The Mission Continues

Matthew 28:16-20, Psalm 8:1-9

The CEO and president of the board of directors issued a set of simple instructions. They reflected the mission of this organization, and it became the most effective, powerful initiative ever launched in the history of humanity. It makes Apple look like a flash in the pan and Tesla look like a brief experiment. If indeed the church were a business, it would be the most successful one ever!

Jesus’ instructions were simple and clear in Matthew’s gospel: Go, teach, baptize, remember. 

First, “go.”

This would not be a board of directors that sits in a conference room making decisions. No. The disciples are going to scatter to the four corners of the earth. Jesus did not simply send his disciples to their kinsmen but instructed them to go to all nations. That was the mission—simple, but impossible: go to the whole world and give them hope.

Second, “teach them.”

They will be like the door-to-door salesmen of times past, sharing the movement’s philosophy. They are not only meant to disseminate his teaching but to embody Jesus’ ethics and his ways of treating their clientele.

But that is not quite right. The recipients won’t be clients or customers but recruits. Everyone is invited to be a part of the organization. That is what makes this a truly unique movement.

Third, “baptize them.” This rite will mark them as part of the community. It not only conveys privileges of membership—a network of support that is worldwide, eternal life—but demands responsibility. Each person so baptized is meant to continue the work of the original twelve. Namely, seek to live a life that reflects the way Jesus lived his life. This responsibility will ask everything of us but will also give us all that we ever need.

Fourth, remember. “Remember, I am with you always.”

When the work gets hard; when you think you can’t go a step further; when you become lost, look within. Jesus has sent his Spirit to guide you, protect you, empower you, and comfort you.

These twelve people of no particular pedigree set out to change this planet—and they did it. Listen to the ancient historian Eusebius relate their travels:

Meanwhile the holy apostles and disciples of our Savior were dispersed throughout the world. Parthia, according to tradition, was allotted to Thomas as his field of labor, Scythia to Andrew, and Asia to John… Peter appears to have preached in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia to the Jews of the dispersion. And at last, having come to Rome, he was crucified head-downward, for he had requested that he might suffer in this way. What do we need to say concerning Paul, who preached the Gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and afterwards suffered martyrdom in Rome under Nero?

Think about everything against this miraculous spread. First of all, the two thousand years of opportunity for inertia to simply kill the movement into oblivion. There was no reason to look back at that moment from a historical perspective and believe this was the beginning of a new world. Next, there was no internet, newspapers, or social media to spread its influence. It happened one community, one person at a time. There was something sticky about this message. It has made inroads in every society in the world. In the Asian world, Christianity for a couple of thousand years hardly made a dent, but now, in the past few decades, it has made a dramatic impact on the nation of South Korea and is being fostered in China.

It made people’s lives better—empirically better. Their health improved, their education multiplied, their economics multiplied, murder and war decreased, and equality spread. Admittedly, this is a project that has seen its ups and downs and sometimes terrible failures, but overall the trajectory of the world is markedly better.

In The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark convincingly demonstrates that Christianity replaced paganism because it improved people’s lives. As one commentator wrote:

The Christian doctrine translated into real-world social and communal advantages—which made it appealing and sustainable. Some of the key areas where improvements occurred:

• The value of women. Christianity rejected infanticide, which was especially high for newborn females. Women were also included early on in worship leadership. This led to more stable households and higher fertility.

• Christians supported one another through mutual aid. In many parts of Roman society, social welfare was significantly weaker; the communal strength stabilized the communities while attracting new converts.

• In the midst of plagues devastating populations, Christian hope offered a purpose beyond this life; it was a compelling alternative to despair.

• Early Christians, rather than engaging in wars with their opponents, took the path of peace and martyrdom, which was a compelling new way of dealing with conflict and a powerful witness.

• Christian theology also taught a deep equality amongst all people—that everyone was made in the image of God—and eradicated barriers between ethnic groups, social class, and economics, giving the everyday person a measure of dignity in this life.

We are here today to continue that mission. We are Jesus’ disciples now. A few months ago the congregation took a survey, and you set this mission as a primary priority: to reach new people. In other words, to continue the Great Commission from Matthew’s gospel!

The formula is the same. It follows the same strategy that Jesus used whenever he took his message beyond the immediate environs.

Believe it or not, he didn’t start by telling them, “I’m the Savior of the world, I’m God! You better listen to me!”

He didn’t begin by telling them what was wrong with them. He didn’t begin by preaching to them what they ought to be doing. He began by listening to them—what pain was in their heart, what illness was besetting their body and soul. He began by healing them, respecting them, listening to them, and feeding them.

This is the same strategy we strive to emulate, though surely we fail at times. And this is how we have stated it: “to be a spiritual home for all people”—a respite, a break from the pressures of life, whatever your faith is, whether you’re Christian, Hindu, an atheist, a Buddhist, or a Muslim. It doesn’t matter. If this community can help you on the road to life, we want to be there for you.

We are not here to convert you; that is not our job, because we seek to respect people’s God-given conscience. “God alone is Lord of the conscience.” What you believe is between you and God. But what we do, we do in the name of Jesus. And we do it with grateful joy.

Here at Brick Church we don’t gather as strangers. We come as friends to celebrate! A few weeks ago at the Strawberry Festival, we did that in spades, and people from the neighborhood were coming by and asking, “What is happening here?” They could see the excitement, your servant joy, they could see the love.

Which leads us to our second goal.

Even as we hope to gather people into Brick Church, we also want to send them out—to be “a beacon of hope” for the Upper East Side, the City of New York, and whatever corner of the world may need what we have to offer.

And this is why at the last Session meeting we made two decisions with the blessed surplus we had in 2025 because of your generosity.

First, we’re going to pay back the endowment from the past few years’ deficits. Second, and more importantly, we are restoring $50,000 in grants to bring that hope, especially in these days when so many nonprofits’ funding has been cut. This is possible only because of your generosity. Thank you!

But we are leaving some of that surplus as seed money, wanting to listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, sensing that God is on the precipice of doing something new with us.

Jesus commands you and commands me: go, teach, baptize, and remember. And shall we add today: give thanks for all the Lord has done for us. Amen.