Am I Imposing My Giftings, Emphasis, Context, and Mission On You?

5 Solidly Biblical Reasons Why There ... Do We All Really Make Disciples In Di...

Am I Imposing My Giftings, Emphasis, Context, and Mission On You?

A friend recently asked me if it was possible that I was imposing my emphasis in God’s mission on others. It’s a hard-hitting question that, I admit, has caused me to think. Am I suffering from “My” myopia?

Am I, in a sense, one of those who is placing heavy and unnecessary burdens on people? (Acts 15:28) Am I just exchanging an old fulfilled law with one of my making and being pharisaical by urging others to follow along? (Galatians 3:3)

There are really only two sets of mission in scripture. Mission that is commanded by God for everyone, and mission that is delegated by God to only some. The differences between them can be subtle and subjective. Determining which is which corporately, or as a church, if difficult enough. Determining our personal role in God’s mission is often exponentially more so.

I think that drawing from the scripture and determining the audience, context, and culture can help us decide what aspects of God’s mission are for the entire body of Christ and which are for a select subgroup. The problem remains that there are always those who will try to convince you that there is an elite force in God’s Mission, and a less capable “working class.”

Gone is the idea of a separated priestly class. In its place comes the priesthood of all believers. (1 Pet. 2:9) God’s ultimate purpose or mission belongs to Him. God’s temporal purposes (our mission) ordained by him, belongs to, or has been delegated to us.

One of those mission aspects, The Making of Disciples, appears to have fallen into the crack of uncertainty. Is the making of disciples a mission for all, or for just a dedicated few? Are all gifted and endowed with “the stuff” it takes to make disciples? Does the command to “Make Disciples of all nations,” apply to every believer? If I tell you that as believer, you must make disciples, then Am I usurping “Thy will be done” with “My will be done?”