Spring 2002
In This Issue...
A Gift of Hope to the Church Down Under
Team Building God's Way: Hand Picked
New Resources for Small-Group Ministries
by Ralph E. Bauserman
One of the great New Testament passages is Matthew 9:35-38. Here, Jesus walks through villages and towns "proclaiming the good news of the kingdom." This, of course, is the mission for which he would live and die; he had come to tell the world about the good news of God's kingdom. However, Matthew's account reveals that there is much more to Jesus' mission. As Jesus walks among the crowds of people, he observes that they are "harassed" and "helpless," drifting aimlessly through life, "like sheep without a shepherd." We then read that he has compassion for them, bringing healing and hope to their lives.
Then, according to Matthew, Jesus makes a statement that would surely have startled his disciples. He told them "the harvest is plentiful," meaning that there was a host of people who were broken and wounded by life, wandering aimlessly like sheep without a shepherd. However, the problem that must have saddened the heart of Jesus is that " . . . the laborers are few!#34; In the face of this vast mission field, there are so few who are willing to walk among the lost and lonely; so few who will proclaim the good news of the kingdom and bring healing and hope to the struggling masses. Jesus knew, almost from the beginning, that his followers would have great difficulty in walking the way that he walked.
It is possible, if one has sufficient time and finances, to travel to the Holy Land and actually walk where Jesus walked. Hundreds of thousands have done so, and have been moved deeply by that experience. However, serious Christians are finding that it is much easier to walk where Jesus walked than to walk the way he walked. The mission field grows daily; in fact, it is now at our doors. Our communities are filled with people whose lives are wounded and broken, who struggle through life with no sense of purpose or direction. Many have given in and given up and are living without hope. Yet, in the face of this "plentiful harvest," there are so few willing to walk the way Jesus walked; so few willing to walk with Jesus among the struggling masses, showing compassion, sharing the good news of the kingdom, and bringing healing and hope to a weary, wounded world. No matter how good our intentions, we have all learned that it is not easy to walk the way Jesus walked. It is little wonder that, after all the centuries, " . . . the laborers are still few!"
As more and more of our churches grow more serious about making disciples, they face an almost staggering challenge: how do we get our people to walk the way Jesus walked? How do we train and encourage our people to move out of comfortable pews and buildings, and walk, with compassion, among the masses, sharing the good news of God's kingdom and bringing the kinds of healing and hope that people so desperately need? Yes, " . . . the laborers are few," and it has always been that way! The time has come for us to teach and train our people to walk the way Jesus walked.
Ralph E. Bauserman is an Evangelism Consultant for the Foundation for Evangelism and for the General Board of Discipleship, Nashville, Tennessee.
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