Jesus was never someone to mince words. There isn’t a single throwaway quote or pointless word attributed to Jesus in the entire Bible. When Jesus speaks, you can rest assured that what He says is meaningful, so you’d better be listening.
That goes double for His last recorded words on the earth: “Go and make disciples….” Pretty clear statement from our Lord and Savior. “Go! Leave where you are and find where ‘they’ are, the lost and the hopeless. Make disciples! Show them My love, tell them of My sacrifice
and My victory. Teach them to follow Me.”
We were commanded to do this, and our follow-through on this most basic command has not been as consistent as it might have been.
There are two basic issues with this command that make it difficult: the going and the making.
Snark aside, this is not an easy command. Jesus told us to leave our comfortable, safe enclosures of the church, of the Christian culture bubble, and go to where the broken and the breakers are. He told us not to convince, not to cajole, not to guilt, but to disciple, to teach and lead not with slick presentations but with out lives. This is not easy; it’s difficult and demanding but oh-so worth doing.
Now, there are several books—great ones, in fact—about how to go about making disciples. This is not one of them. No, we are instead intending to help with the “go” side of this command, though we may incidentally have something to say about the “make.”
Where Have All the Heathen Gone?
I grew up in a fairly sheltered pentecostal sub-bubble of the larger American evangelical Christian bubble. In my world, Christians went to church, and “sinners” went to the bar. I had no concept of how I would even begin to “go,” let alone “make” disciples. Fortunately, I have now realized that to “go” doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to move overseas or even that I have to go to bars, for which my mom is quite relieved. To “go” can be as simple as being open, willing, and active in my loving approach to my neighbors, my coworkers, and anyone whom I have contact with who might not know Jesus.
You know, my idea of “sinners going to the bar” was incredibly naive and more than a bit judgmental, but it wasn’t a terrible idea to think of “going” to where the Church, where Christ, is probably not represented well or at all. If, when I was a child in the 1990’s, non-Christians congregated at the neighborhood bar, then today they gather on Facebook, while at the bar as well, perhaps, if they have wifi. There are few places where you’d be better positioned to reach more people, in more diverse situations, than on Facebook. Our society is more divided and heavily niched than ever before, and I’m not just talking about our politics. Culturally, we have all become our own specific niche markets and interest groups.
Everyone is on Facebook, So Why Isn’t Jesus?
Everyone is on Facebook, which is untrue, of course, except that even my grandma is on Facebook, which means that it is true. Did that sentence make sense? Probably not, but I think you know where I’m going: I’m on Facebook. My sixth-grade students are on Facebook, a violation of the TOS, by the way. My twelfth grade history teacher is on Facebook. The world has gone virtual, my friends, and Facebook isn’t the only “bar” they’re hanging at. People are everywhere online, even in more than on place at a time. Our society is quickly moving more and more of we call “life” to the Internet. How are we doing at engaging that “life” for Jesus? Hmm. Did it just get quieter in here, or is it me?
Most people would agree that we must be active in our communities and in the larger world, but what if that world is becoming increasingly virtual? “Go into all the world” now means that we must go online. I don’t know many people who would welcome door-to-door evangelists into their home, but so many people will welcome you into their home, every night of the week, via social media. It’s an open door around their front door…which does sound much creepier than I intended.
Our goal here is not to make you a social media expert—that would be impossible since social media is still in its infancy and has already evolved several times since it first emerged. No, our goal here is simply to inform and equip. You’ll become your own expert as you take what you learn here and go online to spread the love of Jesus.
[Globe image via Ir4klis via Compfight cc]
This is an excerpt from Social Media Handbook: Church Edition get the rest of the book from ChurchMag Press and learn practical tips what it takes to be effective on Facebook, Twitter and more by clicking HERE.
Eric Dye says
Good stuff, Phil.
Phil Schneider says
🙂