8. Describe the nature and mission of the Church. What are its primary tasks today?
The mission of the Church “is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”[1] This mission encompasses all that the Church should be doing. When the Church is active in its mission, it “is a sign of God’s presence in the world.”[2] This mission is realized when the Church is actively seeking out the least and the lost, by being in mission with the poor and the disadvantaged.
The Church participates in this mission by working together as clergy and laity to strengthen and fulfill that mission. “The effectiveness of the Church in mission depends on these covenantal commitments to the ministry of all Christians and the ordained ministry of the Church.”[3]
The primary task of the Church is to provide opportunities for persons to grow in their love and knowledge of Christ, and then for persons to take that love and knowledge of Christ out into the world to be in ministry to all of God’s creation. We see this best in scripture in the book of Acts when the disciples and new believers gathered in fellowship and study only to move out into the community to share Christ’s love with the world.[4] Being committed to the mission of the Church, we must continually seek for ways to help develop principled Christian leaders within our local congregations and communities. We must seek out new places to connect people with Christ, who is actively working in the world around them. We must engage in ministry to the poor in our local community and world so they may be freed from the burdens of disease and poverty and given opportunities to share the gifts God has graciously given to them.
Through my appointment at Grace United Methodist Church, I have been responsible for youth and young adult ministries. Through this ministry I have worked at building principled Christian leaders with young adults in the Church. Over the past two years, young adults have started to play important roles at Grace. We have young adults leading worship on Sunday morning, serving on our SPRC committee, and leading mission projects including our annual Thanksgiving dinner for the Women’s Crisis Center in Sherman, TX. We also have young adults that are branching out to in the community, helping with online donations for Relay for Life.
Two young adults who graduated from our youth program are now active volunteer interns for the youth program. Our emphasis on “making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world”[5] has been fruitful, and I am looking forward to working with the youth and young adults to help them continue their growth as disciples.
9. What is your understanding of: (a) the kingdom of God; (b) the Resurrection: (c) eternal life?
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The kingdom of God is the place where God’s will is being done. With that being said, when we look around us, we see that God’s Kingdom is already here on earth, but it isn’t fully realized. As we grow in understanding of how God is actively moving in and around us, we see that the kingdom of God isn’t just relegated to heaven, but God’s kingdom is all around us and we are privileged to partner with God in God’s kingdom. Jesus consistently gives us glimpses of what the kingdom of God is like. Through many stories and parables, Jesus tells us to “strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”[6] Because the kingdom is not fully realized, we still have to deal with the effects of evil and sin in the world around us and constantly point to how the world should be. Even though the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we are limited in what we know and understand about God, but because of the Holy Spirit we are able to grow in that understanding.
The Resurrection gives us hope. Through the Resurrection, we confess that Jesus Christ first has power over sin and death which then frees us for joyful obedience in our lives today. Because Christ has exercised power over sin and death, we too who claim Christ can experience resurrection from sin and death in our own lives.[7] For me, resurrection means that my life is different, that I am a changed person because of Christ’s power over sin and death. I no longer live as a person who is in bondage to sin, but I am set free to live my life in Christ and the power of Christ’s resurrection.
Because of Christ’s resurrection, we are then free from the power of sin so that we can experience eternal life. Jesus says in John, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”[8] To experience the freedom in Christ not only gives us the hope of being with Christ after our own death, but to actively pursue bringing freedom, peace and justice in our world today. To experience eternal life is living a life that echoes the words of Paul in Romans: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[9] I experience eternal life because I know that God is always with me and even when life gets hard, I know that God will always be with me and God will never leave me.
[1] BOD ¶120
[2] BOD ¶1301
[3] BOD ¶303.4
[4] Acts 2:46-47. While the church gathered in the breaking of the bread and growing in knowledge through the apostles’ teaching, there was a yearning to reach out and share. In contrast, when we look at the story of the tower of Babel in Genesis 11, the community wanted to make a name for themselves and not share the gifts God has blessed the community with. Unlike the believers in Acts whose numbers were added to because they shared, the community at Babel was torn apart and scattered because of their selfish tendencies not to share God’s blessings with the world.
[5] BOD ¶120
[6] Matthew 6:33 NRSV
[7] Romans 6:14
[8] John 10:10 NRSV
[9] Romans 8:38-39 NRSV
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