M-Moments: Mobilization Pt 1
Going, Going, Gone!
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:18-20
Our typical M2M3 "deeper dive" posts are intended to expose the diaspora context of sub-Saharan Africans traveling in and through the Mediterranean. We are working our way through the Eastern Mediterranean Route and have just completed a segment on Cyprus.2 Our next focus will be movements through the Balkan states. We have field research scheduled in the area for October, so we have some time before I write that series of posts. Therefore, I want to use this M-Moment component of our M2M3 ecosystem to fill the gap and discuss a few issues. This article is part one of a multi-part series I will post over the next few weeks.
The Lausanne Conference just released its 500-page report on the status of the Great Commission.3 Its goal is to measure how well the Church is making disciples of all the nations. Reading through the various sections of the report and examining the fruit in the global harvest fields, one can see that God is truly blessing the efforts. For that, we are so grateful. What is most encouraging are the reports of how God is equipping and sending missionaries from every corner of the globe.
In America, baseball is a national pastime. The best way to win the game is to hit a home run. Not only does the batter score, but everyone on the bases ahead of him also gets to touch home plate. When it happens, it is like a goal in football… the fans go wild. In my mind, I can still hear the announcers of my childhood screaming, going, going, goneeee... into the microphone as the ball sails through the air, finally going over the back fence. I had the same sensation as I was reading this report. God’s people are on the move, going to the ends of the earth and beyond with the gospel. It is worth cheering!
Mobilization
In the same way that runners do not just arrive at home plate, people do not come to faith, and churches do not suddenly pop up in a pioneer mission field. The Great Commission involves many processes, and mobilization touches each of them. The nursery for missions is the local church. It is there where young believers are planted, where they grow and mature, and ultimately develop a heart for a lost world. In my recent book, Strategically Planted: The Pathway to Spiritual Maturity, I have spent a lot of time discussing how that process of preparation works.
Mobilization is also the intentional sending of people. You can prepare all you like, but if you never go outside your front door… little will happen. The Apostle Paul understood this very well.
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?—Romans 10:14-15
According to the report on the Great Commission, an estimated 450,000 missionaries have taken that step and are serving worldwide.5 Their passion is to preach the gospel. They understand the value of preparation, but they also understand the urgency of the call.
This series of posts aims to highlight this construct of mobilization. Preparation and sending are each a part of the process and must be held in tension. One does not have a purpose without the other. However, together, they combine to become a powerful tool in the global transmission of the gospel. To make our point, we will divide our time between the missionaries and the churches they serve. You will undoubtedly feel the tension as we walk through this series of posts. Do not misconstrue this as conflict. Instead, see it as a passion for excellence as they fulfill their role in this thing we call missions.
GO
Missionaries view the Great Commission through the pragmatic lens of the harvest. They read the text like it sounds and take it at face value. They can see the fields and know they are ready for the harvest. Their greatest desire is for others to leave the comforts of home and join them in the labor. Remember, missionaries live in that world; they see how many slip into eternity without Christ, and they have to do their work with diminishing personnel and budgets. They look at the churches back home and see many people who could join them in their labors. Go, make disciples, baptize, teach… none sound optional. But for the missionary… GO… seems to take on priority.
GOING
Pastors in the global church fall into three distinct categories. There are indigenous pastors, who you might also call national pastors. I was an indigenous/national pastor in the US for nearly 30 years. I always looked at the Great Commission through the technical lens of the pulpit. I would tell you that the Great Commission contains just one command: make disciples. I would then pull out my Greek text and explain that three participles… the "ing" words… modify this command. In other words, going, baptizing, and teaching are all part of the process of making disciples. I would stress that as new disciples mature, they will develop a heart for missions that will guide their actions, whether the church officially sends them as missionaries or simply disperses them into this world as they live their lives. For me, GOING is a present participle because they will go either way. I just want them to be prepared to be effective kingdom servants wherever they may land.
GONE
Having come to the mission field, two other kinds of pastors surrounded me. The first are immigrant pastors. These are ethnic pastors who left their home countries and are leading churches that, generally speaking, are of the same ethnic group. An example would be a Nigerian pastor leading a predominantly Nigerian church in Turkey. Another would be the sub-Saharan pastor in Morocco serving African university students. The second are international pastors. These tend to be Western pastors who serve diverse expat populations. Each of these churches will have a diversity of members. What sets them apart is that very few of those members are nationals.
When these pastors read Matthew 28:19-20, they simply say Amen. Why? Because they are surrounded by people who have already left for the mission field. These pastors are not as focused on sending folks out to make disciples as much as they are intent on sharing the gospel with those arriving every day. They are not looking for workers from somewhere else, they are seeking to "make mature disciples" of those already there. For them, the go in the Great Commission is a past participle… having GONE. The task at hand today is one of preparation and encouragement as they engage the community around the church.
Conclusion
In fairness, all three viewpoints are correct. It is like holding a beautiful flower in your hand. Different nuances emerge as you turn it and view it from various angles. However, these differing views can also create a disconnect. I am confident that pastors and missionaries seek to be faithful to the Great Commission. Their objective is to mobilize God's people for service; they just engage the process at different times and places for the people with whom they work. If not careful, we can quickly speak past one another and therefore not achieve our Lord’s goals.
In our next post, we will discuss missions through the eyes of the missionary. I want you to understand the passion that drives them and why they expect so much from the church back home. That will be followed by two posts speaking from the pastor's desk… one in the States and the other from the field. I want you to hear their hearts as they give everything to prepare God's people for service. I then wish to conclude with a discussion of how each plays a role in mobilizing God's people… that together we might fulfill both the command and the commission of Matthew 28:19-20.
1 Lausanne Movement, State of the Great Commission: A Report on the Current + Future State (Lausanne Movement, 2024). Front Cover
2 M. Auguatus Hamilton, "Southern Cyprus: A Twist in the Story", M2M3 https://m2m3.org/82-southern-cyprus-a-twist-in-the-story/ (accessed September 7, 2024).
3 Lausanne Movement.
4 Owen Lavine, "Video Shows Shohei Ohtani’s Home Run Ball Hitting Young Fan on Head", Daily Beast https://www.thedailybeast.com/shohei-ohtani-hits-kid-in-the-head-with-stray-home-run-ball-cant-dodgers-fans-catch (accessed September 7, 2024).
5 Lausanne Movement, 15.
6 Ibid., 14.
7 Sue Sprengle, "New IMB Missionaries Celebrated During SBC Annual Meeting", IMB https://www.imb.org/2024/06/11/new-imb-missionaries-celebrated-during-sbc-annual-meeting/ (accessed September 7, 2024).