While most church communities would agree on this premise, we DON’T all agree on what that larger goal is or should be. Some argue that a church’s primary objective should be to make new disciples – to bring new believers into the fold. It’s an understandable conclusion to draw; after all, Matthew’s gospel famously ends with “The Great Commission,” where Jesus explicitly instructs his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you.” This sure makes it SOUND like the Church’s primary purpose is to recruit new Christians.
But this metric of tracking the Church’s success rate – the number of new disciples added to the fold – doesn’t really hold up in the rest of scripture. Jesus’ earthly life made it pretty clear that he expects more from his followers than merely to establish a global pyramid scheme. And although God did promise Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars, a far more frequent theme of the First Testament (and one that’s reiterated in the New) is that “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.”[1] From the beginning, God’s agenda has been far more concerned with changing this world into something new than with adding more people to an exclusive club.
The “churchy” activities I mentioned before, like taking part in worship, studying the Bible, and yes, even making disciples, are all vehicles through which holy transformation can occur. They help to break us out of the patterns of this world enough that we can imagine an entirely new way of being, and then they inspire us to begin laying the groundwork for God’s kindom. The primary goal of our community, then, is to CREATE CHANGE through our day-to-day operations. Which is the “C” in the ABCs of Boone: “We Create Change…through worship, learning, and service – we celebrate God’s love through worship, we listen and learn from each other, and we serve our fellow human beings with all the gifts God has given us, including our material resources, our compassion, and our time.”
Because of this, I sometimes wonder if we lean on “The Great Commission” a little too much in the Church. Since it comes at the END of Matthew’s story, it leaves us without any explanation of what should come next, AFTER making disciples and baptizing them. Acts 2, on the other hand, is right in the middle of Luke’s account, so it has the opportunity to fill in some of those loose ends left by Matthew. After the events of Pentecost and Peter’s 23-verse explanation of it, the crowd asks the million-dollar question, the same question the Church still asks today: “What should we DO?” Peter’s response is similar to the Great Commission, in that he encourages them each to be baptized, but unlike Matthew’s gospel, the chapter – and the story – doesn’t end there.
It goes on to describe the believers’ new life – which, it seems, was largely focused on worshiping God together, learning from each other, and serving each other (“churchy things”). Through these actions, the community inspired awe, witnessed miraculous wonders and signs, and were united with one another in a new way. They did these things not for their own sake, but because this is ultimately what knowing that Jesus is Lord means to them: it’s more than just going through the motions; it’s actively working to create a better life for everyone, despite how the larger culture operates. And Acts tells us that when the Church worked towards change in this way, the disciples made themselves: “The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.”[2]
So it sounds like we’re on exactly the right track with our mission statement (Matthew’s Commission notwithstanding). But while this may reassure our small community about our approach to ministry, we might also harbor some doubts and anxieties about that last sentence. Maybe making disciples isn’t the PURPOSE of the Church, but it sure sounds like it’s supposed to be a natural consequence of our mission. If God wants us to work towards counter-cultural change, then why is Mainline Protestantism shrinking? If we’re acting in the right way, then why isn’t our own community growing by the leaps and bounds that the early Church seems to have been? What are we doing wrong? Even if membership growth isn’t the end goal, it’s surely at least a good indicator of how faithfully we’re fulfilling the Church’s purpose.
Well…not always. While today’s scripture reading paints a rosy picture of the early church, we also know that it didn’t last forever. The very first community of believers devoted themselves to shared meals of simplicity and gladness – acting counter-culturally to create change – but within a generation, Christians were already falling back into the status quo. Here’s what Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church around 53 CE – about twenty years after the first Pentecost:
“Now I don’t praise you as I give the following instruction, because when you meet together, it does more harm than good. First of all, when you meet together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it. …[W]hen you get together in one place, it isn’t to eat the Lord’s meal. Each of you goes ahead and eats a private meal. One person goes hungry while another is drunk. Don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you look down on God’s churches and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Will I praise you? No, I don’t praise you in this.”[3]
It seems that while the early Church was committed to the change required for the kindom, it soon reverted back to actions that fit comfortably within the expectations of this world.
The fact is that this is the reality of many human organizations (and yes, although the Church belongs to Christ, it is made up of humans). They start out strong, born from the best ideas with the noblest of intentions, and everyone’s on board. There’s often an encouraging explosion of growth while energy is high and excitement spreads. Sometimes, it can last for years, even decades. But after a while, people begin to drift away from the community’s original intentions. They take issue with the way this is done, or they disagree with that principle, and they slowly begin convincing others that their way – the way things were before – is better.
As many church communities (including this one) have found, these dissenters will often splinter off into a separate group that no longer resembles the original organization, often taking many others with them. Those left behind are still committed to the original ideals of the organization, but it’s easy for them to become disheartened by these developments, wondering if maybe their ideals aren’t enough. Even Jesus felt discouraged and alone in Gethsemane. I can’t say that this is what happened in the early Corinthian church (Paul could be an ornery guy, after all, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to argue them back into line quickly) but it just goes to show that these tensions have always existed within the Church.
This is why it’s so important for us to recognize what kind of action REALLY lies at the center of the Church’s purpose. Christianity has seen some of its greatest growth during times that it’s been co-opted for political purposes – but that doesn’t mean that the Church was doing its job. God doesn’t care about numbers if it comes at the cost of the kindom. In contrast, nearly all of Jesus’ followers had fallen away by the time he was nailed to the cross – but that doesn’t mean that his ministry was a failure.
Beloved, the change that we are called to as the Church can look like many things, and not all of it will be celebrated. Sometimes it will look like membership growth…and others, decline. It can be ministries touching dozens of lives, or ministries that only a single person ever attends. It might mean an abundance of resources to share with others, or a deficit budget committed to providing just compensation and fulfilling our existing commitments. Being a godly community doesn’t always mean “accomplishing” according to the world’s values; it means creating change – however small, however limited – that honors the God of love, justice, and mercy that we worship. The Church is called to enact the sort of change that builds up God’s kindom, even when – especially when – it’s unpopular.
Not everyone is up to this challenge. Many fall away when asked to make a stand. We can take heart in the fact that we’re a community made up of those who chose (and choose) to stick around. You are here – whether as a member, a friend, or a first-time visitor – because you recognize the value in a community committed to change rather than numbers, care of others rather than selfishness, divine realities rather than human perspectives.
So, friends, let’s celebrate the sacred call to action that God has given us. Let’s share in the gladness and simplicity with which the early Church community broke bread together. Like them, let’s celebrate God’s love through our worship, listen and learn from one another, and serve our fellow human beings with whatever gifts we’ve been given by God. It’s these simple things that will go the farthest towards helping God’s kindom to break through into our lives, into this whole world. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God has given this ability to the whole church– yes, even us – so let’s not let it go to waste. Let’s act, for heaven’s sake. Amen.
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[1] Isaiah 40:4, NRSVUE.
[2] Notice that this doesn’t say, “Those who were saved,” or “Had been saved,” but “Were being saved.” Our salvation is ongoing, not one-and-done! But I digress…
[3] 1 Corinthians 11:17-22, CEB.
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