How’s that for a description of the church? Mark’s gospel, probably the first written of the New Testament gospel narratives, begins by giving us the goal and the strategy for the coming of Jesus.
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:9-11
The “torn open” language makes me think of Isaiah 64:1-3,
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
Jesus came to fulfill the cry of Isaiah, that God would tear open heaven and come down to earth. Jesus is that ‘coming down to earth’. You see, the primary message of the bible is not that we go to heaven when we die. Rather, the bible tells the story of God bringing heaven to earth in Jesus. Heaven, in bible speak, is short hand for, “where God is”, and Jesus, according to Mark, is where God is. Jesus announces his ministry with the words, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) Jesus, the King, is near!
Heaven on earth. This is the goal of the coming of Jesus. How about the strategy?
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.
Jesus goes from seeing heaven torn open and hearing the voice of his Father…to calling three common dudes to follow him, with the promise that he will turn them into fishers of men. You would think he would have some glorious plan to build cathedrals and create a worldwide organization. He seems content to leave such things to us. He is intent on teaching people to be Jesus followers who teach others to be Jesus followers. Disciple-making is the core strategy of the Jesus movement.
The goal, heaven on earth. The strategy, disciple-making. We have added so much unnecessary baggage to this simple movement…so much so that we often lose the power of the movement. Journey3 is a simple movement. Our simple goal is to allow Jesus to shine through us and so to become little outbreaks of heaven on earth. Our simple strategy is to go and make disciples of Jesus.
Grace and glory,
Jay
Journey3 is a movement with three parts.
We Believe. We gather on Sunday afternoons at 4 in order to grow in our ability to believe Jesus.
We Build. We meet in triads to share life in a deeper way.
We Bless. We go into our beloved city of Portland to make a difference by serving people who need a touch from God.
Interested in living life the way God intended you to live? Email me…Jay@Journey3.org.