My Normal Life and my Great Commission Life are the same Life (Part 1)
Blog post by Spring Church Pastor, Matt McCoy
Standing amidst a giant pile of laundry, Denise (my wife) was rather exasperated with me when she leaned against the countertop, looked me in the eyes, and said some of the truest words ever spoken:
“What if the Great Commission included all these dirty diapers? What if the Great Commission is about this family, and this giant pile of laundry, and our neighbors, and the people at work, and our small group, and church? Why do we have to stop our Normal Life, go do some amazing Great Commission Thing somewhere far away, and then come back to our Normal Life? What if this, right here in our kitchen, is the Great Commission, too?”
This did NOT look like the Great Commission to me at the time.
We had three kids under the age of 5 at the time, and I was still steeped in the tradition of understanding the Great Commission to mean that I had to go somewhere far away and do something spectacular for someone else. That vision of the Great Commission felt so impossible with small children, yet I wanted to obey this important command from Jesus. I was stuck in this awful tension, and Jesus (through Denise) was offering me the way out. I was a few years away from believing her.
Emma, Jackson, and Coleton “helping” with laundry, in their adorable way.
In a modern English translation, the text seems straightforward enough. Here it is in the ESV:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”.
Let’s rewind a little bit, to the beginning of the story of our shared life. Denise and I met in college while working with an international missions non-profit. When Denise and I were first married, we went to France for a year and a half with this same international mission group. We knew all about the command of Jesus to “Go” and then “Make Disciples” of all nations. We studied it, we talked about it, we loved it, we lived it. We were gonna “Go” and we were gonna “Make Disciples.” Oh, wow, when I remember that season of life, it was all so exhilarating.
Denise and I in France in 1999
After that year and a half, we moved back to Texas in the autumn of 2000. Then we had a baby. Then work got challenging. Then we had another baby. Denise and I started having a harder time communicating with each other. Then we had another baby. Our relationships at church became strained. Oh, wow, when I remember that season of life, it was all so exhausting.
See? In 2006, even Coleton was exhausted. And wow, was he a cute baby!
I wanted to Go somewhere and Make Disciples of someone, but I couldn’t do what I used to do. I already knew that the home is the primary place of worship, so of course Making Disciples included our family, but what about the rest of the world? Where was I supposed to Go when it felt like I couldn’t Go anywhere?
That day in the kitchen, Denise was pointing me towards the way forward. But, like I said, it would take a few years.
Me at Regent first day of class 2009
Eventually, we made our way to Vancouver, British Columbia and so a few years after that day in the kitchen I was sitting in Greek class at Regent College. I had two incredible instructors in Carolyn Hindmarsh and David Clemens, who both combined an incredible proficiency in the language with a deep, abiding faith. As we approached the Great Commission, I discovered how way the phrase “Go and make disciples” appears in Greek with a verbal construction where there’s obviously a primary verb, and the secondary verb ‘piggy backs’ on the primary one (If you’re curious, it’s called the “aorist of attendant circumstances”). So, one verb is the main verb, and the second verb hops along for the ride.
And I got the order backwards on the two verbs of the Great Commission. “Making Disciples” is where Jesus puts his emphasis, and I had focused on the word “Go.” The restlessness of my 20’s had me focusing on stopping my normal life so I could “Go” somewhere, when Jesus wanted my focus to be on “discipleship” as the main event. The challenge of translating this nuance from Greek into English is evidenced by the debate among scholars: “Go” or “Having gone” or “As you go” or “Wherever you find yourself.”
As I read the Great Commission now, I realize that Jesus still cares about where we go, and that Jesus wants the Church to go everywhere. It certainly seems as though the people hearing this message from Jesus on a mountain in Galilee needed the encouragement to go, as they didn’t leave their familiar spot in Jerusalem for quite some time. And, hey, I still need encouragement to go spend time with Uncommon Friends, rather than hang out with the people who are most comfortable for me.
If someone is called to Go somewhere far away today, that’s where they should find themselves. And if someone finds themselves facing a giant pile of laundry today, that’s where they should Go, too. Standing in that kitchen, Denise was right. Even if my desires carry me in a hundred different directions, I can rest in knowing I’m entering into the Great Commission by paying attention to what the Spirit is already doing wherever I find myself. At work, at home, with my neighbors, at church, everywhere. I don’t have to stop our Normal Life, go do some amazing Great Commission Thing somewhere far away, and then come back to our Normal Life. The Great Commission is about following the Spirit wherever I find myself.
My Normal Life and my Great Commission Life are the same Life.
The Great Commission is not about discipleship FOR someone, it’s about discipleship WITH someone.
Where will you find yourself this week? At home alone, or at home surrounded by toddlers, or at home in a homeless shelter, or somewhere else? On social media? Trying to figure out how to work from home, again, in the midst of an incredible amount of stress? On email? On a phone call? The Great Commission goes with us everywhere!
Which is why, at Spring Church, the Great Commission is lived out in discipleship WITH people and not FOR people. This happens when we eat together, pray together, sing together and play together.
We are all bombarded with invitations and opportunities, all day long, and I want this blog to be an oasis away from the clamor of “Come!” “Join!” “Do!” Yet, I want you to know that at the next two worship services (May 3rd and May 10th) we’re going to be entering into this message of the Great Commission. If you’re intrigued about how to live out The Great Commission WITH people instead of FOR people, consider entering into our interactive online worship service. The logon info is here: