Mission Ready

June 19, 2011 Trinity Sunday

Genesis 1:1- 2a, 2 Cor 13: 11-13, Matthew 28: 16-20

Today is the Sunday when we affirm, celebrate and acknowledge a special day. Actually two special days. Today is Father's Day. It is also Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday is the day we affirm and celebrate our believe in the Trinity of God the three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Our fathers and other men in our lives who have been like fathers to us have impacted our lives in many ways. They have been responsible for our homes, the food on our tables, the toys we played with, and the clothes we have worn. For many of us, they have given us a sense of self worth and happiness. My dad also gave me a great sense of adventure, love for nature, and a desire for learning. I am sure that if we went around the sanctuary today, and each of us could relate the wonder ways fathers have encouraged us and loved us through thick and thin.

I would like all the fathers to stand up. Now if you are a person who had a father whom you loved I would like for you to stand up and let's give a handclap of praise to God for all the fathers and men in our life who have fathered us over the years.

As I mentioned before today is also Trinity Sunday in our church calendar. We pastors often just move on past this day hoping that no one will try to get us to explain the theology of the Trinity. It is not an easy concept to learn about nor to understand. The text we have from Matthew today has helped to shape and form the theology of the Trinity. Jesus indicated that our baptism into God's family is in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: the 3 in one person God.

With that being said, I am now going to look again at the Scripture for today from Matthew 28:16-20 because it is in this text that we also find what is referred to as the "Great Commission." That is the subject I want us to turn to now. I want to talk about what it means to be part of the great commission.

Sunday night 1 week ago the Administrative Council adopted a new mission statement for Pisgah UMC. The new statement came as a recommendation from the vision and planning group who have been meeting regularly to plan for the future. The group also recommended a vision statement for the church (which we will talk about another day). Briefly let me recap the difference between a mission and vision statement.

A mission statement is a statement that says what we are all about. A vision statement is a statement about how we intend to go about our mission. It will change over time, whereas a mission statement will likely remain very much the same.

The mission statement that the Council adopted is simple, concise, and easy to remember. Here it is: our mission is to connect people to Christ. Say that with me: our mission is to connect people to Christ. One more time, our mission is to connect people to Christ. Easy. Simple. And we can remember it. (Hopefully we'll have it on bulletin.)

Actually, our mission here at Pisgah UMC is very much like the mission that Jesus gave his disciples. Let's look at the text. (Matthew 28:16 – 20). The Bible says that Jesus went with his disciples to a mountain top in Galilee. They went there to worship and the text tells us that when the disciples saw Jesus they worshiped him. Then Matthew tells us that some of them doubted. Matthew does not relate exactly why some of the disciples were doubting, or what they were doubting.

It is amazing to me that after all they had been through with Jesus, walking with him, living with him, watching him do miracle after miracle: healing illnesses, forgiving sins, casting out demons, and raising the dead, that they could doubt anything about him. After all, they had witnessed his complete humiliation and death on a Roman cross. They had watched him be buried, and they had experienced seeing and talking with him after he was resurrected. Yet, Matthew says, some of them still doubted.

They were in Galilee on the mountaintop and they were seeing Jesus again. The words that Jesus spoke to the seemed to come as a result of Jesus knowing that there was doubts in their hearts and minds, and that these doubts would continue to plague them into the future.

The 1st thing Jesus told the disciples was about his authority. Just a few weeks ago we talked about God's kingdom on earth, and how a king of a realm had ultimate authority. Because of the resurrection and the work of God through him, Jesus has been crowned king of both heaven and earth. As king he has all authority. He told the disciples about that authority, which was and is over all things, both seen and unseen, now and in the future, in heaven and on earth.

If these disciples were going to follow Jesus, and spread the good news of love, forgiveness and salvation, then trust had to be part of the mission. The disciples had to trust their leader.

A few years ago I decided to go on a mission trip to Puerto Rico. The mission trip went from my home church. At the time I was a lay person just like most of you here. I can tell you from experience that when you are thinking about going on a mission trip there is one thing you must trust in and that is your leader. On a mission trip there can only be one leader. Otherwise there is chaos... Either no one will make a decision, or everyone tries to make the decisions. When everyone tries to be in charge, it's difficult to get much of anything done.

The reason Jesus told the disciples about his authority was so that they would know that he was in charge of the mission. Jesus wanted his disciples to know that he had the authority to be in charge, and if they were going to go on mission on his behalf then they must be willing to follow him.

From that time until this moment, the leader of the mission that Jesus laid down that day on the mountain has changed very little. Here is the mission as Jesus gave it: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you. In a nutshell Jesus was giving his disciples the mission of connecting people to Christ.

Yes, some of them doubted. Same thing happens to us at times too, doesn't it? We look at the future, at how our children are growing up and how the church is changing, and how the world is changing, and we can be doubtful that we will have any impact in our world for the sake of Christ.

We can even doubt that Jesus is leading us. We can doubt sometimes that in him there is any authority on earth. We can doubt our faith, our abilities, our resources, and our mission in the world. We are just like the 11 disciples who were standing on the mountain in Galilee hearing the great commission for the 1st time.

But, friends, listen to Jesus' encouragement. He said to his disciples, remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Now, if the disciples knew and firmly believed in the absolute presense of Jesus with them at all times, in all situations, in all places, no matter what they were doing, then the mission, though not easy, could be accomplished.

What can we say about our mission? Which is, come on, say it with me: our mission is to connect people to Christ...Our mission is to connect people to Christ. I think we all can say that our mission today is just as big and daunting as the mission given to the disciples of Jesus. Yet all that Jesus said to his disciples is also true for us and our mission. We follow a leader who has authority over all things: past and present and future, things seen and unseen, the smallest of ministries to the largest of ministries. We can trust our leader to have the authority to get the mission accomplished.

Secondly, if we call ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ, then we must be bold in our activities, in our relationships, and in our ministry to be about the mission that we have been given by God. Each of us contributes to the mission. God has given us many gifts to be used to connect people to Christ. How are you using the gifts God has given you for the mission here at Pisgah?

Most importantly, Jesus never leaves his disciples. From time to time we may feel overwhelmed, unsupported, like we want to give up. From time to time we may disagree on how to go about our mission, or how to spend our resources, or what to do with all that God has given us. Yet, allow me to say today that regardless of any issue that might arise, if we all commit to following our leader, Jesus Christ, we will move forward into the future that God has for us. I am convinced that Jesus is good to his word. Jesus is with us until the end of the age.

Annual conference this year was a motivating and inspiring time for anyone in ministry. The conference took some very bold actions in order to follow the mission of the church. It voted to cut the number of districts from 15 to 8. All of us, pastors and lay persons, were encouraged to be likewise bold, and think outside the box and do things differently. We were reminded: when you do what you have always done, you will get what you've always gotten. Change and innovation is was in the air. In this generation it will take boldness, creativity, and letting God show us innovative ways of doing things, in order to connect people to Christ.

Today, I am asking each one of us to re-commit to the mission of this church. I am asking each one of us to ask God for renewed fire and passion. I am asking each one of us to identify, enhance, and use the gifts and graces God has given us as we go forward on our mission with God. I am asking each one of us to trust our leader, who has promised to always be with us. I am asking each one of us to yet again trust our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for the future of our mission.

We have now clarified our mission...We are mission ready...so only one question remains.

Are you in?

Amen.