In the early 700s, a scholar and teacher named Boniface received a commission from Pope Gregory II to evangelize Germany. In the land in which he would later be martyred, Boniface labored to reach Germanic peoples previously untouched by the Gospel. Perhaps the most famous story about Boniface took place in Central Germany, where the emboldened scholar turned missionary cut down the sacred oak of Thor. It was a Gideon-type challenge to idolatry (Judges 6:24-32); despite Boniface’s outright offense, there was no lightning from Thor. Instead, a wind reportedly blew the sturdy tree down after Boniface had barely notched it. The Christian God was shown to be supreme, many local Hessians were converted, and Boniface proceeded with a somewhat surprising decision: he used timber from the oak to build a church.
This past fall, I finished a brief, intriguing book by a pastor and theologian named Matthew Burden. In Missionary Motivations: Challenges from the Early Church, Burden surveys missionary efforts from the first 5 or so centuries of Christianity in order to answer the question, “What motivated the Early Church to go out on mission?”. While much of Burden’s research is fascinating, there is one specific claim that has been on my mind since concluding the book. Namely, that the Early Church’s missionary efforts were focused on bringing the worship of the only true God to every nation.
This focus on the gathered worship of Christians as the goal of mission is based on Old Testament prophecies of the messianic reign…Early Christians saw themselves as the fulfillment of these prophecies. Thus, simply by raising their pure sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving from many different lands, early Christians believed they were enacting a literal fulfillment of God’s plan for the world. If one was to identify a primary goal of early Christian mission, it would likely be along those lines: the establishment of the worship of the one true God in every nation under heaven, in fulfillment of prophecy and in anticipation of the coming fullness of the kingdom.1
Thus, like Boniface, these ancient missionaries would often focus on establishing communities of faith—places of worship in formerly pagan lands. They may well have had in their minds Revelation 7, in which people from every nation, tribe, people, and language worship the Lamb and the One seated on the throne. The worship of these newfound churches was a signpost, a foreshadowing, of the future reality in which all will bow their knee to the true God.
Burden’s exploration of Early Church missions and theology has been thought-provoking for me. I think it gives greater weight to our gatherings of worship. When we set aside time each week at Front Range to worship God together during chapel, we are declaring what is true and real. We are among those who are witnessing to the fact that there is one God and he is worthy of praise. I think it serves as a reminder, as well, that worship is innately worth our time. No matter how busy our lives or how pressured we feel by the expectations placed upon us, giving glory to the One to whom it is due is always a worthwhile endeavour.
1 Matthew Burden, Missionary Motivations, 91.
