Given such understanding, how then can God’s people place constraints upon God’s mission?  Any ideology that sets limits to those we have been called to love is opposed to God’s purposes and thereby evil.  What’s more is that as disciples of Christ, we are called to go and reach out “to all peoples everywhere.”  The worst decision a church can make is to expect the rest of the world to come to us, whereas the very first word of the Great Commandment is “Go.”  Jesus insists that we meet every person wherein they work, live, and play.  The church was never intended to be The Field of Dreams:  Build it and they will come.

Furthermore, the mission of making disciples is as much an individual task as it is corporate.  Each Christian has been saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus to be sent into her (or his) own corner of the world to share Christ’s love. Perhaps, we are looking at our present societal problems all wrong.  Rather than waiting for Jesus to show up and render peace and justice to our divided world, each one of us is to take Jesus to the parts of the world that we occupy.  In other words, every vagrant person I pass while walking into Nippert Stadium grants me opportunity to offer a gesture of kindness or every customer whom I meet in the grocery line affords me an occasion to begin a friendly conversation.