Making Disciples: The Imperative above Missions

Mike Breen recently posted a blog centering around why the missional movement will fail. I was shocked upon first reading these words; yet, the author makes the point that radical disciple-making is the church’s call above going. Breen says: We took 30 days and examined the Twitter conversations happening. We discovered there are between 100-150 times as many people talking about mission as there are discipleship (to be clear, that’s a 100:1). We are a group of people addicted to and obsessed with the work of the Kingdom, with little to no idea how to be with the King.[1] In the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20), Jesus commands his followers to go; the imperative, however, comes after the word, go, when he subsequently commands his people to make disciples, i.e. the purpose of going and indeed the end means of missions is to glorify God by forming people who love and obey him. Thus, the imperative is often wrongly placed on going rather than disciple-making. Furthermore, the Greek context of the Great Commission implies not merely going to make disciples but rather to make disciples as you are going, i.e. going is not a separate event but is rather what we do in our daily rhythms of life. Making disciples then should be part of our daily walk. I submit that we have missed the point of the Great Commission because we have missed the point of a disciple and the Christian life altogether. There are two glaring aspects of our call that we have missed. [1] Mike Breen, “Why the Missional Movement Will Fail,” Verge, accessed November 19, 2018, http://www.vergenetwork.org/2011/09/14/mike-breen-why-the-missional-movement-will-fail/.