Why Are We Here?

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) calls us as the church to re-focus on our real purpose - making disciples of Jesus Christ.


"Spiritual Amnesia" is the term author Paul Nixon uses to describe what happens when a church forgets its purpose. This review of Nixon's book will give you a brief overview of Nixon's work.


Even big business can suffer from amnesia. In his book Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends On It, author Al Ries contends that "companies that lose their focus through diversification and over-extension may see a short-term boost in revenues, but inevitably suffer in the long run."


Here are some symptoms of spiritual amnesia (noted in a message by Rev. Rick Sitton, Methodist pastor in Lumberton, Tex.):
• Tradition becomes more important than people
• Prayer is no longer a priority
• Worship becomes simply a duty
• We forget the next generation


Better known for his book The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren also wrote a book called The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission. This page will give you an overview of some of the concepts found in Warren's book, and how they are put into practice in local congregations.


Andy Stanley has focused on the strategy called "invest and invite." Here is a sermon by another pastor - "Outreach: Invest and Invite," by Darryl Dash - that develops this concept - it will be useful to you in understanding the implications of the Great Commission for our lives and for our church.


This story - "The Parable of the Life-Saving Station" - is another good example of spiritual amnesia.


What did the great thinkers of the ancient church have to say about the Great Commission?

Jerome (4th century): "What a marvelous sequence this is. He commanded the apostles first to teach all nations and then to baptize them in the sacrament of faith and then, after faith and baptism, to teach them to observe all that he had commanded. Lest we think these commandments of little consequence or few in number, he added 'all that I have commanded you,' so that those who were to believe and be baptized in the Trinity would observe everything they had been taught."

Chrysostom (4th century): "He promised to be not only with these disciples but also with all who would subsequently believe after them. Jesus speaks to all believers as if to one body. Do not speak to me, he says, of the difficulties you will face, for 'I am with you,' as the one who makes all things easy. Remember that this is also said repeatedly to the prophets in the Old Testament. 'I am with you' is spoken to all these people.

"He is in effect saying, 'These difficult things that you will undergo are soon to be finished with this present life. For this world will come to an end. But the good things you are to enjoy are immortal, as I have often told you before.'"