The Church God Calls us to Be

Matthew 28: 18-20

John 17: 20-26

It is most appropriate that as you celebrate your 200th anniversary to stop and asked, as you are: What Church God is calling us to be? In a fast-changing world riddled with many challenges such as migration, a climate catastrophe, wars, violence, conflicts, violation of human rights, land rights, gender injustices, youth struggles and economic injustices, it is essential to stop and assess the ministries and relevance of the Church today. Sometimes we go on with business as usual when the world around has changed, is changing and crying out for spiritual and moral direction. I am glad to reflect with you very briefly on the question of What Church God is calling us to be? 

Matthew 28: 18-20 tell us specifically about the purpose and mission of the Church: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” When we read John 17, we get a clear indication of what kind of Church Jesus prayed for as he prayed for their salvation, unity, protection and sanctification. These are the things Jesus continues to pray for the church even today. 

Extracting from these passages, allow me to move directly to the question to scripturally engage what Church God is calling us to be. While I will take an ecumenical approach to this question as I reflect on the worldwide church, yet it is what you may apply into your own context as you seek to look at the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil. 

What is God calling the Church to be and to do in the world?

  1. Proclaim SALVATION

The purpose of the Church is to proclaim God`s salvation to the world in Jesus Christ in whose birth, death and resurrection sin, suffering and death are conquered even though they are still with us, yet they have no power and mastery over us for Christ has set us free. Christ has redeemed, ransomed, forgiven, restored and reconciled us to the Father and to one another and to all creation. 

We live in a world today of so much bad news yet amidst these is the good news of life in Jesus Christ. In Christ is our hope, healing and abundant life. In Colossians 1:17 the Apostle Paul tells us that in Christ the Father holds all things together. So, though everything around us may be crumbling in the context of conflicts, wars, crisis and chaos yet in Christ we are safe and secure. Jesus Christ is our hope and strength. Jesus said in this world you will have much trouble but take heart for I have overcome the world. This is the message of the church. Our task is to hold out hope in the Risen Christ. We are to preach, always proclaim and live hope, especially in rough and tough times. This is what your church is called to do in Brazil. 

  1. Transform SOCIETY

Secondly, salvation must lead to service. The salvation and hope we have in Jesus Christ must lead us to transform society. It must prompt us to seek a world filled with justice, peace and love. Something that the world needs right now. 

The great commission is a call not only to save souls but to transform the world and the lives of people who live in it as we care for the environment and the earth – making disciples requires this! The Church must not be relegated to a historical Institution but be a living vibrant faith. We are not called to be a museum but a movement. A movement for Christ as we seek to fulfil God’s mission in the world! 

All through his ministry on earth, Jesus was busy in bringing about transformation. Every time he healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the hungry, rebuked Satan, set the captives free, challenged the Scribes and Pharisees and proclaimed the will of the Father, he was breaking new ground, he was affirming and giving life to the neglected, forgotten, forsaken, poor, needy and the sinner. Jesus transformed lives and society. He showed that both go together. His ministry on earth was the key sign to the initiation of the Kingdom (reign) of God. The coming of the Kingdom was a sure sign that business as usual was no longer acceptable. The ideals and values of the Kingdom of God were, indeed, a declaration, a manifestation and a pronouncement of new things, a new world order, a new life and a new lifestyle. 

The World Council of Churches prophetically calls the world into repentance as it seeks to proclaim God`s justice and peace to a world broken by suffering, sin and injustices. The WCC Assembly in 2022 carried the theme: God`s love moves us to justice, reconciliation and unity. Inspired and moved by God`s love the church cannot be detached from God`s world. We need to work together to proclaim God`s justice where there are injustices and loss of human rights and dignity. 

But as we seek to transform the world, we must also transform the church. We must practice what we preach otherwise our message is nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. How do we address economic, gender, ecological and racial injustices within the church? How do we live and be what we preach to the world? Admittedly, this is difficult but is it possible?

  1. Live in the power of the SPIRIT

Is it possible for churches to live as disciples of Christ in the world today? The answer to this question is an absolute YES. We do this as we choose to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. In our own strength we cannot be all that Jesus calls us to be and do. We need to rely on the awesome presence of the Holy Spirit to help change and channel us to be God`s instruments of good in the world. The Spirit empowers us and helps us to have unity as Christians and to stand, work and witness to Christ together in the world. This is what Jesus prayed for in John 17 that believers may work in unity so that the world may know him as Lord and Saviour. In a broken, suffering and divided world it is imperative that Christians work and witness in unity. Unity is not uniformity but when Christians work together it is a strong witness to the reconciling power of Christ in us.

Once I was at a closing service of our General Assembly. Whilst the Moderator was busy with the sermon, I couldn’t help noticing a beetle lying on its back and struggling to get on its feet again. The more it tried, the more tired it got. I felt the urge of leaning forward and turning it over, but I was not going to disrupt the Moderator’s sermon. So, I was waiting for the close of the service. But then suddenly there was a gush of wind from an opened window, it turned the beetle on its feet again and it moved away fast and steady again. Sometimes the church is like that. We get stuck on some things which paralyse us to the point that we are unable to move. The more we try the more we seem to get tired because we are trying on our own strength. We need the wind of God’s Spirit to turn us on our feet again and to help us to move in God’s direction only. 

To summarise, you are called to be a church that proclaims the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. You are called to transform society as you prophetically proclaim God`s justice, reconciliation, love, and unity in the world. You are called to live in the power of God`s Holy Spirit as you strive to be a faithful witness of Christ so that the world may believe in Him. 

May God’s Holy Spirit lead you as you seek to be his presence and power in this community, country and beyond. Following Jesus is no easy task that is why we need the presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit to renew and transform us so that we can be God’s people in the world. 

Let our prayer be: “Living God, renew and transform us but start with ME.” Being church today in a world in crisis is a church living the Christ way and resting in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. May we be the church that God waits and longs for in a world in crisis.