Last week I was visiting a church - as I've been known to do these days - and I heard a sermon about the church being sent out. I was real excited about the title of the sermon, and looking forward to the message - and it was a good message. But have you ever listened to a sermon (or a any speach) and known it was good but at the end you still weren't sure what the speaker was trying to get at?? That's how I felt last sunday.
The person speaking was looking at the passage John 20:19-23 - when Jesus first appears to his apostles after his death/resurection and he gives them peace, says "as the father has sent me, I am sending you" and breathes the holy spirit on them. I had never thought of this verse as the great commission - as it is not the one traditionally used. But the thing that got me was what he said afterwards. He said that american christians are the only christians who replace the "you" in the Bible with their name (ie "as the father has sent me, I am sending Denise"). Okay, fine, americans do weird things. But he brought up how this particular "you" is more of a ya'll - as it is referring to all those in the room where Jesus appeared. So the pastor's claim was that the church is sent, not individual people.
And I do agree, the entire body of believers is called to go out and do the work of Christ - not just a few people in the church. On the other hand, unless each individual in a church goes out, the whole church doesn't go out. Without each person feeling responsible and doing something - the whole church won't do anything. Does that make sense? It does in my head.
So anyway, like i said - I think the speaker was trying to say something bigger but i just didn't get it. The rest of the message had to do with the church being the church and letting the world be the world; and being a people that relationally engage the gospel.
My favorite part is probably when he spoke about how we've professionalized the church.
anyway - I've run across some lists of scriptures i made a couple years ago, and I'm trying to figure out what I wanted to do with them. So, if youdon't see me write about them in the next few weeks - someone buzz me an e-mail and remind me to stop procrastinating :)
2 comments:
American Christians are not the only ones who replace the you in scriptures with their own names. My Japanese Christian friends, one of whom is a pastor I highly respect, also do this. I have many international friends that do that. Where he came up with that idea I do not know. I don't necessarily disagree with his overall concept, but it sounds as if his execution of the point was a bit off.
I don't know either - he was a guest speaker at a church I was visiting - i can't remember his name off hand. Apparently he's also written some books which didn't exactly comfort me.
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