One Commission, Many Nations: An International Family When Jesus gave His disciples their commission before ascending to the Father, He drew no national boundaries around it. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,” He commanded, “baptizing them . . . teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The scope was unmistakable—every nation, every people, every language.

A selection of UCG booklets in a variety of languages

We continue this mission today, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom and rulership of God in all the world, making disciples in all nations and caring for those disciples. The book of Revelation shows the everlasting gospel will be proclaimed to every nation, tribe, tongue and people (Revelation 14:6-7). When Christ returns and rules all nations on the earth, the Millennium-world will be taught His ways until the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, as Micah foresaw: “He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths” (Micah 4:1-3; Isaiah 11:9). After that, in the Great White Throne Judgment period, those who never truly understood God’s truth will be raised to physical life, with God’s word opened to their understanding. They will be given their first opportunity to learn His way and respond to Him (Isaiah 11:9; Revelation 20:11-12). We now serve in but one of several successive phases of God’s offering humanity an opportunity to come under His loving rulership. This is a huge responsibility at a most critical and challenging point in time. Accomplishing it is far beyond human strength alone. Fulfilling the commission requires more than media broadcasts and publications originating from a central location. It requires men and women living the Word, exemplifying the results and serving those whom God is calling—in their languages, in their communities, within their cultural contexts. This is precisely what UCGIA’s international offices, ministry, staff and volunteer members actively contribute to every day. A Global Body of ServantsAcross multiple continents, the United Church of God includes members and operations served through national council associations and international senior pastor regions. These active operations are supported by dedicated men and women who manage operations, support congregations, develop region-specific resources, and provide the organizational infrastructure through which the gospel reaches communities far and wide. Their work often goes unseen by the broader membership—yet it is honorable, appreciated and indispensable. During in-person visits with domestic and international congregations, offices, staff and boards, the home office staff and I are continually struck by the dedication of so many highly skilled contributors to this collaborative end-time work of God. Everywhere we travel, we see faithful men and women preparing God’s people while also striving to find avenues and opportunities to share the good message of God’s way of life to a dying world. Our numbers are small and our presence on the world scene may seem hardly bigger than a pinhead. Yet like grains of salt scattered across the earth and points of light shining in the darkness, each of us contributes towards the great mission that Christ assigned. Our international entities carry significant responsibly in serving their regions—navigating diverse languages, legal environments, cultural contexts and local church needs—with the same sense of calling that motivates you and me. Many sacrifice their time, career advancement and personal comfort in order to serve the Church. Their faithfulness reflects the spirit of Paul, who counted “all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8). God is also blessing us with a remarkable community of highly skilled volunteer contributors around the world—translators, writers, educators, media professionals, administrators and more—who give generously of their time and abilities. They love helping all of the people God created and believe deeply in contributing to His Work. One Work, One Body“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Every part matters. Every part contributes to the whole. The home office, the international offices and the senior pastorates do not represent separate endeavors. They are one body, one commission, one work—different in location and function but unified in purpose through one Spirit. As we pursue striving to fulfill Christ’s commission together, let us express sincere gratitude for each other as we carry this mission across time zones and national boundaries. To our international staff and volunteer contributors: your work is seen by God, valued by this Church, and woven into the eternal purpose He is working out on this earth. We are deeply grateful for every one of you. In Christ’s service, John ElliottPresident, United Church of God

I received the above message in my e-mail yesterday afternoon. Upon reading the message I thought that there were definitely some things missing in the praise and commendation given and also that some of what was not said and not mentioned was as troubling as what was said, and that this message deserved a response. I shared the message with people close to me, some of whom had not received or read the message, and heard similar concerns. I also happened to receive the message from another source with praise for what this letter said that addressed what I believe to be the intention of this message without commentary on what I believe to be the unintentional problem that this message revealed in light of the context of the contemporary Church of God as a whole (and United Church of God in particular). Throughout the response that is to follow I will be quoting and interpreting the letter above and so I sought to present it unedited first so that it might be clear and obvious that I was not seeking to twist the words I am responding to or interpret them misleadingly, as the context is available to look at for any candid reader.

First, I wish to comment on what I believe to be the purpose of this letter. From what I can read, there are multiple audiences for this letter. One specific audience, and the one I have most to critique about, is the operational staff of the Home Office itself, which this letter is written from the perspective of. The second audience consists of the people this letter most consistently praises, the officers and staff of American and international parts of the work of the United Church of God, praise which in my observation is generally deserved: “God is also blessing us with a remarkable community of highly skilled volunteer contributors around the world—translators, writers, educators, media professionals, administrators and more—who give generously of their time and abilities.” Perhaps immodestly but hopefully accurately, I consider myself to be a part of this audience and accept the praise that is given here, and believe it to be deserved by a great many people who often quietly and competently serve their local congregations as well as within their local communities, larger societies, and the United Church of God as a whole.

