think about missions in another way. I want you to think of Missions as Discipleship—or, Discipleship as Missions. At its core, when we go on missions, we set out to make disciples; when we make disciples, we live on mission. The two flow naturally from one another, and when we limit our minds to huts in the middle of the jungle, we limit our ability to leverage our influence with the people around us. A life on mission is the inevitable result of someone seeking to obey the commands of the God they love. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will obey my commands.” (John 14:15) His final commandment to his disciples and, effectively, every Christian after them, was simple: go make disciples. You will find the Great Commission in Matthew 28. “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20) Paul gives his version of the Great Commission in 2 Timothy 2. “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrusted to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:1-2) Making disciples is in the DNA of a Christian, which means missional living is in the DNA of a Christian. We are instructed to entrust the Gospel of Jesus Christ to faithful people who will, in turn, teach others. God has always started significant movements in small places. The Cappadocian Fathers—the three men responsible for nailing down orthodox theology on the Trinity—were discipled in their home by Macrina, the older sister of two of them. McMakin, a farmhand in North Carolina, encouraged a young Billy Graham to attend a revival service. At which, Billy believed in Jesus Christ for salvation. Cross Church Senior Pastor Nick Floyd had his life changed in his ninth-grade Bible class here at Shiloh, taught by Ms. Judy Holzman. God can use anyone, anywhere, at any time to accomplish His purposes. He uses people who view their lives as an outpost for His mission in the world. This is also true in the Bible. Moses brought Joshua to meet with God (Exodus 33:11), and then Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land. (Joshua 3). Hannah desperately wanted to see God and gave her son, Samuel, to the Lord (1 Samuel 1). Samuel was Israel’s final judge, and God used him to anoint King David as king over Israel. (1 Samuel 16). King David wasn’t just a King. He was a poet, singer, and songwriter who wrote 73 out of the 150 Psalms in our Bible. Consider Jesus himself, who, though He was the Son of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped and became a servant. (Philippians 2:68) Jesus invested his life in twelve disciples and a few other traveling women. (Luke 8:1-3) He chose three of the twelve to be his closest disciples: Peter, James, and John. Peter preached the first sermon after the Holy Spirit descended upon the church (Acts 2), James was the first of the twelve disciples to be martyred for preaching the Gospel (Acts 12:1-5), and John wrote five books in our new testament, including the Revelation of Jesus Christ that gives us a grand vision of our ultimate reality of worshiping Jesus now and forevermore. (Revelation 4-5) Now, let’s turn our eyes inward for a second. Consider how the people around us would be impacted by each of us fully embracing a missional lifestyle. Consider your family, coworkers, or the young person at church. What impact could we make on their lives by embracing FEATURE STORY 19
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