own.

(Get your pledge cards in!)

And here’s the kicker folks: There are two equally important pieces to the way we invite folks to live like this:

We have to live like this ourselves.

We actually have to speak to others and invite them in.

Baptizing folks

This too is fascinating.

We baptize babies.

People have spent untold hours and oxygen debating this issue, but there’s a reason we do it this way.

It’s because this is a reminder to us that God has claimed us before we could do anything about it for ourselves.

That great life that Jesus has invited us to live? It has nothing to do with how much God loves us.

God loves us whether we get it right or we get it wrong.

God loves us whether we are inside the church or outside.

God loves us, period, full stop.

So while yes, we do well to make sure that we welcome as many folks in to the fold as we possibly can, I think there’s a hidden responsibility behind this one.

I think it’s our job to let people know that God loves them right here and right now, no matter what they’ve done.

Far too many churches want to make people believe the right things first, like you have to line up with our mission statement lock stock and barrel before you can be a disciple.

Far too many churches want to make people “fixed” before they’re allowed in the door, and are happy to provide you with a list of sins you should correct before you’re welcome.

Far too many churches go about life as if there are barriers to knowing Jesus.

Hear me on this. There. Are. None.

The gift of grace in Jesus Christ is available to all.

The love of Jesus Christ is available to everyone, especially those who have lived their whole lives believing that they’re unlovable.

The peace of Jesus Christ is available to everyone, especially those who seem to think that in our world we only prove our worth through our arguments.

There are absolutely no barriers to Jesus Christ, no matter how many folks in the world feel like there are because it’s what the church has been telling them their whole lives.

Teaching folks

This again is a little different than making disciples.

Because as we noticed a bit with the command to baptize, some folks have a lot of unlearning to do, right?

When I was a young man (look at dad if he’s here), I had a job as a youth pastor.

But I also had a whole bunch of piercings and dyed hair much of the time.

I checked, couldn’t find any pictures of this. They were accidentally destroyed maliciously.

So one of my favorite moments of social interaction was always when I was at a party or a get together or something like that, and someone would ask the typical small talk question: What do you do?

I’m a youth pastor!

You?

The truth is, so many people have a mental imagine in their heads when they think of Christians in general.

Judgemental

Gay bashers

Greedy

Arrogant

So now, maybe more so than ever, it’s time for us to teach folks to obey what Jesus *actually* commanded us.

That we ought to remove the plank from our own eye before we have the audacity to judge someone for the speck in theirs.

That we ought to begin and end with love, no matter who we’re talking to.

That it’s better to be generous than it is to be greedy.

That the meek are the ones who will inherit the earth.

And look, if my dad told me this once he told me this a thousand times growing up: actions speak louder than words.

We cannot, cannot, CANNOT go out in the world and teach what Jesus did if we are unwilling to live it ourselves.

The most important commandment here:

Now at this point, we might be patting ourselves on the back.

We do all of this already, don’t we?

We do our best to live as disciples, and invite others to do the same.

We do our level best to baptize, when the opportunity presents itself.

And whew boy do we Presbyterians love a good Bible study!

But what we might be missing is the most important commandment in this little paragraph.

Go

For this next bit, we’re going to have to use some made up words.

As we mentioned last week, the Church in America has become wildly attractional.

Come to our church services.

Come to our youth group

Come to our potluck.

Come to our movie night.

Come to us.

Quite frankly, this is not what Jesus imagined at all.

Jesus imagined a missional church, where the directive was to Go.

Go to the places where people hurt.

Go to the places where people are in need.

Go to the places where people are alone.

Go to the soccer games and cheerleader events.

Go to the shopping malls.

Go.

Admittedly, this is a bit scary, isn’t it?

Go with Jesus

That’s why I think the last verse of Matthew’s Gospel is one of the best in all of scripture.

I am with you always to the end of the age Jesus tells us.

Go, but know that I’m going with you.

I know that you’re scared, but let’s be scared together.

You will absolutely never be alone in the work Jesus is asking us to do.

In fact, what Jesus is calling us to do is go be WITH others too.

We so often want to turn this in to doing something “For” others.

When our mission work is seen only through the lens of what we can do “for” others, we will either be the world’s savior, or we’ll feel like we need to be the ones others do things for.

