“Word and Sacrament ministry realigns the church’s mission and identity from program-driven pragmatism to the means of grace that Christ has ordained for the creation, sustenance, and expansion of his kingdom.”
It is often said today that Christ gave his church an unchanging message with ever-changing methods of delivery. This assumption, however, fails to reckon with the fact that in his Great Commission, Jesus has given us both as inseparable aspects of a single mandate. We are bound to his Word not only in terms of what we say but also in the strategies, which our Lord identifies as proclamation of the gospel, the sacraments, and “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” These are therefore the marks of a true church. Where these marks are present, Christ is exercising his saving reign.
Ambassadors do not create policy, but rather they communicate it. As an embassy of grace, the church is called to focus on the ministry of Word and Sacrament’not only for those who are far off, but also for believers and their children. In this way, the Great Commission becomes the rule on foreign missions and also at home in the planting, nurture, and expansion of local churches.
Perennially tempted with “mission creep,” churches are easily drawn to pragmatism in their methods of evangelism, worship, and outreach. There are myriad resources for personal spiritual development, yet the means of grace that Christ identifies explicitly as essential for his embassy in the world are often marginalized or ignored. Even in public worship, human creativity (which always leads to idolatry) is often prized over faithfulness to our Lord’s commands. Instead of the means of God’s grace, preaching often collapses into moralism, baptism becomes a testimony to our commitment, and the Supper becomes another opportunity for us to do something: to feel, reflect, remember, experience, and rededicate ourselves. Of course, there is an important place for our response in the covenant, but it is just that: a response to what God has done and to what he has delivered to us through his means of grace.
Attracting our own converts (or consumers) is not the same thing as making disciples of Jesus Christ. Our prayer for all of our churches is that they will recover their confidence in the ministry that Christ has ordained for the expansion of his kingdom, gathering regularly “for the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). This is not only the description of public worship for those who are already converted, but the means of making and sustaining disciples throughout the world.
