Is the Church like Waffle House?

Waffle House makes Waffles. (Brilliant, I know). What does the church make? What is the purpose of Jesus’ church? Waffle House exists to serve waffles, (sweet, delicious, golden-brown waffles…mmmm). Why does the church exist?  Above all the bells and whistles, buildings, signs, ministries and activities, what should be the central goal(s) of the body of Christ?

We looked at what Jesus said to the churches in Revelation and what Paul said to Timothy, a leader of a church. Today we will look at Jesus’ final words to the apostles, the future leaders of the churches. There are five charges, or commands, given to the apostles in the gospels and Acts, Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:44-48; John 20:30-31; & Acts 1:8. (Click here for the verses in full).

Take a look at the verses. Now what? “So what?” Is there something to learn here? Shoot, that’s like asking if waffles are delicious.

What are the themes in the verses?

1. Go out. The apostles were supposed to “go” to others. They weren’t told to sit and wait for people to come to them. They were supposed to move to the lost.
2. Proclaim the gospel. They were called to share the good news. What is the good news? Well first there’s bad news = people are separated from God because of their evil actions and corrupted hearts. God will rightfully judge evil. The judgment of God is a rather unpleasant thing, just ask the people of Noah’s day and the Chicago Cubs, (just kidding Cubbies). The good news is God gave his only son, Jesus Christ, to bear the judgment of God upon his own body for man's sake. He rose from the grave; now he offers forgiveness of sins for anyone who would believe in him. This is the good news the disciples were to proclaim.
3. Go everywhere. “All of the world,” “the whole creation,” “all nations.” The disciples were to go to the utter ends of the earth.
4. Witnesses. The disciples were not brilliant men or incredible speakers. Remember, most of them were uneducated fishermen. Jesus doesn't call men and women to overwhelm the lost with their smarts or their powers of speech. Instead he calls us to simply be witnesses to what he has done in history and in our own lives.

What does this mean for me?

I can’t believe I allowed myself to write something which utterly convicted me. Usually I try to avoid that sort of thing. The truth is your faithful author is horrible at sharing his faith. To say I stink at sharing the gospel is like saying waffle batter is gooey. I know I can’t suddenly make myself a great or even competent evangelist, but I can choose to seek the Lord and ask him to work his faithfulness into my life, just as he did in the lives of the apostles.

- I don’t like this conviction stuff. Next time we’re ONLY talking about waffles.

What does this mean for the purpose of the church?

The church is called to GO. We are not called to hope people COME. Jesus also didn't say, “Go out and invite people in so they may hear Peter speak.” He didn't tell the disciples to let only the smart, brave, and eloquent preach the gospel, (not that Peter necessarily qualified). They were ALL called to GO.

“So what” time:How is your “going” going? Are you proclaiming the gospel in word and deed or like me do you struggle with it? How can we seek obedience to Christ in this area of our lives? Are there folks around us we can learn from? Can we read books, pray, and get resources to help us? Or…do we just want to pretend you never read this article and do I just want to pretend I never wrote it? (Don’t ask me for my answer).

Waffle House exists to make delicious waffles. One of God’s designed purposes of the church is for it to go and proclaim the gospel? So what do we do? Are we going to fulfill our purpose as the body of Christ or ignore it?

Lord Jesus, you were the greatest "goer" and "proclaimer". You changed the lives of mere fishermen to help them go and proclaim. By your grace may you do the same in us. Amen.