“In Whose Name? By Whose Authority?”

Matthew 28:16-20

It’s easy to read this passage and come away with only one aspect of what it demands, Jesus’ commission to “go therefore,” into the world. That is a major emphasis, one that we cannot ignore. We are commissioned by Jesus to go out into the world, even if it’s only that little corner of the world where we live and work, and share the Good News of Jesus.

In his book Christian Caregiving: a Way of Life Kenneth Haugk came at “The Great Commission” from this angle, “What greater gift could I share with others than love and life in Jesus Christ?... when I witness to what Jesus Christ has done for me – and all people – I show that I truly care about them. I show interest in their present and future.”

Evangelism isn’t about confrontation; it’s about offering someone a gift. Evangelism isn’t so much threatening people with eternal damnation as it is offering them abundant life. Evangelism isn’t about bringing people who are just like us into the church; it’s about sharing the Good News of Jesus with whomever, wherever – by word, deed, and demeanor. Evangelism isn’t about inviting people to church on the basis of what they can give us; it is about inviting them to share in what we already have. True evangelists do not intimidate, they relate. They are not bullies; they are servants.

But there’s much more to this text that just the evangelism piece. Jesus’ commission goes beyond going out and inviting others in. It’s about gently leading people to a point where the Holy Spirit can move them to confess their sins, repent of them, and profess their faith in Jesus. It’s about baptism as a sign and seal of God’s grace, a sign and seal that those baptized, infants and adults, are now part of the faith community. For infants it’s about raising them up in the way that they should go until that day when they confirm their baptism by professing their faith.

Jesus is very clear about in whose name we are to baptize: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. A baptism into the community of faith is also a baptism into the Holy Trinity. The unity and fellowship of believers on earth should reflect the unity and fellowship of the three persons who comprise the Godhead: Creating Father, Redeeming Son, and Empowering Spirit.

It is always appropriate to reaffirm our belief in one God in three persons. It is more than appropriate on this day known as Trinity Sunday. The faith community worships and serves a Triune God. All who are brought into this community by way of baptism are brought into it in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

What comes after sharing the Good News, of doing evangelism, Trinitarian baptism, and the profession of faith? Let’s use the words Jesus used: “…teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” Although we are named as disciples of Jesus at the moment of our baptism and profession of faith, we do not become effective disciples until we learn all that Jesus commanded.

Effective discipleship involves not only learning God’s Word, but absorbing it. Effective discipleship involves learning the basics of the Christian faith and the history of the church. Effective discipleship involves us in a lifelong growth into Christ that we call sanctification. We cannot make effective disciples without teaching them. We cannot be effective disciples without being taught.

Those words could never be more appropriate than they are today, the day we recognize our Sunday school teachers. These are the men and women to whom we have entrusted with the responsibility of teaching us and our children “all that Jesus commanded.” I say it again: We cannot make effective disciples without teaching them. We cannot be effective disciples without being taught.

A brief summation: we reach out to others in Jesus’ name, offering them the gift of salvation so graciously given to us by God. We invite them into the life and fellowship of the church, we baptize them into the Body of Christ, and then we work with them until they are able to truly profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And then we invite them to join with us in the ongoing process of becoming effective disciples: not perfect - none of us is perfect - effective.

What defines an effective disciple? A love of God and neighbor. Healthy relationships with God and neighbor. Personal piety and discipline. A heart for serving others. A lifestyle that reflects the love of Jesus. A generous spirit for sharing our time, talents, and resources. A willingness to experience rejection as we go about the task of sharing the Good News in relational ways. Being the Christian God has created and called us to be. Following Jesus in the way of the cross.

As I’ve been thinking about the upcoming Leadership Retreat and our discernment together of God’s vision for Grace I have focused on two things. One: The effectiveness of my own discipleship; the effectiveness and faithfulness of my prayer life, of how I study, preach, and teach God’s Word, and the health of my relationships with God and others. I’ve thought a lot about the effectiveness and faithfulness of my stewardship, not so much in terms of time, talents, and money, but in terms of my own health. Pastoral leadership requires energy and passion. It’s hard to exert energy and be passionate when one is as overweight and out of shape as I am. I am asking and will continue to ask you to not only pray for me as I establish healthier habits, but also to hold me accountable.

Two: The faithfulness and effectiveness of Grace Church in its efforts to make disciples of others. Are we teaching our children and adults what they need to know in order to be disciples of Jesus Christ? Are we teaching our children and our adults how to be relational evangelists? Are we producing faithful ambassadors of Christ? Are we training wise and generous stewards of God’s gifts? Are we raising up a new generation of Christian witnesses? If we are being faithful makers of disciples, what do we need to know and do in order to do it better? If not, where and how do we start?

There are some related questions we need to ask. Are we good stewards of this facility? Do we get out of it all that we can? Do we need to make architectural changes that will better facilitate our worship, education program, outreach, and fellowship? Coming at it from another direction, is our building user friendly? We should be asking similar questions about our worship services, our Sunday school curriculum, our youth ministry, our ministry of music, and our mission projects. Are we being faithful stewards of all of God’s gifts to us in our worship, service, programming, and mission?

Here comes another set of questions we should all be asking of ourselves, questions that will probably be asked in one form or another at our Leadership Retreat. Question number one: If I were the benevolent dictator of Grace, if I could reshape this church into what I prayerfully believe is God’s image of it, what would I add to or subtract from its life, what would I change about it? Please note that this is about God’s image of Grace not just our pet peeves. It is Christ’s Church not ours.

Question number two, and this is where the rubber begins to meet the road: What am I willing to change about my own life in order to make that happen?

Question number three, and this where the rubber absolutely meets the road, where all the dreams, visions, and ideas start becoming realities: How can I best employ the gifts God has given me to make the vision happen; how much of my time, energy, and resources am I willing to give, and what sacrifices am I willing to make?

Eventually this will bring us to Question number four: Am I willing to support necessary changes whether I like them or not? That last question is important. One of our ordination questions used to be, “Will you be in subjection to your brothers and sisters in the Lord?” In other words, once the majority has prayerfully decided what must be changed, am I willing to put my own feelings, prejudices, and desires aside for the good of Christ’s Church and its mission?

As we go about asking and answering these questions; as we go about discerning together God’s vision for Grace; as we go about turning that vision into reality, we must never forget in whose name and by whose authority we are acting. Jesus was very clear and unambiguous about that name and that authority: “… baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

We do what we do not in the name of change, relevance, public opinion, conventional wisdom, or maintaining the status quo, but in the name of our Triune God. Our authority comes from the Lord, our power from the Holy Spirit.

I will close with a slightly altered version of some words I used earlier: We cannot make effective disciples unless we are willing to continuously teach them. We cannot be effective disciples unless we are willing to continuously learn. Finally, we cannot discern and implement God’s vision for Grace unless and until we are faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.