Are You Living Out The Great Omission?

I grew up Southern Baptist.

If there is one thing that Southern Baptists love almost more than food, it is missions. If you also grew up Southern Baptist, you’ve probably heard of:

Missions fairs

Lottie Moon

Annie Armstrong

IMB & NAMB

Love offerings

And, of course, everyone’s favorite Sunday…Missions Emphasis Day.

Not familiar with what that is? It is usually the day when the missionaries from the field come home for a few weeks and are given a Sunday morning service to update, share stories, show pictures, and challenge us all to consider living our Great Commission.

I loved these Sundays. They shared wild stories. They showed pictures of the people and places. And if you were dealing with a missionary to Africa, you might even get a picture of a lion from their last safari.

But I remember every time a missionary would come to our church and share, I would leave deeply convinced. I’d especially feel a sense of conviction when they read the passage known as The Great Commission. It states:

[18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:16–20 (ESV)

And every time those verses were read, I experienced a deep internal conflict.

Conviction & Confliction

I knew the Great Commission.

I pondered what going to “all nations” might mean for me.

I valued making disciples who, in turn, made disciples.

However, I still experienced an internal conflict. I believe the reason I was convicted by the Holy Spirit was because my life was in conflict with God’s Holy Word. In other words:

I knew I ought to make disciples. I listened to sermons about making disciples. I even believe with my whole heart that we ought to make disciples. But I had not re-prioritized my life actually to make disciples.

Introducing The Great Omission

I bet you and I are similar in this regard. For example:

I bet you believe we ought to make disciples.

I bet you believe we ought to baptize people.

I bet you believe we ought to teach people all that Jesus commanded.

But have you actually done it? Have made a disciple? Have you ever led someone to faith in Jesus and baptized them? Have you ever met with someone on a regular basis to teach them about the faith?

The question I’m asking is — Why?

Why do we believe in The Great Commission while our lives are living The Great Omission? A life where we omit doing the things we believe.

It’s as if there is a gap.

There is a gap between becoming a disciple of Jesus and making disciples of Jesus. And that gap (that didn’t exist in the New Testament) exists in most Christians's lives today.

I write this newsletter to invite you to examine your life and ask yourself: “Is there a gap present in my own heart? And if so, why?”

I believe Jesus is inviting you to leave The Great Omission behind and to begin living out The Great Commission you were made for.

For The Local Church 📍

Landon Reynolds