If you thought that following Jesus would be blah and boring, you were obviously thinking of the wrong Jesus.
Seriously, did you read Matthew 10? Following Jesus is not for the faint of heart! What an incredible picture of a life lived with purpose! What a powerful image of total dependence on God! If reading Matthew 10 doesn’t wake up your spiritual life, you’d better check your pulse since you might be dead.
As I reflect on the text for day 10 of my #DailyMatthew journey, I am struck with what Jesus said as he started his instructions to the twelve disciples. “Do not go among …” (10:5). Huh?
Jesus came to start a radical spiritual revolution and save the world, but he didn’t want his disciples to go to certain groups of people? I thought Jesus loved everyone. Why did he pick and choose where his disciples were to go?
Before we get all worked up, though, I wonder if Jesus was simply using a basic principle of leadership. One step at a time. Yes, the mission of God needed to reach the entire world, but it wasn’t going to happen in one day. In fact, the mission is still proceeding today, and if you are a follower of Jesus, you are expected to be part of the mission.
I think, if I am reading it correctly, that Jesus was teaching his disciples that even though the need was everywhere, they had the capacity to only serve God somewhere. Followers of Jesus are not expected to be all things to all people in all places all the time. Sounds ridiculous when you read it, right? But I wonder if some of us in ministry act like it is true. Especially in ministry leadership.
One church cannot meet the needs of everyone. It is impossible. And if we try, it actually reduces what we can do. I believe that God enables some churches to focus on some ministries areas, and other churches to focus on other ministry areas.
It is only when our churches work together that the full mission of God proceeds
If we share a common theology and mission, then our churches can excel at different ministries. Rather than being exhausted and mediocre, we can instead be focused and effective! If the original disciples needed to be focused, odds are, so do we.
The question, then, is where is the somewhere that God wants you to serve?
Mark
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