New Technology Changes What It Means to Go

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go.”

Matthew 28:16-20

April was often the cruelest month when I was child. Each spring my father would sit the family down at the kitchen table and tell us where the Air Force was sending us next.

I got used to leaving places I loved and people I loved. “It’s an adventure!” we always said. We put a good spin on moving, but it didn’t change the deep sadness we felt.

At the end of Matthew, Jesus gives his disciples some new orders, too. “Go,” he says, “and make disciples of all nations.” Surely they must have felt deep sadness in this moment. Jesus was alive but leaving. And they would be leaving each other as well.

Or maybe not.

In the English, Jesus’ commission to the disciples sounds like a strong statement calling them to pack up and move, but the Greek is more subtle. Some translators have suggested that the passage could read, “As you go, make disciples.”

Howard Butt, Jr., used to say we go into all of the world—into different cultures and different countries, yes, but also different businesses, different careers, and different economic groups.

Wherever we go today, we make disciples.

Digital connection has added a new layer to this idea of going. For example, I see regular social media updates from friends around the country. We remain in community together, not because we live together in geographical proximity but because we share interests and projects.

So when a project wraps up or when an interest fades, it can feel like moving on. The High Calling team is already distributed across the country, for instance. People depart from the team, not when they move geographically but when they move vocationally.

Here’s some good news. People who share faith in Christ always remain connected spiritually. We can move in and out of different jobs, different cities, and different projects, but we remain united in purpose—to make disciples in all of the world, in all of our communities. God is sending us out to serve the people who live in the house down the street, the people who work in the office across the hall, the people who share a project and chat regularly in video conferences, even the people who receive digital services from us and hide just underneath the surface of online analytics like pageviews and open rates and shares and likes.

Into every physical and digital community, Jesus calls us to go. And we do. Where has he called you to go today?

PRAYER: Dear God, I like the idea of going on an adventure for you. That is what this commission often feels like. But I confess that I sometimes struggle to go when it isn’t comfortable. I’m thinking today about the many people who have worked together on The High Calling. I am sad that some of them won’t be working with us in the same way moving forward. Give us the strength you gave your first disciples. Help us go with confidence and joy into all the world. Amen.

BIBLE PASSAGE:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20