1.0
ANALYSIS
1.1
Matt 28:18-20 (NASB95) states:
(18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
1.2
In verse 20, Jesus said, “… and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We all know that none of His first disciples are alive today. So why is there a need to be with them all the way to the end of the age when they are not even going to live that long? Obviously, the universal church will pick up the mantle from the first disciples and continue the work. It is clear then, that the universal church is given the Great Commission. The universal church is made of of all true believers in Christ worldwide. This means that Christ is the head of every true local church and every para-church organization must support either the local church or the overall universal church.
2.0
CONCLUSION
2.1
Therefore, the great commission is not given to individual Christians. Even if individual Christians preach to the unsaved by themselves, they must still bring all new believers to a local church to build up the body of Christ. They should not work alone in this endeavor. It is not for them to work apart from the church. The role of any true local church is to guard, feed, and tend to His flock. The top priority of any local church is the accurate teaching of God’s word (the Bible aka the Scriptures) to church members. Everything else is secondary. Missions and evangelism, social work, music ministry, logistics ministry, and all other church ministries are all secondary.
2.2
Acts 20:28-30 (NASB95) states:
(28) Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (29) I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; (30) and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
2.3
Individual Christians will not have the ability to guard, feed and tend to new believers by themselves. They need a good church for this. A church that provides accurate sermons from the pulpit and accurate teachings during Bible study classes.
3.0
OUR OWN EXPERIENCE AND VIEWS ON THE ABOVE MATTER
3.1
Many local churches do not have a formal discipleship system in place. There are some church leaders who will keep telling their church members to bring their unsaved friends and family to church. And when they do come, there is no follow-up from a salaried church staff. Instead, they count on cell group/ Bible study leaders who may hold a day job, to do the follow-up work. Many suffer a burn out. But the church pastor is more interested in membership growth. Notice we did not say church growth. This is because only God can cause true church growth (1 Cor 3:6-7 and Acts 2:47). So, in their effort to get membership growth (especially through extensive “Christian” entertainment), what these local pastors achieved is nothing more than getting more tares to sown among the wheat (Matt 13:24-30, 36-43).
3.2
We mentioned “Christian” entertainment. What is that? There is nothing wrong with ice-breaker games, concert-styled praise and worship with special lighting effects, listening to gospel music or even reading “Christian” themed books, as long as it does not replace reading, studying, preaching and teaching from the Bible. But sadly, many churches place too much emphasis on entertainment than on God’s word.