Proclaimer Blog
The Game Plan
One of the consistently best evangelical publications we get here in the PT office has to be Modern Reformation (hopefully we'll have a sub offer in this year's resource guide published in June). In 2011, the publication is focusing on what we sometimes call The Great Commission, but they're calling The Great Announcement. Here's a helpful quote from Editor-in-Chief Michael Horton:
It's not enough to get the gospel right; we have to get it out. But what is this famous mandate of our Lord? It has become common these days for churches to draw up mission statements and strategic plans. What often gets lost in the shuffle, however, are the elements that Jesus gave us in the Great Commission itself: proclaiming the gospel, baptizing, and teaching everything he commanded. Like the gospel itself, this mission (and strategy) is often taken for granted. The Great Commission functions more like a slogan than an actual game plan. How do you make disciples? How do you grow churches? More often than not, the answers Christian leaders give today bear little resemblance to the Word and Sacrament ministry that Jesus actually ordained for the creation, sustenance and expansion of his kingdom.
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