Has the Church Forgotten Its Mission?

Has the Church Forgotten Its Mission?

by Chad Schramm

an article originally published by Always Ready Ministries

Suppose you were lost and the people of the church thought the work of the church was to be done at the church.
—Jimmy Draper—

[W]e are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: “Be reconciled to God.”
—the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:20—

Consider carefully with me the New Testament—mainly the life of Jesus and the commands He gave His disciples, as well as the Book of Acts. Would you say the modern-day church is doing its job? Now, I understand this can be a divisive question, because we have our own preferences with regard to church and worship styles. These preferences aren’t my primary focus here. I am not convinced that Jesus is overly concerned about various elements in a worship service as long as the church genuinely is upholding the gospel. I simply want to ask, “Were Jesus with us in the flesh today, on what would He focus? Let’s look at Matthew 22:34-40, where our Lord said the greatest commandment is to love God wholeheartedly and the second greatest is to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Let’s grasp some context here. The Pharisees, who were the religious leaders at the time, were under the Old Covenant which had over 600 commands to follow. Yet after quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, Jesus affirmed in their presence that “[a]ll the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

The Primacy of Love

Jesus’ primary focus was love. The Trinity is a great example of love. Love does not exist without humility and submission, which we see in the relationships of the members of the triune Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We won’t get into the theology of the Trinity today, but I implore you to dig into this later.

Again, love is primary. Love for God must come first and captivate us. Then we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. The word translated neighbor means “any other person.” This is entirely consistent with Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan, a story Jesus told in response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” In a stroke of brilliance, He answered the question, but with a twist. He was asked to identify the neighbor, but He responded by telling the questioner how to be a neighbor. Jesus’ emphasis was on loving people by meeting their needs.

You see, our faith is incomplete if we do not love other people—and here I mean not just Christians or people we like, and not just individuals with whom we are compatible or comfortable. We must love all people, and all kinds of people.

Love in Action

So now let me bring you back to my original question. Consider the two commands Jesus upholds as those upon which hang “all the Law and the Prophets.” Are modern-day Christians fulfilling these expectations?

Jesus never required people to gather in a building. He never recommended a particular style of music. He wasn’t worried about our auditoriums, chapels, or where the cross hangs in our sanctuaries. The early church actually met in homes. It isn’t that buildings or elements of worship aren’t important, but that they’re not supremely important. Jesus performed His ministry outside a religious building, and He focused mainly on the who. Furthermore, our Lord often sought out people who weren’t all that religious. Yes, He taught the Jews, and it is a logical conclusion He would teach Christians today. However, Christ went out among the people who needed Him most, loved them, and met their needs; and He did all this with a perfect balance of grace and truth. Time and time again He forgave people, showed them a better way, and challenged them to follow Him.

Every Believer’s Job

Loving people and pointing them to Jesus is not a task reserved for pastors and other ministry-related professionals; it’s for every believer. Note that it is a task (singular)—not tasks (plural)—for this is one job that is two-pronged. Also, the selfless love-in-action I am highlighting here is counter intuitive. It leaves its recipients bewildered and under conviction. Read Matthew 5:38-48 and Romans 12:9-21 and ask yourself how many people—and whom—you are loving in the ways these passages affirm. My guess is that none of us will have to reflect very long or very hard to realize he or she already has been called to a ministry that will require God’s grace to perform.

A Formidable Task God Enables Us to Accomplish

Before concluding I want to dig even a bit more deeply. Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers—and to us—these timeless words about love.

13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (Go here for the entire chapter.)

To love in this manner is a very tall order. While we must share the truth with great concern and passion (love “finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth”), we also must care more about people than about winning arguments (love “is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs”). Additionally, when we authentically love others, we will not wait for them to show up in church to hear a fine sermon by our pastor. Instead, we will go out and meet them where they are and love them as they are.

Loving people also means being ready to apologize when you are in the wrong and being quick to forgive. And it means spending quality time with people and meeting their felt and unfelt needs, to the degree that we can, as Jesus did. Mark it down! This inevitably will involve putting others’ needs ahead of our own desires. Yet God enables us to do this work!

My Mission

Has the church forgotten its mission? My question is not primarily geared to specific churches or denominations, but to you! The Church of Jesus Christ, after all, is composed of His people. If you call yourself a Christian, you need to ask this question first of yourself. Here are some ways you can ask it.

• • • As a follower of Jesus Christ, have I forgotten that my purpose and mission is to love God first and to love others as I love myself, and that this involves cooperating with the Holy Spirit to help fulfill the Great Commission?
    • Am I loving people sincerely and working to meet their genuine needs?
    • Am I making disciples of Christ?
    • Am I living as one?
    • Am I urging people to be reconciled to God through Christ through both my words and my actions?
    • With God’s help, am I following Christ’s example of love and service?

Have I forgotten?

Chad Schramm is the Student Ministries Director at CedarCreek Church in Whitehouse, Ohio.

January 27, 2019

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