Growth vs. Mission, Part 3

We've been exploring the supposed tension between discipleship and evangelism in our last few posts. Which should the church pursue first: outreach or growth? Should evangelism or discipleship be the church's focus? As we discussed, once we understand the call of Jesus as a call to intimate relationship with Himself rather than a mere change in our eternal address, we quickly find that the pursuit of discipleship and missional outreach is in fact one and the same.

What would be some of the practical results in our lives if we truly believed that discipleship and evangelism are one and the same? First, our message would take on the radical, dramatic nature that our Leader always intended it to be. As Jesus said, "those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples" (Luke 14:33). Rather than softpedaling the gospel, proclaiming such a radical call to discipleship conveys a far more difficult message; it's far easier to say a prayer to obtain "fire insurance" than to leave everything to follow Jesus! Though this call to discipleship might be radical and difficult for many to accept, it is at the same time a message that the world around us longs to hear. To paraphrase Shane Claiborne, our problem is not that we challenge people too much, but that we don't challenge them enough! The world will not beat down our door for legal or doctrinal requirements, but they will beat down our door if we demonstrate an earnest, intimate, and personal relationship with our God! This is what prompted the disciples, after witnessing Jesus' deep connection to the Father, to ask "Lord, teach us to pray" (Lk. 11:1). If we as Christians were to be known as people of love, depth, and intimate connection to God, we can expect nothing less than was the case with our Leader.

Second, our definition of what constitutes “the church” would undergo a radical shift. Traditionally, evangelism has been defined as the attempt to bring people across the line of faith in Jesus, or as coarse as it may sound, to “bring people into the club” of the church. Once they cross the line of faith, the next goal in the sequence becomes spiritual growth and discipleship in the ways of Jesus. Obviously, such thinking assumes a fenced or “bounded set” view of the church, where a clear line or fence exists between those inside the church and outside the church. Though this fenced definition of the church has validity to some extent (one is not truly part of the “Body of Christ” unless they actually have crossed that line of faith, for instance), it is only of value if we are concerned with the bare minimum requirements for salvation. And as we have discussed, Jesus calls human beings to loving relationship with Himself, an offer and challenge that transcends the bare minimum requirements of law.

However, once we understand the call of Jesus as the same call to radical discipleship for both those inside and outside the church, we will naturally exchange our traditional bounded set view of the church for one of a centered set, or movement towards the “well” of Jesus. In this centered set view of the church, a church community ceases to be defined as a people who have crossed a mere doctrinal boundary, but as a radical discipleship movement towards this center “well” of Jesus Himself. Under this model, all are welcome in the church who are moving towards the well of Jesus, irrespective of their distance from Him. Conversely, those who are moving away from the well (even if right next to the well originally!) can expect to be challenged and corrected in such a community. Most importantly, the centered set model removes the too-prevalent “us vs. them” mentality and allows the church to incarnate Jesus to a watching world while losing none of the Body of Christ’s identity in the process.

Thirdly, if we really believed discipleship and outreach were one and the same, we as Christians would quickly be liberated from the "pressure to evangelize." When “sharing our faith” is reduced to a persuasive sales pitch to “make a decision” for Jesus, such efforts naturally take the form of pressure to both ourselves and our listeners. Most of us know that feeling of anxiety rising in the pit of our stomach when spiritual topics arise in conversation in the workplace, for instance; in the traditional evangelism paradigm, a clever turn of the conversation towards the person of Jesus becomes the very essence of outreach! “All of the effort I have put into this relationship now comes down to this moment!”, we reason. When “putting in a word for Jesus” in hopes of a conversion becomes our focus in this way, we naturally will feel immense pressure and anxiety in that moment.

However, when we recognize Jesus calls mankind to discipleship rather than a mere decision, outreach and mission takes an entirely different, pressure-free form. Since Jesus calls us to make disciples rather than converts, I am now free to simply share the work of God in my own life, and can do so in a free, non-anxious, non-coercive manner. I can now share this work no less freely than I do with my believing friends or family, as I recognize the call of Jesus upon our lives as the same call He extends to those far from Him! As I see the work of God in every person around me, calling them to devotion to Himself, I can now affirm that wooing of the Spirit wherever it is encountered, helping those around me recognize the call of Jesus on that level of their deepest desires. When we exchange the evangelism paradigm for one of discipleship, sharing the legal requirements of salvation in every situation is no longer mandatory, and I am now free to exhibit with my life as well what devotion to Jesus looks like. Needless to say, such a pressure free approach naturally would produce a response to the gospel that coercive sales pitches cannot.

By His grace, may His church truly understand and accept His call to discipleship in this way, and seek to make disciples of all nations as our Leader has commanded!