When our chosen lens for the world is “for,” then our relationship with God is really only seen through what God has done for us.

We’re blessed when we have a lot, we must be screwing up when we don’t.

When our chosen lens for the world is “for,” then stewardship campaigns become about keeping the doors of a church open rather than being focused on who the church is called to be.

But Jesus has challenged these disciples (and by extension through the years, us) to be like him, and the way he worked was with.

Sure, Jesus did things for people like healing and feeding, but never in isolation.

His whole ministry is with.

He spent his time with the outcasts and the sinners.

He spent his time inviting new people to join in the journey with him.

He spent his time showing us who God is by being the God who showed up, word made flesh, to be with us.

So we are called to go, but not to go For somebody.

We’re called to go be with someone.

How will we live in to this value?

We need to embrace the “Go”

In my youth ministry career, I made a big deal out of going as a spectactor to student’s events.

Football, soccer, whatever.

Once, I had a group of students who were in the Mathletes.

If you are unfamiliar with this breed of person, they are incredible!

I thought that I occupied the high rung on the nerd ladder, and these mathletes come along and tell me that I am an amateur!

So one day I heard that they were up for some big competition with a rival school from across town, and so I decided I would go and watch.

I pictured it like it looks in the movies with like a podium and a game show buzzer and all of that.

Wrong.

I walked in to the school, and told the security folks that I was there for the mathletes competition

You know, the raised eyebrows of everyone who I said this to should have been a clue...

But I essentially took my seat, decked out in the school colors from our football team, and watched kids take a test.

While I could hear the hushed whispers of teachers “why is this punk rock kid watching our kids…should we call the authorities?

But...

One student came up to me afterwards and just could not believe that I would show up to support her in this.

Football kids and soccer kids and band kids get fans. Mathletes don’t usually have fans.

She just couldn’t believe I would spend part of my work day to come and support her.

We need to Go.

So much of the American Church’s response to this season of decline has been to invite people to more.

More programs.

More classes

More events

More potlucks

And that’s noble, but two problems with it:

First, people aren’t coming.

And second, it’s not the church that Jesus imagined for us.

Jesus imagined a missional church that was far more known for what happened outside its walls than for what happened within them.

Not that there’s anything wrong with potlucks!

But maybe it’s time we get out there.

Who do we need to be with?

On this day where we find ourselves wearing masks again, this stupid pandemic that simply will not die really does have something to teach us.

Remember when we were in lockdown, when no one left their house for anything and we were using lysol on our groceries?

Wouldn’t you have given anything to be with someone in that season?

Wouldn’t you have given anything to just gather around the table with family and friends?

Wouldn’t you have given anything to have someone ask you how your day was?

Wouldn’t you have given anything to just be with those you loved the most?

We are designed for being with people.

And yet one of the defining issues of our world is isolation.

So many people feel like they’re walking this life alone.

They feel like they have to deal with their addictions alone.

They feel like they have to manage their life choices alone.

They feel like they have to battle depression and anxiety alone.

They feel like they are alone.

We need to go find those people, and we need to be with them.

And look, as a world class introvert I understand the cold sweat some of us are breaking in to.

Be with people? Talk to them? Open up to them? Heck no!

Which is why the promise at the end of this text is so very vital.

We need to trust the one who is with us.

Jesus did not promise us that he would be with us so that we could keep right on doing what we like to do.

He didn’t promise to be with us so that we could sit on the couch.

He didn’t promise to be with us so that we could keep things the way they always were.

He didn’t promise to be with us so that we could have a church that we alone are comfortable with.

He didn’t promise to be with us so that we could live a life of mediocrity.

He promised to be with us because he knew we’d need to go with someone we can trust.

Making disciples, living this Jesus way is difficult work. That’s why he’s with us.

Showing people that God loves them just as they are is awkward. That’s why he’s with us.

Teaching people the way of Jesus is going to require that we are living it ourselves. That’s why he goes with us.

Building a church that values family, belonging, youth, experimentation, living life together, and missional action is no simple task.

That’s why we trust the one who goes with us.

And that trust has some real world requirements. But we’ll talk about those next week.

To close today, I for one am going to start…going.

I hope you’ll come with me!