Let The Nations Be Glad

In their book, The Great Commission to Worship, Vernon Whaley and David Wheeler takes an in depth look at commandment from Jesus for His followers to go out and spread the Good News of salvation. Today’s Christian seems to have a misconception about their role in evangelism. As the authors stated, “many times in Scripture it appears

(Romans 15:6; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31) He continues by sharing how “the purpose of the church is for the born-again believers within, as well as for the church’s community outside of the local body, whereas the mission, is reserved for the believers and it is what they are supposed to be doing, (110) Malphur also provides the five elements of mission; “first, it is broad, comprehensive, overarching, it is the primary goal which takes precedent over any and all other church mandates and goals. Secondly, it is brief, consisting of a sentence in length. Thirdly, it is Biblical, Fourth, it is a statement, and the fifth element-it is what the ministry should be doing.” (112-113) “Once the mission is developed, it must be communicated.” (126) Vision must be clear, compelling, a picture of what the mission will look like, (128) and it is the ministry’s future. It is personal and once developed it too must be communicated. (143) According to Malphurs, “it can and must be” (128- The author shares how “the mission under no circumstances changes, however, the visions detail and the words used to express them will

The idea behind the book The Great Commission To Worship by David Wheeler and Vernon Whaley is the combining of worship and evangelism, “Thus evangelism and worship have a unique relationship. … many times in Scripture it appears that while God is always our object of worship, the concept of obtaining salvation (evangelism) appears to be the motivation” (11). As stated by the authors this book is the result of an argument between them as to which was more important, worship or evangelism.

My personal view of mission revolves around Servant Leadership or what can be better called “Incarnational leadership”. This is rooted in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, as “He took a towel” (John 13:2-5) and washed Peter’s feet. He was efficient with people, had goals in sight, but was also relational over being task-driven. This kind of leadership produces new churches filled with real purpose and motivation as people are called, appreciated, loved, encouraged, discipled, involved by mentoring and discipleship before they are deployed in ministry (Prov. 27:23; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 22:26; John 13:2-17; 1 Cor. 3- 4; Eph. 4:1-16; Col. 3:13; 1 Thess. 5:13-14; 1 Peter 3:8;

Mission was very important in the development of the early church. The goal during this time was to spread the Christian Faith and to help those in need, just as Jesus did. The people that undertook this mission were sent out by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God.

Subsequently, the church has a mission which is to go into all the nations making disciples, baptizing them, and to teach them to observe the ways of Christ as noted in Matthew 28:19-20. When looking at the differences between the missional model and the attractional model is the missional goes out to win the lost, and the attractional seeks to bring the lost in not focusing the cultural boundaries. Stetzer and Hirsch state, “Missional represents a significant shift in the way we understand the church. As the people of a missionary God, we are entrusted to participate in the world the same way He does—by committing to be His ambassadors.” In retrospect, Hirsch cites that, “The attractional model, which has dominated the church in the West, seeks to reach out to the culture and draw people into the church—what I call outreach and in-grab. But this model only works where no significant cultural shift is required when moving from outside to inside the church.” Both have their uniqueness, however, they are designed to seek and make disciples.

With the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, Jesus seeks to bring about God’s plan for humanity through physical, spiritual, and social healing. His purpose and mission is to prepare the hearts and minds of the people so they can build new lives in God’s kingdom. Jesus often uses stories to illustrate his message

We know several people who have been on short-term mission trips. Perhaps you’ve even been on one yourself and proclaimed to others that you gained more from that trip than the people you went to serve. Maybe you’re a full-time missionary living in another nation (at least for the majority of the year). Most likely, you’re an average church member who knows the Great Commission but doesn’t feel called to long-term overseas ministry. Regardless of where you stand, “Missions” by Andy Johnson is an excellent introduction to missions. Johnson provides readers with ways to be mission-minded, live missional lifestyles, and serve those who are on mission at home and abroad.

In the first chapter of “Christianity Rediscovered” by Vincent J. Donovan he is introducing us to the idea that missionaries now have a poor reputation due to their history. He says “History has offered the opportunity to deflect and distort the meaning of missionary work in every age”. For a long time a missionary was a person spreading the word of God and after years of doing so we have diminished many different beliefs, practices, cultures and history. At the time it was thought to be the right thing, to spread out and share the gospel to help people find meaning and acceptance. In today’s age a missionary is a lot of different things, in many cases it is more focused on the health and physical wellbeing of the people. Many people still share the gospel through missionary work, but in other cases it is more of a material aid. Donovan introduces the book as a voyage of discovery he wants us to put our normal beliefs aside to see his perspective of living a missionaries life and struggling with the fact of if you are helping or hurting.

It has been said that worship is the core or center of mission. The ultimate goal of any missionary is to bring people (entire people groups) into a passionate, relationship with God. John Piper states,

“Now those who were scattered abroad went about [through the land from place to place] preaching the glad tidings, the Word [ the doctrine concerning the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God].” In the teachings of Peter in this letter, he is teaching about a heavenly inheritance or a living hope, “and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,” Additionally, he is teaching the people that they should live holy towards God. “Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15 Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1st Pet.

God has a plan to reconcile His relationship with man after sin entered the world. This plan revolves around making His name known throughout all tribes and nations. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Bible presents God’s missionary purpose for humanity. For this reason, Christians involved in missions will travel to dangerous places to proclaim God’s name and saving power.

Family is an illustration of unity. Naomi and Ruth best describes a story of unity between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Naomi and Ruth story is evidence of two people willing to go the extra mile for one another in spite of the circumstance. Paul was expressing that the church at Philippi do to same, which require having love for one another. Paul’s efforts to help the church was for the glorification of God. Ideally, the gospel of John had the same expectation of God and Jesus Christ. The gospel of John is the illustration of followers of Jesus Christ today. God’ people cannot glorify God in human wisdom, but as true disciple of Jesus Christ in love and fellowship. Therefore, the “big idea” overall, is the hook to engaging believers, as well as non-believers into each sermon. The purpose of each sermon is to make disciples for Jesus Christ, explaining the importance of knowing God, and serving Him with a humble spirit. As a result, a person will observe the choices made and practice daily. A person can see the loss of integrity and obeying God’s word. More importantly, the Body of Christ should purpose to fellowship in love as an example of God’s love for

Now consider the woman who believed she would be healed "if I only touch his cloak" (Matt. 9: 21). Jesus, at the time, was on a mission to heal the dead daughter of a ruler. Similarly today, God has assigned the Church the same mission he gave Jesus. . . .a mission that cannot wait. The worshiping church therefore cannot stay in one place simply because a few stubborn parishioners who, like the woman in Matthew 9, want to touch something

First of all, any missional mental model should be derived from missio Dei itself, which is "the mission of God to bring about redemption of the world" (Sunquist 2013, 7). When we carry this mission out in suffering for God’s eternal glory, we need to imagine how in the future his goodness, his beauty, and his harmony will cover the entire creation. I think it’s necessary for us to have this vision of his glory and be aware that whatever we do is not our own ministry. The idea of us joining the ministry of Jesus Christ is