[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 06/Oct/2024]
This week I attended a get together of church leaders who are part of the Further Faster Network. Not only was it great to catch up with old friends and make new ones, but it was also a time of challenge and inspiration.
One particular speaker, Dr Gavin Adams, who spoke to us from Atlanta via zoom, shared a time when he was a church leader and everything seemed to be flourishing. The building was full on a Sunday morning, and the bank balance was healthy, and yet it became apparent that these easily celebrated wins hid the truth that as a church they weren’t really accomplishing their mission.
So what was their mission. Well here’s a reminder of Jesus’ final words before he ascended to heaven, where he outlines the mission of all his followers, known as the Great Commission:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations”
Matthew 28:19
Jesus wants his followers and therefore the church to put Discipleship front and centre of all that it does. We are called to take others on a journey, where incrementally they move towards becoming like Jesus.
Our mission is to help others find and follow Jesus.
Full auditoriums and engaged attendees feels like success, but that is not our mission! We must not confuse that with discipleship, and we mustn’t let that lead us into complacency. I’m really excited about Alpha starting this week, and that is such an important stage in the discipleship journey, but our challenge is to create conditions where people at all stages of their faith are given opportunities to grow and become a bit more like Jesus.
So, where are you in your faith journey? Are you taking responsibility for your own discipleship? How can the church help and resource you in this? How can you help someone by discipling them?
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Last week’s reflection: Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God by Dennis Ginter
Contributed by Martin Shorey; © Martin Shorey