This is the final article in a series based on the book, Detours: 10 Roadblocks to the Great Commission, by Paul Seger. Real pastors were asked, “Why would a church NOT want to send missionaries from their congregation?” “Detours” explores the roadblocks these pastors have experienced and seeks to provide solutions for the church to fulfil this vital role in the Great Commission.
4–Minute Read
The church I attend in Atlanta undertook a master planning exercise. We engaged consultants to help us think through how to update and improve the buildings that house our church. Notice that we are not looking to expand our facilities. We are planning to max out at 500. That may seem counterintuitive. Shouldn’t a church aspire to be larger than it is right now?
ALIVE MEANS CHANGE AND REPRODUCTION
Here is the context of that decision. Our church wants to be a SENDING church. The process is simple:
- Reach people through evangelism.
- Disciple new believers to grow in Christ.
- Train Leaders.
- Send people out to start churches (both here and abroad).
- Repeat.
Our church continuously produces Christian workers. The church aspires to launch out as many people as possible to build THE kingdom instead of our kingdom. That is perhaps a completely different mindset from many churches. It requires a pastor who has an open hand. One that will let go of key people so they can bless other ministries and start churches around the world instead of building the local assembly. It takes a pastor with a view of expanding the Body of Christ, not only his local body. It takes a pastor with an ego in submission to the Lord who does not measure success by how many people are gathered under his roof.
A BIBLICAL EXAMPLE
Jesus was enjoying a quiet evening with friends in Bethany, about a mile from Jerusalem. He had been there before, so these were old friends. Perhaps they were reminiscing as they casually enjoyed a lengthy dinner reclining around a low table. In the middle of that calm evening, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, rocked their world. It could not have been any more dramatic than if someone had rolled a hand grenade into the room. She took a pound of spikenard ointment and anointed the feet of Christ.
Incredibly, it was worth an annual salary. The average worker would earn about one denarius a day, so 300 denarii was equivalent to what a person would earn in a year. Two thousand years later, you can almost hear the gasp in that room as they realise she has just expended the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of Rands worth of perfume. In one moment, it was gone. She couldn’t gather it back into the alabaster box. It just dissipated into the air, and all that remained was the aroma.
In the meantime, a large crowd of Jews, including the chief priests, learned where Jesus was and came to see him. And not only him but also Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. The chief priests came with a plot to kill Jesus and now Lazarus– because on account of him, many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus (John 12:10-11).
We can learn from the leaders’ perspectives in this scenario. On the one hand, Jesus commended Mary–who gave with great abandon–a valuable asset. Though she knew the cost, she gave it to the Lord, understanding He was worth so much more. Jesus commended her because she had the proper perspective, compared to Judas, who pretended to care for the poor but was really just self-focused and wanted the money in his own pocket.
On the other hand, we see the chief priests, who were the religious leaders of the day, plotting to kill two people who were in the way of building their empire. Their perspective was that Christ was eroding their influence, and they couldn’t tolerate people following Jesus instead of them. These leaders were so self-focused they were willing to commit murder.
SELF-FOCUS IS DESTRUCTIVE
Can you imagine a church leader so intent on building an empire that he would hire a hitman to take out someone in the way of that? It’s an extreme example of self-focus and its destruction. While murder is too radical for a shepherd, it is possible that a pastor might want to eradicate the competition. Sending their best people from their church could be viewed as creating competition and obviously diminishes his empire.
A self-focused church will never be a sending church. It is not possible to be generous and self-focused at the same time. It doesn’t make sense to send away the best and brightest leaders if you are looking to build a church. Yet, as we look at the church at Antioch, that’s exactly what they did in Acts 13.
SENDING IS COSTLY
Imagine what it would have been like that first Sunday after Paul and Barnabas left for the mission field. It is counterintuitive to send out your chief theologian and expositor. The offerings may be lower because of Barnabas’ absence. The counselling ministry would be diminished without the chief encourager on the pastoral staff. It was a considerable sacrifice to let go of those key leaders.
SENDING IS HEALTHY
Some churches may be in new growth or survival mode, so it doesn’t always make sense to let go of key leaders. If a pastor has trained leaders, it might be necessary for them to continue building up the local church body for ministry. However, as that church is built up and becomes healthy, it will remain healthy and continue to grow strong through sending. Just as a body of water fed by a river or stream must flow outward to stay healthy, so it is with the church. Those that don’t will stagnate and stifle life within. Life flows outward from a local church in many ways, but one of those is fulfilling the Great Commission and sending.
Plainly stated, the local church is not the end goal. Making disciples is the ultimate target. Local churches are not eternal—people are. A church is not an institution; it is a group of Christians. While we know all this, church leaders sometimes still operate like it is corporate and institutional. Success is not measured by the number of seats in the sanctuary; it is measured by whether we are helping people to grow in Christ and whether they are observing whatsoever I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20).
WE WANT TO HELP
Biblical Ministries South Africa is dedicated to serving alongside the local church to build up, train and send missionaries. If you are a pastor or church leader seeking to become a sending church, let us help with free workshops, partnerships and training sessions.
Contact us to learn more about how we can partner together for the cause of the Great Commission.
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