The Great Commission--Part II

Can you imagine being Ryan Minor?
He was a two-sport star at the University of Oklahoma and was drafted in the second round of the 1996 NBA draft by the 76ers, but he chose to pursue a career in baseball. He was selected in the 33rd round of the MLB Amateur Draft. Minor would go on to play in 142 games in his short 5 year career. His career achievements were nothing to brag about: .177 career batting avg, 5 career homeruns, 27 rbi's, and he struck out 97 times out of 342 career at bats. But, Ryan Minor will always be remembered by Baltimore Oriole fans. In 1998, he was the backup 3rd baseman. Cal Ripken Jr. had already made his move from shortstop to 3rd base, which meant Minor would be one of those "10-run-players"--you only play if you're up by 10 or down by 10. On September 20, 1998, after starting in every game for 16 years, Ripken decided it was time for a day off. I wish I could have sat in on the conversation as the manager walked over to Ryan Minor and said, "Hey Stud, you got the start today. Go get'em Tiger."
If I'm Minor, I'm thinking to myself, "Who am I to replace a legend in the starting line-up? All these fans have been coming to the park for 16 years to watch Ripken field balls, toss double plays, and step into the box 4-5 times a game."

Now, imagine the disciples in Matthew 28. Who are they to carry on the mission of Jesus? All authority "in heaven AND on earth" was given to Jesus. It is his. Which means he can do with it whatever he wants to do. And here's what Jesus chose to do, "I'm going to entrust MY STORY to a bunch of non-professionals." It would never work, right?

After Jesus' words about authority, he gives a command, "GO!"

This is where we confuse the essence of The Great Commission.
Last Saturday night Kayci and I were driving to the Foreman's house to watch the Memphis Tigers and to play a little Rock Band. On the way there, I couldn't help but notice church after church that had something like this on their church sign:
"Come join us"
"Come be a part of our family"
"Come worship with us"

Jesus' words were to "Go into the world." He didn't say, "Build yourself some nice, attractional buildings and invite people inside." His words were to "March after the people of the world with purpose and intentionality."

We were driving through Waco back in December and we passed a church on I-35. A huge banner hung from the church and it read, "30 Minute Worship Services".
Interesting. That is how they were marketing themselves--"Come join us and we'll have you in and out in 30 minutes. If the sermon goes long, we'll bag up your communion and you can have it on your way home."

A church can have a building that is attractional and still get this command of The Great Commission. It doesn't have to be complete abandonment of property, but there does need to be a clear understanding that we (the church) are always functioning at our best when our backs are to the church building. We are marching from the places where we gather in order to live as tangible representatives of Jesus.

What would happen if we put the following message on our church signs:
"We are coming to you"
"Don't come to our church because we're rarely at the building. We hope to connect with you during the week"

Would it work?