EXTENDING the SCOPE?

Rev Dr Gordon Wong, Bishop of The Methodist Church in Singapore. His favourite desserts are bread and butter pudding, cream puffs, and crème brûlée. Dessert bribes will not get you into heaven.

This is the theme I was invited to reflect on. This theme has a most extensive scope! I shall limit myself to two random reflections.

Firstly, sometimes we are led to extend our scope because restrictions befall us. COVID-19 restrictions have led many to extend the use of technology, and the scope of their business, to reach people and places they did not venture into before.

John Wesley’s famous phrase “The world is my parish” was inspired by the restrictions that his church placed on him. Local parishes did not allow him to preach in their sanctuaries, and so he started preaching on the streets and around the coal mines.

The apostle Paul also extended the scope and reach of his ministry in response to the restriction and rejection he faced from Jewish leaders. This Jewish restriction and rejection led Paul to extend his Good News mission to non-Jewish folk (read Acts 13:4447), Gentiles like us Southeast Asians!

As the old adage goes, “When one door closes, another opens”, and often it opens to a more extensive and enlarged horizon. May unwelcome restrictions lead us to extend our scope and vision to other people and places.

Secondly, we cannot really extend the scope of God’s Good News mission beyond what our Lord and Master has already commissioned! Jesus has already given us the most extensive scope possible on earth (Matthew 28:19): Go to all the nations!

And so, even though we may be a Methodist Missions Society, we are firstly disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ who have been commissioned to make disciples in all nations.

Jesus has not commissioned us to make Methodist disciples, but Christian disciples. Extending the scope should, therefore, not be interpreted as extending the scope of Methodism. Our goal is not to extend Methodism, but to extend the love of Christ to all people in all nations.

May our Methodist Missions Society never restrict the most extensive scope of our Lord Jesus’ commission to all peoples in all nations.

Of course, no disciple can do everything, and no Missions Society can reach all people in all nations. So let us partner and co-operate with non-Methodist disciples of Christ, and together share the most extensive scope of God’s love for all peoples.

For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 13:47; Isaiah 49:6) Amen.

May unwelcome restrictions lead us to extend our scope and vision to other people and places.