Disciple ! Online Study

Intro   Lesson 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   [Download PDF of entire study]

Lesson 5  

Disciples have a global/local vision.

Notice the emphasized words below:

"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, and teaching them to obey all I have commanded you."

Those three words may not shock us, but they must have shocked the original disciples. Why?

That Old Racial Thing…

Jesus and all the original disciples were Jewish. Most Jewish people in those days assumed that they alone had the treasure of knowing the one true and living God. To say "make disciples of all nations" would have been a staggering change in perspective for them.

Stretch

Really, Jesus had been stretching their thinking in this direction all along. He reached out to all kinds of outsiders and outcasts – prostitutes, tax collectors, etc. It was clear that to Jesus, God’s love extended much farther than most religious people of his day realized.

So, in the words "of all nations," Jesus is telling us that we have a global mission and a global vision. We are an expression of God’s love for the whole world.

It Helps to Get the Big Story In View

The story begins with creation – God creates a good and beautiful universe, including our planet, including life, including human beings. Humans are given a special responsibility to care for the planet, and to live in relationship with God. However, we disregarded that special responsibility and rejected that relationship with God. The result? War, oppression, injustice, and suffering.

God’s Remedy

God’s remedy for the situation was to call one group of people into a special relationship with God. God’s desire was to rescue and bless everyone in the world, and so he called one group of people to become his agents to bring blessing to everyone else. We see this global desire in God’s words to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, back in the book of Genesis: "I will bless you and make you a blessing…. Through you, all the nations of the world will be blessed."

Do you see the connection between "make disciples of all nations" and "all the nations of the world will be blessed"?

Think Globally

Act locally. Of course, if you have a vision of changing the world, you have to work that global vision out locally. And that’s what churches are. Churches are places where disciples work on their global vision locally.

It’s important to remember that God’s goal isn’t to bless the church only. His goal, through the church, is to bless the world. We exist for God’s purpose that goes beyond ourselves. It’s not "all about us." Imagine how the world would become a better place if more and more people learned to live as Jesus taught – loving their neighbors as themselves, learning to forgive, discovering the joy of serving others, seeking God’s kingdom first.

What About the "All the Nations" Part?

We’re glad you asked. "All the nations" – this means that true disciples learn to love and respect all cultures. It means they are unalterably opposed to racism and prejudice. It means that they show special concern for those who are most likely to be forgotten – the poor, the sick, the elderly, the minority, the disabled.

Our global concern does not mean that we impose our culture on other people. It means that we seek to help people of all cultures to learn to live life to the full as Jesus wants them to do so in their culture.

Global. Local.

It’s a global mission, but it must be worked out locally. If you have this understanding, you will not see the church as a purveyor of religious goods and services, which you attend as a consumer. Instead, you will see the church as a community of people engaged in mission, and you will see yourself as a partner in that mission.


You’ll support the church with your time, talent, and treasure:

Your time:  You’ll give priority to gathering with your fellow disciples for worship, teaching, fellowship, prayer, and service. In our over-busy world, this isn’t easy, but it’s something disciples do. They build a rhythm of life not around work-work-work, but around work and rest, worship and service, fellowship and teaching, prayer and play.

Your talent:   You’ll discover and use your special God-given gifts and abilities to help the church in its mission. You may have a special gift in leadership, in helping needy people, in administration, in teaching, in hospitality, in encouraging others. Whatever your gift, you’ll use it wholeheartedly, in a spirit of love.

Your treasure:   You’ll take a portion of all your income and invest it in the mission of your church. What percentage of income is appropriate? In the Bible, ten percent is the consistent benchmark, but it certainly should not be considered a ceiling. Really, we understand that everything we have and earn is a gift from God, so it all ultimately belongs to him.

The Vision is Local...But it’s Also Global

That means we are all "on-call" and may receive "orders" to go anywhere to be and make disciples. We are to be missional people, in missional churches, with a vision for the whole world.

Here are some questions for you to consider:

Have you ever told God you are willing to go wherever he calls you to go?

Are there any traces of prejudice in your life?

Do you believe that God loves all people, all nations, everyone in the world?

Do you see yourself as a consumer and the church as a provider of religious goods and services – or do you see yourself as a partner in the church, which is a community engaged in God’s mission?

Are you investing your time in God’s global/local mission?

Are you investing your talent in God’s global/local mission?

Are you investing your treasure in God’s global/local mission?

Lesson 5 Review

Disciples have a global/local vision.

Used with permission of Brian McLaren and Cedar Ridge Community Church and adapted by Eric Flood