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The Relationship Between the Great Commission, the Most Important Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Seminary 1-1-2011 The elr ationship between the great commission, the most important commandment, and abundance Mark McNees George Fox University This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation McNees, Mark, "The er lationship between the great commission, the most important commandment, and abundance" (2011). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 8. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/8 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Seminary at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GREAT COMMISSION, THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT, AND ABUNDANCE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY MARK MCNEES TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA SEPTEMBER 2011 All biblical quotations are from the New Living Translation Unless otherwise noted. Copyright 2011 by Mark McNees All Rights Reserved CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iv SECTION 1 ............................................................................................................. 1 THE PROBLEM ..................................................................................................... 1 Gospel Culture vs. Salvation Culture .................................................................. 1 Moralistic Therapeutic Deism ............................................................................. 2 Obsession with Part One of the Great Commission ............................................ 4 Declining Participation in the North American Church ...................................... 6 SECTION 2 ........................................................................................................... 10 OTHER PROPOSED SOLUTIONS..................................................................... 10 Attractional Programming ................................................................................. 10 Apologetic Evangelism ..................................................................................... 13 Church Multiplication ....................................................................................... 17 Niche Ministry Programs .................................................................................. 19 SECTION 3 ........................................................................................................... 24 THESIS ................................................................................................................. 24 The MIC as a rationale for pursuing the Great Commission ............................ 25 Addressing the Four Major Criticisms .............................................................. 27 Criticism #1: Your Christianity is too “plastic.” Christians pretend to live faultless lives; we need more authenticity. ................................................................ 30 Criticism #2: Your Christianity is too focused on the practical; we need deeper spirituality. ..................................................................................................... 32 i Criticism #3: Your Christianity is too individualistic; we need to learn to live in community.............................................................................................................. 38 Criticism #4: Your Christianity is too self-serving, focusing all your time and money on fulfilling your own needs. We need Christians who will live, love, and give for the last, the least, and the lost. ............................................................................. 40 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 44 SECTION 4 ........................................................................................................... 46 ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................ 46 SECTION 5 ........................................................................................................... 47 ARTIFACT SPECIFICATIONS .......................................................................... 47 POSTSCRIPT ....................................................................................................... 56 Lessons Learned ................................................................................................ 57 Suggestion for Further Research ....................................................................... 58 Appendix 1 ............................................................................................................... i Appendix 2: Artifact ............................................................................................... ii BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 155 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 4.1. Interaction of the Great Commission, MIC, and Abundant life. ........ 24 ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this work to my Dad and Mum. It was through their sacrifice and refusal to give up on me that I did not drop out of school in the 9th grade with a 0.00 grade point average. That they took the time to have me tested for a little known disorder at the time called dyslexia. Even then they did not give up until they found people who could help me work through it and eventually earn my doctorate. I would also like to thank my wife, Shannon for taking on an extra parenting burden while I pursued this dream. I of course would like to thank my academic advisor, Dr. Phil Newell who spent three years and countless hours with me refining and focusing my rough ideas into this written statement and book. I would also like to thank Dr. Timothy Gillespie for opening up his home and spending a week working with me on this written statement. I would also like to thank I would like to give special thanks to Linda Clare for her input on my book. Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my friend, John Bickley, for meeting with me every Friday for coffee to discuss and refine three years of ideas into a book that I pray will help people live out the vision God has for their life. iii ABSTRACT The problem this dissertation seeks to address is that many American churches in today’s emerging culture have failed to fulfill the great commission because of their lack of commitment to the Most Important Commandment (MIC)(Mark 12:28-31) as a method for fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). The thesis of this paper is that a holistic integrated approach to keeping the Great Commission can be developed by first embracing the ethic of the MIC. American churches in emerging culture that develop a ministry philosophy primarily driven by the MIC are better suited to effectively carry out the Great Commission. Moreover, when Christians make living out the MIC the primary focus of their lives, they will experience the abundant life Jesus promised and a more loving impact on the world for Christ (John 10:10, John 17:13). Sections 1 through 3 of this paper will provide a philosophical basis for a popular book titled, Immersion, which is presented as a media artifact. Immersion is a practical application using the metaphor of swimming to illustrate the research data presented in the following written statement. It is hoped that Immersion will be used by ecclesial leaders to encourage, equip, and edify Christ followers to be living manifestations of the MIC while they pursue the Great Commission (Matthew 5:14; John 8:12; Philippians 2:15; Acts 13:47). Section 4 provides a brief description of the artifact along with an explanation of how and why a church will be greatly helped by a rediscovery of what Christ called the MIC. In Section 5 detailed specifications of the artifact are provided. The several chapters of the artifact are found in Appendix 2. iv SECTION 1 THE PROBLEM It is the contention of this paper that the American church has failed to fully live out the Most Important Commandment (MIC), which has significantly reduced the impact of its voice and influence in American culture and in individual lives. In this section, the paper will probe the current spiritual climate in America and the attitudes and philosophies which hinder the advancement of the Gospel. Four current problems will be reviewed that significantly water down the MIC and its ability to impact this culture with the Gospel message. It is this author’s contention that the first three being discussed: Gospel Culture vs. Salvation Culture, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, and an obsession with a narrow view of the Great Commission, are examples of underlining attitudes and philosophies which have resulted in the quantifiable problem of declining participation in the North American Church. Gospel Culture vs. Salvation Culture Scot McKnight identifies the difference between salvation culture and Gospel culture in his book, The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited.1 Here he claims “salvation culture” has reduced the message of Jesus to an individualistic message of rescue. N.T. Wright speaks into the shortcomings of salvation as an individualistic message of rescue in his holistic
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