The debate about the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report seems to be veering off course. This is because we suffer from a strain of spiritual attention deficit hyperactive disorder that distorts our vision. Already much of the grapevine talk about the GCRTF report has created a cloud over the central theme, our commission from Jesus. And the list of diversions is long – the value and future of the Cooperative Program, how leaders are selected, support of our agencies and institutions, whether or not designations are permitted, the significance of church planting in reaching our nation, etc., etc. Then, there’s the money, always the money. Others balk because the GCR threatens the status quo. And so on and so forth. Still, Christ’s mission ought to define us, nothing else.
HolmesAttention deficit is a spiritual dysfunction. Focus is the spiritual discipline of keeping things in their rightful place. When Jesus rebuked Simon Peter about being a stumbling block (see Matthew 16:21-23), it was because Peter was in attention deficit mode. His focus had momentarily shifted to earthly things. Jesus jerked him back with “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of man” (Matthew 16:23). Jesus wanted to sharpen Simon’s focus.
Baptists are too easily distracted. Our drift isn’t always the enticement of worldly pleasures or secular pursuits. Rather, ours is usually the wandering eye of fixing on things that, while admirable, are not the main thing. At every level of Southern Baptist life, we tend to be swayed by an “all things to all people” template that diffuses our vision. Staying on point is troublesome when there are so many focal dots on the map. This realization may illustrate the axiom, “When everything is mission, nothing is mission.” You see, it’s very difficult to identify or hit so many targets.
Focus is a strong New Testament theme. Granted, first century believers and the early church weren’t tangled in structural webs or distracted by confusion about their mission to the degree we are today. Sure, there were turf wars, debates about methodology, and a list of internal distractions as large as the number of Epistles written to address their dilemmas and problems. Yet, mission was central. The Great Commission of Jesus kept the crosshairs finely calibrated.
They were warned to be vigilant and watchful, to be constantly alert to missional drift. Over and over, the New Testament calls believers to think and act with purpose, to remain intentionally focused in their doctrine and service. In a world of false teaching and wolves preying on sheep, they were called to remain alert and focused.
The GCR is about the Great Commission Jesus entrusted to his church. That’s it. If anything else is in our sights, then we’ve lost focus. And apparently many of us have. The writer of Hebrews wrote it well: “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1).
Now, that’s what I’m talking about!