July 30, 2001

Lessons for August 12

FAMILY BIBLE STUDY:
The church's mission is worth completing at all costs
___ Matthew 28:16-20; Acts 1:1-8
___By Bobby Dagnel
___First Baptist Church, Nederland
___Several years ago, I came across a story about CBS correspondent Eric Sevareid, whose career spanned five decades of service in Washington, D.C. He recounted an event concerning a fellow correspondent he had known for years. Sevareid said this man was the most influential and well-connected of all correspondents. He knew past presidents, leaders of Congress, cabinet members and bureaucrats well. He knew everything about everyone but never used the knowledge he had. He summarized it by saying this correspondent forgot why he was in Washington; he forgot his purpose.
___What a potentially prophetic parable of our Lord's church. It can easily happen that we fall into the trap of just doing business as usual and forget why we are here. The value of this week's ever-familiar passage is that it beckons us to revisit our mission and purpose. We don't want to be like the church Vance Havner wrote of that had a sign out front that read "Jesus Only." A storm came through and blew away some of the letters so that what remained was "us Only."
___What Jesus articulates and underscores in Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:1-8 serves as a reminder of the fact that the church is the one organization that does not exist for itself, but for others.
___Many churches appoint special committees and spend months trying to come up with a mission statement. When I read the many brochures that come across my desk promoting a conference on how to lead your church to formulate a mission statement, my first thought is, "Are we that far gone that we don't even know what our mission is?" If such is the case, we do well in examining what historically has been referred to as the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, and Acts 1:8 and the strategy for carrying out this mission.
___Jesus' statement in Matthew 28:19-20 comes, not as an option or suggestion, but a divine imperative. It isn't something we choose to do, but instead is something we have to do. Jesus prefaces his commissioning statement with these words, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (v. 18). We have been commissioned to finish the unfinished business of Jesus.
___This doesn't mean we are on our own. The last words offered by Jesus, as recorded in Matthew's account, were the assurance of his abiding presence, "to the very end of the age" (v. 20). In Acts 1:8, Jesus says to the disciples, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." Knowing the fulfillment of God's commission is dependent upon his power and not our eloquence or abilities should give to us a sense of passion for the work we have been called to perform.
___The Apostle Paul displays a passion for the commission God placed on his life when he writes, "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me" (Colossians 1:29). The Greek word translated as "labor" is one of the most aggressive, vigorous, action-oriented words in the language. Paul is emphasizing that all he is and has goes into bringing persons to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
___Remember the heroic and suspenseful rescue of Capt. Scott O'Grady in the summer of 1995? O'Grady was flying his F-16 over Bosnia at an altitude of 26,000 feet when he was shot down. As he descended under the canopy of his parachute, he prayed, knowing that when he hit the ground he would have only four or five minutes to cover his trail and find cover. Finding a place of refuge and avoiding enemy capture, O'Grady utilized his transmitter to communicate his position.
___The plight of Capt. O'Grady went through not only the normal procedural ranks, but was within hours on the desk of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ultimately the president of the United States. The decision was made that all forces and genius available in the entire arsenal of the military and CIA would be marshaled to rescue one man.
___It sounds similar to the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 and the actions of the shepherd who left 99 sheep to go find one.
___Thousands of military and personnel from several intelligence organizations worked together and coordinated their efforts to rescue just one soldier. So well had their work been done that when rescue helicopters touched down, they were on the ground less than three minutes. O'Grady was correct when he pointed to others as being the real heroes.
___You can be sure that, among those planning the rescue, there wasn't a Baptist among them because no one asked, "How much will this cost?" Though astronomical, the question was never one of expense but worth. When we have a passion for our purpose, worth is the first question and cost is the final question.
___Churches that impact their communities recognize this. The churches that will continue to make a difference in the 21st century will be those who are passionate about the mission of the church as given by our Lord.

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