Describe the nature and mission of the Church. What are its primary tasks today?

Just as the body of Christ is made of many parts, the part of the body which is the United Methodist Church has taken the mission of creating “disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” However, this question leads me to think that while it is important for me to be clear on the nature and mission of the UMC, it is also important for me to be clear on the nature and mission of the Universal Church. That is to say, I read this question to also ask, “What is the nature and mission of the body of Christ?” This broader understanding of this question leads me to respond in ways which are not contrary to the mission and nature of the UMC, but perhaps with a different emphasis.

I believe the nature and mission of the Universal Church (the Body of Christ) is to continue the mission of Christ on earth and to help usher in the Kingdom of God. The Church accomplishes this task in a number of ways such as making disciples of Jesus Christ, working to reconcile the world, advocating peace and exposing the culture of violence of satanic scapegoating. All of these tasks are vital to the overall mission and nature of the Universal Church to help usher in the Kingdom of God. The nature and mission of the Church that I am articulating is one that comes from Christ who inaugurated the year of Jubilee and taught his disciples how to continue the work of God after he was crucified and resurrected. And so while it is important to make disciples of Jesus Christ, this is just one expression (albeit the primary expression in the UMC) of the overall mission of the Body of Christ which is to usher in the Kingdom of God.

It is important for me to be very clear on this as I move into a greater understanding of my vocational call. I can expend a vast amount of energy working to make disciples of Jesus Christ, which I plan to continue to do. However, when the day comes for a reassessment of the mission of the UMC, it is important to me to realize that the mission of the UMC is only part of the mission of God. Jesus created disciples that helped transformed the world, but that was only a secondary task for Jesus as I understand the mission of Christ. Jesus Christ’s primary mission was to inaugurate and help usher in the Kingdom of God. He taught, he healed, he bled, he died, and he was resurrected all in the effort to allow the Kingdom to take deeper roots in the culture and in the lives of people. Therefore, I believe it is the nature and mission of the Church to continue to help usher in the Kingdom of God by making disciples of Jesus Christ and working to reconcile the world, advocating peace, and exposing the culture of violence of satanic scapegoating.

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