Jesus' Strategy

Surely we want to minister the gospel wisely. 

There may even be a place for some sort of strategy and efficiency in the church. 

But may the Lord deliver us from worldly wisdom. 

Rowam Williams has (I paraphrase) suggested that there may be a wiff of sulphur about too much love of strategy. 

What was Jesus' strategy? 

We could say many things. To call ordinary people. Some odd bods. Some outcasts. Some people with a history. Not the most promising set of people. Not many of them were wise, or learned, or rich, or powerful or...  

And to send them out in pairs with nothing as a training exercise. 

Jesus' startegy headlines would be: preach, die, rise, Holy Spirit, Bible, prayer, persecution. 

Today I am, God willing, preaching on the Parable of the Sower. 

What is the startegy here?

Just to scatter the seed. To preach the Word. To sow the gospel of the secret of the Kingdom. 

Sow, sow, sow, sow, wait, trust, Great Results!. 

And to sow liberally. Even profligately. Wildly. 

We don't know the yield rate. In 75% of the locations, the seed fails. Does most of the seed fall on good soil? Maybe. But the sower is okay with seed on the path, and amongst the thorns, or on the rocky ground. We hear nothing of an attempt to avoid it or to control who hears. 

The good sower of the good seed on the good soil gets a yield of 30, 60 or 100 times what is sown. 

Does he know in advance which seed will be effective? Could be sharply deliniate the locations? If so, he would surely do more to keep off the path? But what if in avoiding the path some good soil is missed?

No, Jesus' strategy seems to be to preach the Word to anyone who might listen, even if only briefly and superficially. And to continue to preach the Word. To sow liberally in hope. There will be a great harvest. 

The strategy is the full and free offer of the Gospel whenever and to whomsoever. 

Let us put this in our Mission Action Plans and Five Year Strategies!