Editor’s note: This is a reprinted column from Jack Purcell’s “On the Journey” archives. It originally appeared in The Star in 2013.
I was thinking recently about some of my experiences in higher education. Most of those years I was the dean of students/vice president for student affairs (known by some as wildlife management).
During those years I learned a rather perplexing fact about college students. Seemingly unrelated to intelligence or learning ability, a very large percentage of college students don’t attend college to get an education; they go to get a degree.
As you might imagine there is a vast difference between the two in how one conducts himself/herself while Daddy shells out the big bucks.
Motivation has been and always will be the primary driving force behind learning. Our culture has set students up to believe that getting that degree so they can “make it in the world” is what is most important.
This leads me to consider how this might correlate with Christians and their learning experiences. How motivated are Christians to further the process of their Christian education? A very familiar passage is found in Matthew 28:19-20, often referred to as the Great Commission.
“Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Theologians have named this the Great Commission with the unspoken implication that sharing the Gospel is the single most important thing a Christian can and should be doing. You may have noticed that there are hundreds of missionaries, just as many more evangelists and an untold number of believers out there “winning souls to Christ.” I am certainly not disparaging of their efforts since it says to do so right there in Matthew.
So why am I bringing this up? Simply because there seems to be a dearth of those folks who seem to be committed to following the whole passage.
Jesus’ description of a disciple is quite severe. It certainly isn’t a “get ‘em in the boat” kind of salvation; no notches in your religious belt. There are two key phrases in the Great Commission passage, making disciples and teaching them.
A disciple is more than someone who prayed a prayer, and the Great Commission is more than helping him do so.
Dallas Willard penned a book titled “The Great Omission.” Willard tackles the difficult and often overlooked issue of making disciples and spiritual formation. This is no small issue when hundreds upon hundreds come to faith in Christ in a crusade venue. What is there to do but tell them to find a local church?
Willard suggests that there is a disparity between what Christians have at their disposal and what they experience. He feels that is due in large part to a lack of teaching and nurturing.
I liken it to a city dweller buying a hunting license and his first trip is an unguided African safari. He is likely to be eaten alive. Many new believers are also left without some form of discipleship.
I realize this places a heavy burden on churches, many of whom don’t appear to be too concerned about this critical issue.
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