I am amazed at how followers have become so important in our social media driven world.
We count how many friends we have on Facebook.
We are proud of how many followers we have on Twitter.
We can even buy followers and “likes” on Instagram.
It is as if we have to prove our worth by having followers.
Reality is that most of those “followers” are not really any more than “fans.” They liked a picture you posted or a message you tweeted. Does not mean they know you. Does not mean they like you. They are just a fan for a moment in time where they liked something you did or said. Want proof? Post something they don’t like and see what happens.
Kyle Idelman nails the difference in fans and followers.
“The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them.”
Jesus is really not looking for fans.
Jesus is looking for followers.
It is not merely that God gives us missionary commands. God is, by nature, a missionary God.
And our missionary God seeks a missionary church comprised of missionary Christians.
The word missionary comes from the Latin word mitto, which means "to send." Hence missionary means ‘sent one” or “one who is sent.”
Jesus is looking for followers who will acknowledge that they are called to be sent, and that will accept the missionary challenge.
“The church is missionary by nature because God has sent it on a mission in the world under the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is to bear witness to God's redemptive reign. Just as God is a missionary God, so the church is to be a missionary church.”
“Mission cannot be something separate from or added to the essence of the Church. The essential nature of the local congregation is, in and of itself, mission, or else the congregation is not really the Church.”
Modern day Christianity has moved from following Christ and being committed to the Mission to simply being a fan of Christ that picks and chooses from what Christ said and decides which parts to like. That is not following. That is not missional. That is not being sent.
From the time I entered high school on, I was on mission. I was on mission to find the right girl to marry. I was not interested in dating. The only purpose of dating was to serve the greater good of finding and marrying the right girl. This was my mission.
I dated several girls short term – figuring out quickly they were not what I was looking for. They probably felt the same about me.
I dated a hand full of girls long term. They were at least contenders in my quest for a wife. But time ruled them out.
I finally met a girl that met my qualifications. She was my youth pastor. She led me to Christ my senior year in high school. But I could not date her. She was six years older than me – and she was my youth pastor! So I began to pray for God to send me someone like Mary.
I went off to college. Mary went on to another church as a worship pastor. We stayed in touch as best friends. And I continued to pray for God to send me someone like Mary. I had her in mind as my standard and I was not going to compromise.
Halfway through my second year of college, I was praying and asking God for someone like Mary when the thought entered my mind: “What about Mary?” She was no longer my youth pastor. I was no longer in high school. We were great friends. We began to date that summer and got married the following year.
Why am I telling this story. First – it is one of my favorite stories and has totally changed my life. Second – it was my unwavering commitment to the mission of finding the right girl that led me to Mary.
Our God is looking for followers with an unwavering commitment to the mission of helping people find their way to God.
“It is in the very being of God that the basis for the missionary enterprise is found. God is a sending God, with a desire to see humankind and creation reconciled, redeemed, and healed. The missional church, then, is a sent church. It is a going church, a movement of God through his people, sent to bring healing to a broken world.”
The church was first established as a world-wide work for a world-wide mission.