Thinking About the Great Commission

"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been give 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age'" (Matt. 28:18-20).

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

These verses have become so familiar in Baptist life that they have lost their edge. We nod our head to them, acknowledge that they somehow represent what we should be doing, but we often ignore them in our practical everyday life. Matthew 28:18-20 is often referred to as the Great Commission, but in reality it is simply the commission. Calling it "great" may stress its importance, but more often, it leads to the conclusion that there are lesser commissions. Assuming there are lesser commissions, believers can preoccupy themselves with identifying and performing the lesser, while ignoring the Great Commission. Jesus' words in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8 (see also Mark 16:15, Luke 24:44-49, John 20:19-23) point they way for the church. The commission defines our function; it is a road map for who we are to be and what we are to do.

A few posts back I made reference to the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR). The GCR is a heart cry for churches that cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to refocus their resources in order to fulfill the Great Commission. Much is being said concerning the GCR, and more will be said leading up to the SBC annual meeting in June of 2010. I want to point you a few voices that deserve attention.

The first voice I want to point out is Dr. Thom Rainer, the president of Lifeway Christian Resources. In a recent blog post he reminds us that a Great Commission Resurgence will never happen if it is a top-down process. The GRC must begin within each member of each cooperating church before it will take hold in the SBC. He posts ten questions to help us think through the process on our own. They are as follows:

1. Do I read and study my Bible daily so I can know what the Word says about a Great Commission lifestyle?
2. Do I pray each day that God will lead me to a Great Commission lifestyle?
3. Do I need to reconcile with someone so that God can truly use me in the fulfillment of the Great Commission?
4. Am I willing to change my lifestyle materially so I might give more and be less dependent on the things of the world?
5. Do I really show concern for the poor and hurting in this world and in my community?
6. Would my family testify honestly that I lead a Great Commission lifestyle with them?
7. Do I have a gentle and loving spirit that reflects the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life?
8. Do I major on minors?
9. Do I see the speck in others’ eyes without seeing the plank in mine?
10. Does my life reflect genuine joy?

Another important voice is Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Mohler recently gave an address concerning the future of the SBC. His address is very thought provoking. He warns that failure to realign ourselves around the Great Commission may mean greater decline in Southern Baptist life. The Baptist Press published an article on his address here. Dr. Mohler's blog, "Conventional Thinking," focuses on his thoughts concerning the SBC, and he also has another site, "AlbertMohler.com."

I will being posting more on the GCR in the days to come, but for now these resources combined with those in the previous post should help to guide our thinking. Hopefully we will begin asking the difficult questions, and find ourselves answering with Great Commission-focused minds.