The road was narrower than when I first chose it for a shortcut between two highways. While I was somewhat concerned that the road had been getting narrower, and that now there was grass between the two rows of tracks, I still had hope that it would go through to the other highway. After all, it was a nice day to travel, and we had nearly a full tank of gasoline. The worst that I could foresee was retracing ten or fifteen miles, and being the one who would provide a good laugh for the family. But my optimism burst like a bubble when we saw a fence that a rancher had placed across the road.
The mapmaker, anyone having a copy of his map, and the neighbors would have known better, but I didn't. Our Lord, who is the Great Mapmaker, has provided an inspired "Map." Sometimes we say that this Map, the Bible, is sufficient for faith and practice. Sometimes we say that it is sufficient for counseling. Surely we believe that the Scriptures are sufficient for developing a philosophy of Christian ministries.
Or, leaving the "map" analogy, isn't it reasonable to use the analogy of a "battle plan?" The battle is the Lord's. He is the Commander, we are his soldiers. It is our duty to follow the plan that He has revealed in the Bible.
Unfortunately, sometimes believers see any questioning as an attack on some Christian leader whom they love and admire. Loyalty to godly leaders is good. But shouldn't we be sufficiently loyal to God to be willing to rethink our philosophies of ministries to be sure that we are following His commands faithfully?
How do you suppose God evaluates a ministry? We tend to be pragmatic. We look at results. We may say, "Look at what we are accomplishing." And we sound more holy when we say, "Look at what the Lord is doing." But, what if we have taken an approach that is diametrically opposite to the "marching orders" that God has given? Even if the results seem to be favorable, even overwhelming, is there ever any real success in disobeying God?
Reconsidering The Great Commission
After His resurrection, Jesus gave what is generally called "The Great Commission." A commission is made by someone greater in rank or authority, and a commission places a responsibility on the lesser person to perform as commanded. Since The Great Commission is written in the form of a command, and since it was given by God the Son, it is correctly called a commission.
As commonly translated, Jesus said: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matt. 28:19-20).
Does "Go ye therefore" apply just to missionaries, or to all believers? "Go" may seem to imply going to a foreign land, and "all nations" may demand that some go to foreign lands, but "all nations" includes our native land. For The Great Commission to be fulfilled, some must go to foreign lands, but others might just go across the street or across town.
There is another factor to consider: "Go ye" is not the best translation.1-3 An expanded translation that better reflects the Greek text is:
Let's take this expanded translation of the first part of The Great Commission and tack on a part of verse 20:
God has commanded us to make disciples, and to teach our disciples to do the things that He has commanded us to do. Therefore, we are to make disciples who will, in turn make disciples. This means we are to nurture our disciples to reproductive maturity.
Expanding to clarify the command to make reproductive disciples:
Implications of The Great Commission
If the original hearers of The Great Commission were commanded to make reproductive disciples (and they were), then the disciples of the original hearers were to make reproductive disciples, and the command to make reproductive disciples is on every believer of every generation. Make no mistake, making reproductive disciples is not a gift given to a few. It is a command to all.
If each believer won and discipled one person each year, and if each newly-discipled believer won and discipled one person per year, starting with one believer, the number of believers in any year (not considering death of any believer or failure to win and disciple another) would be "2" taken to an exponent equal to the number of years.
Starting with one person (at the year "zero"), at the end of one year there would be two believers, at the end of two years there would be four believers, at the end of three years there would be eight believers, and at the end of four years there would be sixteen believers. Assuming that this mathematical increase were continued for thirty-six years, the total number of Christians would exceed 6 billion.
This mathematical example shows the power of God's plan for explosive reproduction of believers. His plan is for Christianity to increase geometrically, just as human population increases geometrically. If any method of evangelism does not produce increases that are geometric, they cannot possibly keep up with the exploding world population. The results are like walking up a down escalator.
Two Great Commissions
If we have been given a Great Commission for the purpose of bringing the world's population into the faith, isn't it reasonable that God would give another Great Commission for keeping succeeding generations in the faith? Otherwise, a world evangelized in a few generations would again become pagan by failure of a single generation to evangelize and disciple their children.
But we are not left to our theories. God has commanded: "Fathers . . . bring your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord " (Eph. 6:4). God has not only commanded that children be nurtured in the faith, God has commissioned fathers with the authority and responsibility of fulfilling this Second Great Commission.
Foundations for the Second Great Commission
Clearly, God has commissioned fathers with the authority and the responsibility for bringing up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. But the first institution ordained by God was marriage (Gen. 1:27.28). It is the plan of God that husbands and wives model, for their children, their devotion to God and their faithful fulfillment of their respective roles in marriage (Deut. 6:5-7; Luke 6:40; Eph. 5:22-25).
God's plan for keeping succeeding generations strong in the faith is Christian marriage, godly husbands and godly wives, working together to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Truly, the foundations of the Second Great Commission are godly fathers and godly mothers.
A Philosophy of Church Ministries
Undisputedly, the local church is to be a place for worship, learning, prayer, and fellowship. But what ministries or programs should be added to these basic functions? How should they be prioritized?
We have seen that God has given Two Great Commissions. The success or failure of Christianity rests on obedience to both of them. What part should the local church take in obeying the Two Great Commissions? It is important to remember that neither of these Two Great Commissions were given to organizations or buildings. Neither organizations nor buildings can obey them.
If pastors, other leaders, and members of local churches believe that The Great Commission of Matthew 28 was given to be obeyed, then priority must be given to nurturing believers to reproductive maturity, and to encouraging them to obey The First Great Commission.
If pastors, other leaders, and members of local churches really believe that God has commanded fathers to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, then programs and provisions of the local church must be designed around this Second Great Commission. The church must help Dad fulfill his God-ordained role in child rearing. God has ordained that child rearing be a family function. Therefore, a biblical philosophy of ministries must be built on God's plan for marriage and family with full recognition that God has commissioned fathers as the ones responsible for child rearing.
In addition to fulfilling the commands embraced in these Two Great Commissions, what can be added to a philosophy of Church ministries? What can be added in the way of church programs? Anything that appears to be biblical if it does not dilute, delay, or replace individual obedience to The Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20, if it does not dilute or replace the centrality of marriage and family in the plan of God, and if it does not dilute, delay, or replace individual obedience to The Great Commission of Ephesians 6:4.
Why should you consider redeveloping your philosophy of Christian ministries? Surely, everyone who wants to please God wants to follow his plan. Who would want to be asked by our Lord, "Why didn't you obey me?" Who would feel comfortable responding, "Sorry, Lord, we were too busy doing it our way"?
End Notes
2. The verb that is translated "go" (if transliterated exclusively from the English alphabet and without accent marks) is "poreuthente" which is an aorist particle of "poreuo." In A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Second Edition, Copyright 1958, page 692, the lexicographers make this double-pronged comment: "The aorist participle (of poreuo) is often used pleonastically to enliven the narrative . . . in any case the idea of going or traveling is not emphasized."
3. Referring to the root verb, and not to the aorist participle in particular, also on page 692, the lexicographers describe two other ways that the verb is used: (1) "conduct oneself, live, walk" and (2) "of life generally."
Copyright 1998 by Wendell E. Miller
Downloaded from http://www.biblical-counsel.org
May be reprinted and distributed in quantities if distributed free or at cost, and if
copyright, download, and permission information is included.