George Bernard Shaw wasn’t being complimentary when he observed: “He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.” Given the choice between those conditions, it’s better to know nothing than to think you know everything. The challenge is personal: where are the gaps in my knowledge base that exhibit my continuing ignorance? And – based on that awareness – what am I doing to resolve the disparity?

      In the early days of the Christian faith movement, the Apostle Paul’s calling included closing the ignorance gap for underinformed Christians. Example: “Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ They answered, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit’” (Acts 19:1-2). What were these first-generation Christians missing in their knowledge base?

      The apostle who wrote Hebrews had the same concern regarding the Christians who would receive and read his letter. He’s being necessarily confrontational when he says: “By now you should be teachers. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the first things you need to know from God’s Word. You still need milk instead of solid food. Anyone who lives on milk cannot understand the teaching about being right with God. He is a baby. Solid food is for full-grown men. They have learned to use their minds to tell the difference between good and bad” (Hebrews 5:12-14).

      For the last 40 years – since shifting my career focus from the commercial marketplace to parachurch ministry – the challenge has been to find the places where well-churched Christian leaders were not well-schooled: the places where a truth-gap was impairing their spiritual maturity and capacity.

      Today – well-into the 21^st Century – effective assessments are regularly conducted to find the places where real-deal Christians are missing crucial components of their faith foundations, limiting their potential impact and effectiveness in serving the Kingdom and advancing their faith. Where are the gaps that I see, today, that bring focus to my calling to help people move from ignorant to ignited?

There are three significant deficiencies that I often discern among our generation’s Jesus followers.  

      First, the Great Commission has become a footnote rather than a headline. Our advanced culture has invited adults to ponder the question of life purpose as a critical discovery; sadly – for Christians – that search too often avoids the obvious: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Current surveys find that only 16% of evangelical Christians even know what the Great Commission is; far fewer are actually acting on that knowledge.

      Second, the practice of Stewardship has eroded into debates questioning the continuing mandate for a tithe on income (with side-considerations regarding “before taxes, or after?”). Jesus made that subject a centerpiece of His messaging: “It will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them” (Matthew 25:14). Jesus is the wealthy master; we are his servants. He’s coming back for us to give an accounting…

      Last, a nebulous understanding of Eternity makes most Christians more comfortable navigating their current life course in keeping with cultural norms rather than setting their sights on the forever destination to which they will soon transfer: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Eden, restored. That promise carries profound insight for the life of design and discipline – here, now – that promises faithful Christians here an incredible welcome there.

      So: where are the gaps in your biblical framework that might be inhibiting your ability to fully experience and express your role as an ambassador of the coming Kingdom, in a modern culture that is darkening by the day?

Here to help!

— Bob Shank