Breaking the Mold

Over the past 18 months, I have become enamored with Missionary Church history. (But don’t stop reading! This won’t be a history lecture, I promise.). My fascination has been rooted in learning about the two movements that ultimately merged into what we know today because of their rather unusual culture and DNA, which seemed to feature a unique blend of doctrinal conviction equally matched with both evangelistic and missional fervor.  

The result was a movement that led our founders to take bold risks with bold faith. While it may not seem so bold to us today (because we are the beneficiaries of what many in the late 1800s labeled “doctrinal innovation”), the forefathers of the United Missionary Church dared to conduct “unsanctioned” prayer meetings and allow women to publicly share their testimonies. The founders of the Missionary Church Association, led by a 29-year-old spirit-filled preacher, dared to “rebaptize” adults by immersion after their decision to follow Jesus (instead of pouring) boldly led by a movement of young 20-somethings that many discounted, looking down on their youth (as many would do today). 

They broke the mold. They boldly did what hadn’t been done before.  

Another young leader – Jesus – did the same thing 1,850 years earlier. One aspect of the life and ministry of 30-year-old Jesus that I am continually amazed by is how He was revolutionary in almost every situation He addressed, and how He shattered cultural norms with nearly every person He encountered. 

Most striking among the many examples might be how Jesus recruited his first disciples. The concept of a Rabbi having “talmidim” (disciples) wasn’t a new one. When a Hebrew boy reached 17 years old and had mastered his studies in the Old Testament, if he desired a career in religious studies he would make application to his Rabbi of choice, be thoroughly examined for readiness, and potentially be invited to become a “talmid” (disciple) of the rabbi. Only the best of the best made it this far. 

Jesus did none of that. He broke the mold.  

Instead, in Matthew 4:18-20, Jesus (the rabbi) invites two fishermen to be his talmidim. But they were not the best of the best. If anything, they were the B-team. Likely uneducated and considered “unclean” (fishermen daily handle dead fish), they would have never made application to a rabbi much less never would have expected a rabbi to invite them in. But with two simple words, that’s exactly what Jesus did. 

“Follow me.” 

Jesus doesn’t stop his innovation and rejection of tradition there, however. Next Jesus gives them a job description that was also revolutionary, one that would mark the disciples of Jesus as being unlike any talmidim that had come before. This Rabbi’s intent wasn’t to make these disciples more knowledgeable of the Old Testament or of Jewish law and customs. To the contrary, the charge was simple, clear, and innovative. 

“I will make you fishers of men.” 

Their job would be to watch Jesus, listen to His teachings, and emulate what He did so that they would be made into laborers who brought other people into the boat. 

What makes this so convicting to me is what Jesus did not say. He did not say that following Him would make them great preachers. He did not say that being his disciples would make them great organizational leaders or theological experts. The focus was on the outward impact, not inward results. The priority was fishing (dirty work, tiring work, unglamorous work) for outsiders rather than only serving and protecting the insiders (bringing new “fish” into the boat). 

This revolutionary approach by Jesus, one that in many ways would be repeated in the late-1800s by the two groups that would eventually merge into the Missionary Church, got Him expelled just like it did our denomination’s founders, each of which were expelled by their former denominations. More than that, it led to the accusations of blasphemy that nailed Jesus to the cross. 

Jesus boldly and unapologetically broke the mold. Not only in how He called and developed disciples, but the mold was broken in how Jesus honored women, cared for the marginalized, redefined grace, taught the truths of Scripture, and so much more. 

If we truly follow Jesus and emulate what He did, we will inevitably find ourselves with a calling to break molds and trust the Holy Spirit to lead us to bold risks for the sake of the Gospel that we may have never seen before. Not only that, but we in the Missionary Church are also building upon a culture and DNA handed down to us from the past 135 years that knew no other way. 

As you prepare for Easter in your churches and as we prepare for our next General Conference in July, I am praying that we all experience an outpouring of spiritual fervor and vision that leads to mold breaking and fishing like we have never seen before in our lifetimes. Does that sound like a rah-rah pep-rally speech? Sure. Do I believe it is possible and even likely the desire of our Father? Most definitely. 

What molds is the Spirit leading you to break in your life, in your ministry, in your community, or in your church? How many fish are being caught with the way we do it now versus how full the nets might be when we become true talmidim of Jesus and emulate our Rabbi? 

I believe we can’t even begin to imagine the answer to those questions.  

I believe molds are about to break.