Our mission: 4th Part

By: Dr. Bruno Molina, Executive Director of HBN

This month, I will finish explaining our mission statement phrase by phrase. So far, I’ve discussed how “United for his glory, we exist to connect on mission, contribute resources, and celebrate what God is doing among us.” The last phrase in our mission statement is “in collaboration with the body of Christ.”

In Matthew 5:13-14 Jesus tells his disciples, in part, “You are the salt of earth… You are the light of the world.” Essentially, he is telling his disciples to be a group of people who function as a preserving moral agent and exhibit the wisdom and character of God. Matthew 5:16 follows by stating, “Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

It’s important to note that the words “you” and “your” in these verses is plural as in “all of you” or “y’all.” This requires that we live “in collaboration with the body of Christ.”In fact, we must do this together or we cannot truly be Jesus’ disciples. A great example of living according to this truth is found in Acts 2:42-47.

Three thousand people had just put their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and many of them were from out of town; some from as far away as Rome, Mesopotamia and Crete.

They were basking in the afterglow of having their sins forgiven and applying the apostles teaching regarding what it meant to follow Jesus in this life.

They ate, prayed, learned and lived together in fellowship as they met each other’s needs. As people observed their behavior, they saw their good works, recognized the dynamic as a “God thing” and wanted to be a part of such a community. No wonder that “the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:47).”

In Acts 22 and 23 we find the apostle Paul defending the gospel and himself before the Jewish authorities. Wisely, he speaks to them in Hebrew and identifies himself as a Pharisee who is “on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead! (Acts 23:6)” I point this out because we will not always agree on every point of doctrine with people with whom we will need to collaborate in order to further God’s will.

For instance, I’ve traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby congress for immigration reform with brothers and sisters in Christ whom I respect but with whom I disagree on some important theological issues. Additionally, as I write this, our international SBC Send Relief teams are helping survivors of the Venezuelan earthquakes alongside Christians from other denominations.

Ultimately, we must work “in collaboration with the body of Christ” if we are to do the good works which God prepared beforehand (Eph. 2:10) so that others will recognize in us his wisdom and character, desire to know him, and glorify his name. Let’s go!