Short answer: no.
Long answer: No, no it does not.
Longer answer: The great commission is usually what the church calls Matthew 28:19-20, which reads "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." It is here we find the distinction between evangelism and the great commission.
Evangelism simply means "the preaching or promulgation of the gospel." A disciple, however, is defined as "a disciplined follower of Christ." The verse above clearly states that we are to make disciples of all nations, not simply evangelize to them (although we must start preaching the gospel in order to build disciples). Even when we think about the subject logically, it just doesn't pan out: evangelism is preaching the gospel, preaching the gospel makes people knowledgeable of the kingdom, therefore evangelism makes......what? the answer is that evangelism makes people knowledgeable of the kingdom; and that's our purpose as Christ's followers right? Wrong! As followers of Christ, we are to build disciplined followers of Jesus Christ, not simply preach the gospel and leave it at that.
Lastly, evangelism is not to happen in the church. The church is strictly for training and disciple-making. Simply put, evangelism takes place outside of the Church, discipleship takes place in the Church.
Any comments?
3 comments:
I've been thinking about that alot recently too. Thanks for writing the blogs about this topic; you make it seem so clear!
:)
don't forget though that the church is also where corporate worship takes place. as someone more intelligent than I has said, Sunday is game-day every other day is practice. i am not disagreeing just adding. it does seem like "Evangelism" in that sense is the consumer society's answer to Christianity, the quick fix for the guilty-on-the-go.
Yeah, what Paul said.
I would add that corporate worship is actually THE primary role of the church. It is where we wage war with the principalities and powers; and it is where the subjects of the Kingdom declare and prove that King Jesus is the true and victorious King of the world.
If you have the book Exhortations by DW, read "Worship Is Warfare."
Great post, Andre.
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