Make disciples of all nations
Matthew 28 contains what is often cited as the "great commission" of Jesus. I have no idea why this is 'greater' than other commissions of Jesus, such as to feed the hungry, wash the feet of others, or forgive etc. It just has gotten that name in the modern era.
Anyway, the other day I ran across the "great" commission again and I thought for a second what if we have misunderstood this? I am not saying we have, just go with this thought for a second.
Jesus says to the disciples to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I noticed that Jesus does not say to go into the world and make disciples in all nations but make disciples of all nations. Put another way, Jesus does not say to make disciples of Jesus but of all nations.
What does it mean to be a disciple of all nations?
What does it mean to learn from all the nations? What does it mean to respect others in such a way that you feel that you have something to learn from them? What does it mean to be a disciple of the world?
What if Jesus was telling the disciples to no so much make more disciples of Jesus, but what if Jesus is calling the disciples to make disciples of the world.
Christian history can be seen as a religion that has forced others to be like us. Under the banner of "making disciples" we have justified our actions as a Church in the past to make others convert to our way of being. Out of love we try to convince others to abandon their way of life and become like us. It takes a posture of being one who has truth and the gatekeeper of truth and others who are not like us do not have truth.
If however, just for a moment, we entertain the idea that we are to make disciples of all nations, are we being called to make people who are learners of the world? Disciples of the world in such a way that the Christian is one who is not the keeper of truth, but a seeker of truth. A Christian is not one who tries to convert but one who tries to commune with their neighbor. A Christian is not one who tries to make clones of ourselves, but one who acknowledges the worth of others an even (gasp) learn from them?
What if making disciples of all nations was a call to humility and not conversion?
Anyway, the other day I ran across the "great" commission again and I thought for a second what if we have misunderstood this? I am not saying we have, just go with this thought for a second.
Jesus says to the disciples to go into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I noticed that Jesus does not say to go into the world and make disciples in all nations but make disciples of all nations. Put another way, Jesus does not say to make disciples of Jesus but of all nations.
What does it mean to be a disciple of all nations?
What does it mean to learn from all the nations? What does it mean to respect others in such a way that you feel that you have something to learn from them? What does it mean to be a disciple of the world?
What if Jesus was telling the disciples to no so much make more disciples of Jesus, but what if Jesus is calling the disciples to make disciples of the world.
Christian history can be seen as a religion that has forced others to be like us. Under the banner of "making disciples" we have justified our actions as a Church in the past to make others convert to our way of being. Out of love we try to convince others to abandon their way of life and become like us. It takes a posture of being one who has truth and the gatekeeper of truth and others who are not like us do not have truth.
If however, just for a moment, we entertain the idea that we are to make disciples of all nations, are we being called to make people who are learners of the world? Disciples of the world in such a way that the Christian is one who is not the keeper of truth, but a seeker of truth. A Christian is not one who tries to convert but one who tries to commune with their neighbor. A Christian is not one who tries to make clones of ourselves, but one who acknowledges the worth of others an even (gasp) learn from them?
What if making disciples of all nations was a call to humility and not conversion?
Is servant leadership a form of idolatry?
Leadership is a very strong emphasis in the UMC these days. It is one of the Four Focuses of the UMC. There are hundred of books and countless seminars on this subject of being a better leader.
Leadership is a big deal to many organizations and the UMC is no exception.
Some of the conversations in the UMC have understood that when talking about leadership, we are talking about a specific and alternate way of leadership. So the phrase "servant leader" is thrown about when we remember to do so. This is helpful for those who view leadership as being the first to charge solo into battle on a white horse while waving a sword over their head. It is even helpful for those who view the best leaders as those who operate like a CEO or a President.
But even servant leadership is a bit of missing the mark. It still places the emphasis on the individual who is deemed the leader to be the primary actor. If the person is riding horse back into battle or if they are washing feet of their friends, the action is still centered on the leader who is doing all (or most) of the work.
Here is where that view of leadership misses the mark. If we view leadership as a quality that we desire for pastors and lay members of the Church, then is it idolatrous to first focus on the actions of the person we might call the "leader"? Is it not appropriate to first focus on the way in which the Head of the Church (Jesus) is doing and then learn to follow?
What I mean is Christian leadership is not primarily focused on getting people more knowledge so they would know how to act in a situation that comes up. It is not about getting people to dream a dream and get people to "come along". It is not about getting others to be like us or follow us.
Christian leadership is primarily focused on instilling wisdom of the Spirit into people so we would know how to listen to others. It is centered on helping people see the vision that has already been cast by Christ and live into that reality. It is about inviting others to be be like Christ and follow.
