Which way for Wesley Mission?

18 May 2008

Matthew 28:19-20

The world in which we live has radically changed – we see such change all around us. In the realm of technology, in the changing aspects of society across the world and the way people think we see examples of that changing world.

Kevin Costner stars in the film Field of Dreams which tells of an Iowa farmer called Ray Kinsella. All his life, he was searching for his dreams. Then one day, his dreams came looking for him. He was asked, in his dreams, to build a baseball pitch in his cornfield, on which the ghosts of players of a long-dead team would reappear. The team was made up of some of the famous Chicago White Sox team who were banned from the World Series in 1919 for throwing the series.

It was incredible that, seventy years later, a team should play to such a standard, except to say that the shape of the field, the rules of the game and so on remained fundamentally the same. In life, things are very different – if you can imagine your great-grandparents living in the present context, there may need to be a whole re-education program. Many ordinary things have changed beyond all recognition, let alone our view of the world and our own understanding of our place within it.

We come to the close of Matthew’s gospel and we are placed in the context of a mountainside. It was a setting that would be replete with meaning for the early disciples and those in the earliest Christian communities. Jesus had made arrangements to meet the disciples (v.16) and it is a place that exposed both their inner-desires and their obvious struggles, exemplified in the words that tell us “some worshipped but some had their doubts” (v.17).

It must have been a very challenging time as the disciples, who were aware of his risen power, began to anticipate the momentous journey ahead. When Jesus Christ spelled out what was to happen by way of a command … it would put their struggles and ill-conceived perceptions into real perspective.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 19-20)

Despite the fact that we are celebrating a long history and have witnessed change in each and every generation, there are some things that do not change – and at the heart of the unchangeable is the Great Commission. It is by holding firm to the unchanging that we are able to tackle with confidence the future with all its inevitable change.

There are those who question the historicity of the final words of Jesus, suggesting they reflect a confessional aspect of the early church and that, if Jesus had explicitly given the disciples a worldwide mission, they would have been fearless in their taking it up. Such a view has too small a picture of the work of the Holy Spirit which would be gifted to the disciples. Let us look at the Great Commission in the light of our own mission into the future:

We have a mandate from Jesus Christ - to go into all the world

We remind ourselves that we have a mandate or direction from Jesus Christ himself. It is a mandate that empowers us and reminds us of first principles.

If there are two aspects of the Christian life that we need to recover in a new generation then I would define them as:-

A sense of call – which results in a recapture of both vocation and purpose. Call is not just a religious way of talking about vocation – it is a reminder of One who empowers us in a God-given purpose.
An understanding of authority – which results in a rediscovery of vision and purpose. We need to examine this more closely.

We resist the concept of authority because the word is associated with obedience and the lack of choice. There is no joy attached to doing something just because you have been told to do it. However, when we take the conversation out of the context of ‘authoritarianism’ we would have to say that the calling of Jesus Christ is at the heart of all we say and do.

As we unpick the many complexities we have brought to the work in which we are engaged, we find that behind everything is an essential call from Jesus Christ.

When the Lord instructed his disciples to go into all the world, there was no word about institutions, buildings and programs. There was no instruction about style of worship, cell group program or particular leadership pattern. These things have become the response to the call. We have a mandate from Jesus Christ which:

we can ignore, because there are many things that will saturate our time and formulate our priorities – and consequently allow us to forego the call of Christ.
requires contextualising. The words and ideas of yesterday will not be enough for the future. We will need to hold firm to the core of the gospel and sit free on a ride that can at times be uncomfortable – but ultimately will be rewarding.
must be taken to all the world. The world is not only geographical, but sociological, philosophical and missiological. There is no area of life, thought and outreach which we can duck out of. ‘The world’ is more than spatial – and is actually found in different ways in a city like Sydney.

There is unquestionably an absence of healthy authority in our twenty-first century western world. Into such a vacuum so many unhealthy expressions of fundamentalism have stepped in, claiming allegiance from unsuspecting people.

We accept his calling because we acknowledge the authority of Jesus Christ. What a claim! – “All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The entire gospel of Matthew stresses the authority of Jesus Christ:

Authority in his teaching (7:29).
Authority manifest in his healing (8: 1-13).
Authority seen as he forgives sins (9:6).
Authority over the power of evil (10:1).

