Over the past few Sundays, I've been preaching on things that help folks get to know me as a pastor and a preacher. The first Sunday we started with Moses' journey as he was figuring out who God wanted him to be, and that God was going to be with him through the journey. Three Sundays ago we talked about how God calls us to help the L's, the folks that are in need of care and support. Two weeks ago we talked about one of my favorite Bible verses, John 8:32 and how I think it is about one of the most important gifts that Jesus gives to us.
Yesterday, we finished this series by looking at the mission of the church. As United Methodists, we have a wonderful mission statement that does the things that a mission statement is supposed to do.
What makes it good is that it is short, and it points us in the right direction. So often, we get tripped up when we try to tell folks everything we know. I've seen mission statements that were a paragraph long, followed by a vision statement and other items that filled up a lot of space on a page.
Those kinds of things aren't very helpful. We can overwhelm folks with the number of words that we use. We do that because we want folks to know who we are, and we don't want them to think we've mislead them. We also do it because we're afraid that it'll be the only time we get a chance to tell them who we are, so we deluge them with words.
It's really not very helpful to do that. In fact, it can be the thing that turns people away.
Jesus, when he gave this mission to his disciples, didn't overwhelm them with a lot of commands. Instead, he spent his time teaching them and telling them stories. Getting caught up in the details of the moment and telling them the mission would have got them lost. Rather, he relied on what he taught them, and then sent them out. He sent them out to make disciples, baptize, and teach.
How they did those things, he left up to them. He trusted what he taught them, and told them. The same is true for us today. We are called to the same mission. It's a mission that is still as simple and straightforward now as it was then.
As you go out to make disciples, don't worry about if you are doing it the "right" way, or the "wrong" way. Rely on what you have learned, and rely on Jesus' guidance. Most important, go and make disciples!
Just in case you want to know where we're going, take a look at the video below for a quick into on our new series starting next Sunday.
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