Leadership in a Christian context is first and foremost about "follower-ship".
We already have a leader.
Leadership is a big deal to many organizations and the UMC is no exception.
Some of the conversations in the UMC have understood that when talking about leadership, we are talking about a specific and alternate way of leadership. So the phrase "servant leader" is thrown about when we remember to do so. This is helpful for those who view leadership as being the first to charge solo into battle on a white horse while waving a sword over their head. It is even helpful for those who view the best leaders as those who operate like a CEO or a President.
But even servant leadership is a bit of missing the mark. It still places the emphasis on the individual who is deemed the leader to be the primary actor. If the person is riding horse back into battle or if they are washing feet of their friends, the action is still centered on the leader who is doing all (or most) of the work.
Here is where that view of leadership misses the mark. If we view leadership as a quality that we desire for pastors and lay members of the Church, then is it idolatrous to first focus on the actions of the person we might call the "leader"? Is it not appropriate to first focus on the way in which the Head of the Church (Jesus) is doing and then learn to follow?
What I mean is Christian leadership is not primarily focused on getting people more knowledge so they would know how to act in a situation that comes up. It is not about getting people to dream a dream and get people to "come along". It is not about getting others to be like us or follow us.
Christian leadership is primarily focused on instilling wisdom of the Spirit into people so we would know how to listen to others. It is centered on helping people see the vision that has already been cast by Christ and live into that reality. It is about inviting others to be be like Christ and follow.
Leadership in a Christian context is first and foremost about "follower-ship".
We already have a leader.
Realized Eschatology AKA - "End Times Now"
Realized Eschatology is a theological idea that seems to be reoccurring in a number of circles that I have encountered the past several months. And this post is a direct result and my summary of a conversation I heard at the Five Day Academy for Spiritual Formation. It is one of those things that I forget how "radical" it is to people when I am in a room when this is brought to light.
For many Eschatology is something that is all about the "end times" of this age. So there are a ton of books and studies out there that try to convince people the proof of different "prophecies" and even to the point of setting dates as to the end of the world. So much of our culture's fetish on the future is fed by Christian and not Christian sources that for many "the End Times" has become a code for determine who among us is "that kind of people".
Here is the rub though, Jesus spoke a lot about the end times. There are many writings and teachings about the eschatological mission of Jesus. Read the Gospels and you will find Jesus speaking of the "end" rather often. To be clear, I am not convinced that Jesus' notion of the "end" is anything that we might consider today. Put another way, it is clear to me the "End Times" of the Left Behind and John Hagee is not what Jesus meant when he spoke of the end.
Realized Eschatology is perhaps closer to what Jesus was getting at in his teaching. The end is here - right now - among us all the time. We just need to look.
When there is peace - Realized Eschatology.
Where there is justice - Realized Eschatology.
Where there is reconciliation - Realized Eschatology.
All of these things happen here and now. Realized Eschatology is what happens when we are able to see the "end" in the present.
You might ask, "How can the end be in the present?"
I would ask, How can the first be last and the last be first? How can Christ be fully God and fully human? How can we live by dying? How can light be a wave and a particle? How can two particles be connected even when they are miles apart?
We live in a world full of paradoxes and "the end is present" is another one to consider.
For many Eschatology is something that is all about the "end times" of this age. So there are a ton of books and studies out there that try to convince people the proof of different "prophecies" and even to the point of setting dates as to the end of the world. So much of our culture's fetish on the future is fed by Christian and not Christian sources that for many "the End Times" has become a code for determine who among us is "that kind of people".
Here is the rub though, Jesus spoke a lot about the end times. There are many writings and teachings about the eschatological mission of Jesus. Read the Gospels and you will find Jesus speaking of the "end" rather often. To be clear, I am not convinced that Jesus' notion of the "end" is anything that we might consider today. Put another way, it is clear to me the "End Times" of the Left Behind and John Hagee is not what Jesus meant when he spoke of the end.
Realized Eschatology is perhaps closer to what Jesus was getting at in his teaching. The end is here - right now - among us all the time. We just need to look.
When there is peace - Realized Eschatology.
Where there is justice - Realized Eschatology.
Where there is reconciliation - Realized Eschatology.
All of these things happen here and now. Realized Eschatology is what happens when we are able to see the "end" in the present.
You might ask, "How can the end be in the present?"
I would ask, How can the first be last and the last be first? How can Christ be fully God and fully human? How can we live by dying? How can light be a wave and a particle? How can two particles be connected even when they are miles apart?
We live in a world full of paradoxes and "the end is present" is another one to consider.
Be the change by Jason Valendy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.