As we come to the close of the gospel, Matthew makes it perfectly clear that Jesus has ALL authority.

There are times when we need to stand back and affirm that our mandate is from Jesus Christ and it is to go into all the world!

The kingdom of God lay at the heart of the teaching of Jesus and this kingdom was within his disciples – and is within his people today. It would be foolish to assume that the claims of Christ are established in more than a minority of people today, but the signs of his Spirit’s presence cannot be ignored.

His kingdom exists alongside and within human cultures and societies, focused in women and men in whom the Spirit of God dwells. Such a presence is quiet, unobtrusive and yet is dynamic in the way it changes the world around.

During the past few weeks, I have spent a number of days visiting our sites and wanting to really understand what it is that makes our people tick. I cannot tell you how proud I am of the way our folks really do mission and minister to people in need.

I think of the young person who has lived with abuse and turns to one of our centres to find friendship and those who can mentor him in a most creative way.
I think of the person in financial debt who is crushed by the reality of the situation in which they find themselves, but someone sits and listens and, through a mixture of compassionate care and professional expertise, is able to provide a way for that person to walk out with dignity to face the challenge, knowing they are not alone.
I think of the young people attending one of our centres, who have never known what it is to talk about themselves to others with any degree of sensitivity and purposefulness – until one of our art therapists helps them to discover that they can talk about themselves … and they not only make some models that describe themselves, but they stand up before a thousand young people at school to share their story.
In these areas too we become conscious of the work of the Holy Spirit, calling us to share with people at their point of need.
The Greek verb that is translated ‘go’ is not actually just a command, but a present participle – ‘going’. So a better translation might be – ‘While you are going, make disciples of all nations.' Of course, that is the only way to go into all the world!

We have a mission to deliver - making disciples

‘Making disciples’ is a far more accurate description of the mission we have been called to deliver than ‘adding numbers’, ‘planting churches’ or ‘making members’. The very concept that originates in Jesus moves people along in the work of the Holy Spirit which transforms life. If ever there was a time when we needed to be concerned about our spiritual wellbeing it is now.

We are close to the release of our Report on Homelessness which will clearly recognise the diverse needs of human beings. Making disciples is about reaching out to the total experience of people … and, therefore, their complete need.
We know all too well that Christian communities which only concentrate on the heart and the spiritual needs of people leave those people with ultimate dissatisfaction. A whole gospel is needed for a whole person.
We must not underestimate the importance of spiritual nurture. Not very long ago I found myself in a prison setting with men from Pacific Islands testifying to the fact they had now found Christ in prison, but recalling what they had been taught as children and young people. We never waste the gospel – for it takes root in people’s lives. I couldn’t help but think of the parable of the sower!

We are quite clear that we have a mission which God has given to us – and failing to deliver has consequences. However, we are called to do it together. In Aged Care, working alongside those who long for independence of life, in our community and family services, in education and in our congregations … all of us are aware that we are called to help people grow as human beings in our response to God in Christ.

Karl Barth famously asserted that faithful discipleship required living with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. This saying was from an interview with Time magazine in 1967. The imagery suited Barth’s generation, of course. Today, we might more easily refer to the electronic means of websites and blogs, television and movies … and so on. The real issue is – Being a Christian in a world that is changing beyond all recognition.

We must not look back with sentimentality. I love the story of an 87 year old woman who was interviewed on television. She was asked, “What were things like in your day?” Smiling, she replied firmly: “This is my day!”

As I talk about the changing aspects of our mission, I cannot avoid asking questions about that core belief and value that unites all our generations, for alongside the changing features of our missionary context are the unchanging truths of the gospel.

The on-going allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
The continual outpouring of love and compassion through a committed and involved people.
The perpetual sense of grace which is mediated through the ministry of the whole people of God.
The maintaining of the importance of family life as the basic unit of care, nurture and the celebration of human life.

Christians are often the most resistant to change, but through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we are enabled to become part of a changing world. Set in the heart of the city, we recognise it is changing all around us.

In Manchester in the United Kingdom in 1988, less than a thousand people lived in the city centre. Ten years later the figure had more than doubled to 2,100. Another decade on and the population is nearing 18,000 in the city centre; the growth rate is 25% a year – and this is being replicated across the world.

