A common crime in Christianity is to assume hard-and-fast categories for Christians based on their default personality, gifts, experience, and passions. Such categories that we often create for ourselves and others in the church could entail some of the following: Servant. Leader. Missionary. Teacher. Learner.
Sure, people will always default more naturally to one type or another, and our specific tendencies are a result of our spiritual gifts, experiences, situation, and passions. However, the problem with making individual categories is that it undercuts the basic make-up of what all Christians are called to be at the same time: servants, leaders, missionaries, teachers, and learners. Categorizing someone as a leader but not a missionary, or a teacher but not a servant, or a learner but not a teacher, does a great disservice to the Christian church, both individual and corporately.
All Christians are called to be all of these things. Thus, we should think of these types (servants, leaders, missionaries, teachers, learners, etc.) not as predominant categories of different Christians, but rather as overarching characteristics of all Christians.
Unfortunately, this crime of ‘categorization’ becomes especially pronounced when the topic centers on mission work. When the subject of missions comes up, it is not uncommon to hear, “I’m not called to be a missionary, like Such-and-Such. God bless ‘em, though.”
However, I’m not innocent of making such a claim, myself. And I’m sure we all have categorized, marginalized, or dismissed missions at one point or another, too (but you haven’t, then here’s a genuine golf clap of admiration). Yet, while categorizing missions is something we do instinctively, it is something the Bible does not do dismissively.
What a lot of us do not realize is that our title of Christian actually implies the job description of missionary. Many of us naturally associate ‘missionary’ with full-time vocational ministry overseas. But that’s simply not the case. A quick look through Scripture will show that ‘missionary’ is not simply a type of Christian, but is the type of DNA in every Christian.
Here’s what I mean: If the meaning of ‘Christian’ means ‘Christ-follower,’ and if Christ was the greatest, ultimate missionary who came to earth from heaven to save a lost people, then following Jesus implies taking on the same trajectory, purpose, and perspective of life as Jesus, leveraging every aspect of our lives for the same ultimate cause that Jesus leveraged every aspect of his life for.
To be sure, however, Scripture does not command everyone to uproot their lives and go overseas. In fact, in Matthew 28:19, the famous Great Commission text, the terminology “Go and make disciples” in Greek actually renders a more accurate interpretation of “as you go, make disciples.” This is significant because the emphasis of Jesus’ command actually stresses on the ‘make disciples’ part—not the ‘go’ part. Contrary to what we assume, the word ‘go’ is actually the soft command while the ‘make disciples’ is the hard emphasis.
My seminary professor described the soft nature of the command to ‘go’ like this: “It’s like me asking you to go get me a cup of water. The emphasis is on ‘cup of water’ part; the ‘go’ part just explains the process. Similarly, when Jesus asks us to make disciples, he is saying this: ‘because making disciples is what you’re supposed to do, it’s obvious that you’ll go in the process of doing it.’” I thought that was a great explanation.
Therefore, the sentiment of the Great Commission text, all along, communicates the following: As you are going through life, make disciples. In other words, wherever you are in life inherently presents itself as a mission field that is just as ripe as some place overseas. That’s certainly not to discount missions overseas, but it certainly is to emphasize disciple-making wherever you are.
Unfortunately, we flip-flop the emphasis of Jesus’ Great Commission command by placing the stress on ‘go’ instead of ‘make disciples.’ The implication of such a skewed hermeneutic is actually quite disastrous. In fact, it might be why many Christians think it’s acceptable to pat themselves on the back for going on a short-term mission trip overseas, but never actually share Christ with that lost friend at home whom they see every day.
Indeed, the life trajectory of every Christian should be characterized as that of a missionary. Whether you are home side or overseas, it’s the trajectory of life that matters. Therefore, a Christian in any vocation is a missionary. A doctor is a missionary. A teacher is a missionary. A stockbroker is a missionary. A lawyer is a missionary. A pastor is a missionary. A marketing rep is a missionary. And a vocational missionary is a missionary. All are missionaries who use their vocation as a means and presence for unique missions. None is more important than the other. We each have our own unique mission fields. Do what you do best for the glory of God and do it in a place that is strategic for the mission of God. Maybe that’s at home. Maybe that’s overseas. But the call is still there.
A life that has a clear trajectory of mission—of God-ward and people-ward purposes—is much better than one that ‘does a mission trip’ for a week and then slumps right back into the trajectory of self-ward living. Does everything you do—whoever you are, and whatever you do, and wherever you are—ultimately funnel into the laser-beam of purpose that is glorifying Christ, enjoying him, and as a result, sharing him with others?
As Christians, our trajectory of life is not inward, but outward. That’s the difference. Like Spurgeon once said, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.” If our trajectory of life does not have at its aim the mission of God, then we are simply estranged from what our alleged Savior is all about.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men… (Colossians 3:17, 23)
Whatever you do: THAT is ripe with mission and ripe with harvest.
