The concept of a Great Commission Resurgence is being written about more and more in Southern Baptist circles. I see the phrase popping up from time to time. I heard it first from Dr. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary. While I am not sure where the wording came from, I like it. We have had the Conservative Resurgence where we fought the battle for the Bible. Now we must take the message of the Bible to the world. However, it will take more than believing the Bible to cause a surge in great commission activity in our convention. Here are some other things that must gain our attention.

1. A Great Commission Resurgence must be preceded with the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the life of those that are going to witness to the lost. Acts 1:8 tells us we must first be filled and then we will be God’s witnesses all over the globe. While leadership is important, the filling of the Holy Spirit is essential. The emphasis in the past 20 years has been that everything rises and falls on leadership. With all the leadership conferences we have held our baptismal numbers are falling, not rising. Leaders must get back to total abandonment to God. Desperate dependence on God’s sufficiency alone is needed for what ails us.

2. A Great Commission Resurgence will include ministry evangelism. This is a great tool for established churches to use in order to touch the community around them. Matthew 25 tells us what to do and why we do it. Feeding, clothing, housing and visiting the needy are right. Jesus told us this. He also said it would be a part of the final exam.

3. A Great Commission Resurgence will include church planting. It is a proven fact that new churches are the ones that reach the most people. Our world needs more churches. With over 300 million people now in America, we need new church plants. The large population centers in our cities provide fertile soil for this work. Established churches must plant new ones. This is a must.

4. A Great Commission Resurgence calls for cooperation. When Southern Baptists rallied for Bible truth people who did not agree on all Bible applications still came together in support of a common cause. Today we must once again put aside arguing over some local church issues and work together to reach the world with the Gospel. This is a delicate balance and not a simple matter. Nonetheless, taking a risk to touch the world is called for in this area.

At Olive we are one church. We are seeking to shine the light of the Gospel in our areas of influence simultaneously in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. I am glad we are not alone. Many others are shining this light alongside us.  They do not all do church as we do or even speak the language we speak. Nevertheless, they proclaim the Gospel we proclaim and we are co-laborers together in the Great Commission Resurgence. May God raise up thousands of churches to turn us back toward the mission field. The harvest is abundant but the workers are lacking.

Dear God, revive us for the cause of the Gospel!

Pastor Ted Traylor

Posted on Friday, December 21st, 2007 at 10:23 am.
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