In February this year, we passed the point at which more than half the world’s population now lives in a city and, according to the United Nations’ Population Fund, by 2030 the number of city inhabitants will be about 60%. No thinking about mission can ignore this fact. The other side of this is that those who don’t live in cities face particular challenges … our rural and outback communities often are starved of resources.

The new city dwellers cover the whole spectrum of life. The “desperate poor” are moving into our cities. John Drane calls them “individuals for whom life cannot get any worse, and who might just manage to find a better life for themselves in the relative anonymity of an urban environment.” Alongside them are those who Richard Florida called “the creative class”. Some have named them “the urban tribes”, often younger people who come together to create new kinds of community. Christians are sometimes harsh regarding a trendy expression of life, more often than not because they just don’t understand it. The poor, the trendy and the rich live alongside each other. Modern Sydney bears all these hallmarks.

The term ‘disciple’ was the most popular term for the early followers of Jesus. We need to recognise that it means far more than being ‘a convert’ or ‘a believer’. A useful word might be the concept of ‘apprentice’. A disciple attaches herself or himself to a leader and identifies with them in learning and living. This was the pattern of the New Testament community (2 Timothy 2: 1-2).

We have a message to communicate - baptising and teaching

The Great Commission has a wonderful roundness about it which touches the whole of life. It resonates with the way we understand ‘word and deed’. The proclaiming of the gospel in ‘teaching and preaching’ is placed alongside the sacramental sign of ‘welcome’ –

Word and Deed takes us back to the Great Commission itself.

We live in a church atmosphere that views the ‘doing’ aspect of mission as an indication of faith, rather than the real thing itself! As a result, we can feel a minority when we believe it is part and parcel of the Good News. The linking of the two was the way that Jesus exercised his ministry. Forgiveness of sin was a word and an action; healing was a physical transformation, but also an inner-restoration … and salvation covered the whole spectrum of life.

Salvation in the New Testament is a material and spiritual deliverance that brings people to a place of wholeness.

Word and Deed will continue to challenge people who want to tear them apart.

An outdated model of mission puts our work into neat silos – where mission sits in one area, welfare in another, and so on. Despite the fact that the model has run its course, it does not have a sound theological base and needs to be challenged. In the mission of Jesus, we see his total concern for the needs of people. As in the Great Commission, we are given a wider scope for the mission. No longer is it to be restricted to what was described as “the lost sheep of Israel” (10:5 f.) – all the restrictive limitations have been dropped.

God has opened up a new way for us to understand our mission – which is to ALL people.

Word and Deed remains the viable option to respond to human need.

Of course, there will still be those who engage in mission by a sincere concern to retreat in prayer into small communities – and those who will use the badge and brand of the church to set up social welfare agencies, often being concerned to keep ‘God talk’ to a minimum.

However, for close on two hundred years we have believed that Word and Deed belong together. After returning from Hernnhut in Saxony following his evangelical conversion in May 1738, John Wesley was convinced that God was bringing about what he called “an awakening” to the world. Such an experience encouraged him to push back on the unhelpful restrictions and controls being placed upon him. He wrote in a letter in March 1739:

“I look upon all the world as my parish; thus far, I mean that in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right and my bounden duty to declare unto all who are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”

Mission has to be in the specific context in which it is set. On my bookshelf in the study at home, I have some Chronicles of the Twentieth Century, which I used to look at if I was going to preach at a special anniversary, so I could understand the social context in which an event happened. As we move towards two hundred years since the beginning of Wesley Mission, and we start to talk about that, we must recognise how much the world has changed since 1812. But we also need to recognise that our real history goes back to Jesus himself and his call to mission.

I opened this address with the question, “Which Way?” We can respond to the call to mission and we can equip ourselves for a twenty-first century call – or we can sit back and revel in our history. Only the first is a living option.

I am sure we are all called to be a community of faith with practical expression today. The call is for everyone. Hudson Taylor left Pitt Street Methodist Church in Barnsley, Yorkshire, to be a founder of the China Inland Mission. The story is told of a schoolteacher from Scotland with only one leg, who came to him and offered himself for service in China. “Why do you, with only one leg, think of going as a missionary?” asked Taylor. “I do not see those with two legs going, so I must,” replied George Stott. He was accepted.

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