A third intended audience, at least hopefully, are ordinary members both in the United States and abroad. And it is here where I begin to be uncertain about what message was meant to be communicated specifically to this audience. Generally speaking, the people I interact with within the Church of God community are generally concerned with the well-being of the world as a whole, brethren in other congregations, brethren in other nations, brethren in other organizations, and so on. As someone who has served in multiple international service projects to help build up and educate others, I do not ignore the needs and well-being of my brethren from other countries. Many people whom I know personally regularly spend a great deal of time, effort, and expense helping and serving people all over the world. I do not know how many people need to be reminded of the needs and concerns and issues of far-flung brethren. I can readily believe that many brethren in isolated communities may not be aware of how many others pray for their concern or quietly support efforts to help them. To the extent that this letter encourages such brethren that they are not neglected or forgotten, it does some good.

One minister, who is involved with the work of the United Church of God in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, had the following to say about this letter in giving it praise: “Let’s continue to increase our experiences with God and embrace a more complete understanding of who He is and what He is doing for mankind. Let’s engage in His work, so we can learn by doing. Let’s expose ourselves to a godly culture until we not only become familiar with and understand it, but also until it becomes our own. For those who may not be signed up to receive it, and since so many of you are actively engaged in supporting the efforts to preach the Gospel in the B.E.E.S. region, I have included the lead article in this week’s edition of United News Weekly below. The very relevant article is by John Elliot and is titled “One Commission, Many Nations: An International Family.” It can be found at the conclusion of this update.” After the letter, he gave even more praise to it: “As you read the article above, I hope you noted the distinction between the use of upper case “C” to describe the Church of God and the lower case “c” to describe the legal entity known as the United Church of God. This is an intentional stylistic choice in the literature, and an important one to note as we collaborate to varying degrees with many co-workers around the world to accomplish God’s work. Thank you all for your service to God.” From this response, I gather that the message was taken as a praise for those who serve in the international work of the United Church of God to preach the Gospel to the world and to prepare a people as being encouraging to their efforts.

There is, however, an extensive and unintentional problem that this letter bears out that is a deeper and more consistent shortcoming with the efforts of the United Church of God and many other institutions. This letter, and the more general communications of the United Church of God and other organizations, are often very detailed about half of their intended mission, to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world. One can, if one chooses, readily find a great deal of specificity in seeking which people serve in various positions of leadership in American and international boards and councils. One can see statistics about how many booklets are printed, how many impressions on websites there are, how many views there are to videos on YouTube, and the like. One can see how many people attend seminars, what is the cost per impression or cost per response for various marketing efforts, and the like. Some of these statistics may be imperfect and we may desire better ones, but it is clear that the United Church of God and other institutions spend a great deal of attention on how effective (or not) efforts at preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God are. This work is known, in detail. It is measured, it is intentionally examined, it is an issue that prompts a great deal of concern related to personnel decisions, budget priorities, writing, editing, filming, sermons, public seminars, and so on.

What is not viewed with any such level of detail or specificity is the preparation of the people of God. Indeed, it is scarcely examined what the brethren are being prepared for. The training and preparation of the brethren for the royal priesthood and holy nation the people of God make up is often acknowledged but not viewed as being a present-day reality or a task that is to be conducted with any great urgency. The specific skills and capacities that humble brethren will need to rule over others is not broken down into specific skills with specific development in mind to support and increase these capacities. Nor is it emphasized that this work is not merely for the world to come but for our present lives, for as it is written by Paul in Ephesians 4:11-13: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” It is indeed true that some passages of Paul are difficult to understand, but this is straightforward in explaining that the purpose of leaders within the Church, those same leaders this letter praises for being united and highly skilled and competent, is to equip the saints (that is, ordinary brethren) for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ–namely the whole Church as a whole–until we all come to a unity of faith and of knowledge and of maturity and full development as the younger brothers and sisters of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To what extent, presently, and over the past decades, have brethren been built-up and trained and formed for the work of the ministry? Have such efforts been defined, organized, formally measured for their effectiveness? Has this divinely ordained task even been comprehended and acknowledged as the purpose of the leadership of any organization? And can any leaders and administrators who are not engaged in doing this task be considered to be praiseworthy and profitable and competent servants of our Master who has given them their marching orders for nearly 2000 years?

The author of this letter references Ephesians 4 by saying: “The home office, the international offices and the senior pastorates do not represent separate endeavors. They are one body, one commission, one work—different in location and function but unified in purpose through one Spirit.” This echoes Ephesians 4:1-6: “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” This unity that Paul discusses is not merely unity at the top of a corporate hierarchy, but unity throughout the entire body of Christ, wherever whenever it may be. Let us pray, and if need be, fast during the next couple of weeks, that such humility may be shown by those who lead for the God-given purpose that those who lead us may prepare themselves for the work of building up the brethren all around the world for the work of ministry as divinely ordained kings and priests to do His work as citizens of His kingdom in a dying and broken world. For until such a task is begun, no praise can be expected from God the Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and King for those who are falling asleep and not even beginning the job of preparing the people of God to rule and to serve based on the gifts and talents that have been given to us.