Why Do You Keep Saying That?
We’ve all seen the Princess Bride, and we all know the famous phrase – “"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Inigo said it over and over, again and again until it had been burned into film history. That single phrase represents the entirety of the movie, so much so that when we hear it we not only remember that specific scene, but memories of the entire film come flooding in. That is the power of a phrase.
You’ve been hearing this phrase a lot; “Growing in Christ, Loving our Neighbours”, but what does it mean and why do we keep saying it? Over the next few blogs, I want to explain why we keep saying this, what it means to ‘Grow in Christ’ and what it means to ‘Love our Neighbour’. It is not just a cliché, but something that myself and the elders hope will become ingrained in our minds as to who we are and what our goal as a church is.
First I want to tell you the origin of the phrase. Back in February, before the AGM we had an elder’s retreat to talk about the direction of the church, where we had been and where we thought God wanted us to go together. We spent a lot of time in prayer and discussion, praying and talking about a great many things and finally we came to agreement. We had a statement that would guide us into this next season of leading God’s church.
We agreed that our overarching commission is the ‘great commission’ from Matthew 28:18-20:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [1]
If that’s what Jesus told us to do as the church, then that’s what we would do. The question then arose – “how”? How do we carry out this great commission in this time and this place? What does it look like to make disciples and teach them everything Jesus commanded in Nakusp, BC, 2016?
Disciples make disciples, that much is clear. In order to disciple someone else, we must first be disciples ourselves. So what is a disciple of Jesus Christ? That’s a big question and requires a bigger answer than I am prepared to write here (and let’s face it, probably bigger than you are prepared to read right now). For the sake of simplicity, Timothy Keller describes a disciple this way:
The word “disciple” is packed with meaning, but it is clear from the New Testament that it meant, first and foremost, students of Jesus. They followed him and learned from him (Luke 10:38-42). Second, it meant putting allegiance to Jesus first in your life (Mark 1:16-20). Lastly, it meant to be a man or woman in mission, sent into the world to minister both in word (Luke 10:1-20) and in deed (Luke 10:25-37), both sharing your faith and loving your neighbor. [2]
As a congregation of disciples, we desire to follow and learn from Jesus, we put Him first and we are sent into the world to love our neighbours. The foundation of ‘Growing in Christ and Loving our Neighbours’ is the great commission, and the great commission flows directly out of the gospel. This phrase reminds us that we are a gospel centered church, seeking to fulfill the great commission.
Just like Inigo Montoya’s phrase in the Princess Bride, we pray that this simple statement will begin to encapsulate who we are and what we do. Together our desire is to “Grow in Christ and Love our Neighbours” for the glory of God.
God Bless You!