It’s all God’s: Realizations of Missions Part 1: The Work

            Let’s ask a question. “Why missions?” or I guess let me go even broader with that question, “Why professional ministry in general?” How have we gotten to a point where there are an estimated 2.2 million “Christians” on earth, roughly 31%, and we have to hire people to spread the gospel?  Now I must admit, this must sound very strange coming from the mouth of one of those fully supported ministry staffers, who is receiving income from sharing God’s word.  But I want to look at why this is a need.  Is ministry something for a select few paid professionals to engage in, or is it a collective community oriented call of God?

To give a very generic, Sunday school answer to start, I would say we must first look at the great commission.  “Go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Okay, so it seems pretty evident there if we believe what Christ said, we have a mission to make disciples, it is a job of everyone who believes.  Most people stop the argument there.  But let’s continue, lets look deeply and honestly at this.  Why in the world with 31% of the population of the entire world “serving” God in this mission, can we not get the job done without paying people for full time work to complete it?  The only answer I think we can conclude is that we, as the 31%, are not following our commission. 

            Now, Chase, listen, I work hard, 60+ hours a week, so that I can support my family and our lifestyle.  And then I go to church and fellowship on Sunday, and I even gave some money to the homeless guy on the corner.  Are you saying I am not following God’s commission?  Yes, bluntly, that is exactly what I am saying.  Unless we are purposefully engaging in the work of making disciples, growing up other leaders to join in the work of making more disciples and growing the kingdom of God, and being discipled ourselves, we are not following His commission. Now I do not know each of your lives personally and I cannot begin to judge anyone but myself.  But being honest and looking at my life, I cannot honestly say that even though I grew up in a Christian home and have professed Christianity for over 23 years now, that I have truly lived up to the commission that Christ has invited me to.  All I know is that by looking at the world today, looking at the state of our own country today, that we as a body of believers, we as a Church, have failed at living out the great commission daily in our lives. 

Maybe this does not apply to you personally, maybe it does, but the truth is it most certainly applies to the church at large.  We have failed in the great commission.  It is because of this, because we as individuals and as a larger collective have failed at our objective, that we have to outsource our personal jobs to a paid professional.  And the sad thing on top of it, I hate to admit, is that many times the paid professionals are not much better at their work.  Yes, they may be more intentional, but they are still bogged down by their own sins, failures, and desires that they still often cause just as much hurt as joy sometimes. 

            I believe it is because the world is broken, because our church is broken, because we are broken, and failing at our objective, that we need paid professionals to take the intentional time to carry out this work.  It should not have to be this way, yet it is because we have failed.  We are now reliant on these professionals to do the work that was entrusted to us.  My prayer is that this is not always the case. Yes, we may still need some missionaries to travel to remote places where the gospel has not yet reached.  But anywhere a well established church is planted, and the word has taken hold of believers lives, and the Holy Spirit is moving mightily, the church should be able to do its work from that point forward.  Let's awake church, awake, rise up individuals, believers, Christians, and do the work that we were called to do.  Let's love radically, make disciples, do it in the every day, as a part of living and breathing, so that one day we might not need the paid professionals of ministry today.  Let us engage in our call of community work, that flows naturally as an outpouring of being in communion with our Heavenly Father.