Devotion 11.27.23

Matthew 28

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I am, by nature, a skeptic. I come about it honestly, having been my father's son for 45 years before his death in 2005. Dad was a masterful skeptic/cynic, seeing the dark cloud to every silver lining out there. He had some great one liners in response to what people said or did that became known as "Oscarisms," affectionately being nicknamed "Oscar the Grouch" by a friend of mine.

I've never been one for silver bullets, those quick fixes we seek as answers to problems or issues we face. This became clear when I was a principal and we'd be offered this year's answer to all our learning problems when kids are slow to grasp skills or concepts. These quick fixes are shiny, new, have bells and whistles, and I would remind staff that our job was to teach and teaching meets resistance. I often find myself in the same boat when it comes to church and programs meant to "grow your church."

I say this as a lead in to talk about Exponential, a faith movement that I attended a couple of weeks ago, which at the heart talks about "making disciples." In Matthew, before Christ ascended, he told us (and tells us in His written word) to go and make disciples of all nations, through baptism and instruction. The instruction is clear, "everything He's commanded us," and He assures us by saying He's with us in this through the end of times. However, my skepticism came through as I approached the event and as I entered the church with others from our church. "I hope they don't toss out buzzwords or feel cult-like" were a couple of thoughts that went through my mind.

Over the next few days, in order to help me process, the devotions will come from that experience. Hopefully in sharing, we learn about our roles as disciples, what that means and what are methods we can use as we share our story of faith. 

Christ makes clear we are disciples, all of us, who make disciples through our own unique way, so our prayer is to focus our minds and our prayers as disciples of Christ as we seek to follow His command. Our prayer is also one of forgiveness and mercy when we fail to attend to those opportunities that are right in front of us.