Mistaking Christian Activity for Obedience

Living Commissioned Journal #3

Information can inform you.
Obedience can transform the world.

It’s easy to fill a church calendar.

Sunday services. Wednesday nights. Small groups. Bible studies. Game nights. Fellowship nights. Worship nights. Movie nights. Women’s events. Men’s events. Community fun days. Cookouts. Pancake breakfasts. Soup days. Serve days.

The list can go on and on.

And none of those things are bad.

In fact, many of them are wonderful.

We can attend church every Sunday.

We can lead a Bible study.

We can host worship nights.

We can listen to worship music in the car.

We can read our Bible every morning.

We can serve at church events, volunteer in ministries, attend conferences, and fill nearly every open space on our calendars with something Christian.

And still never actually tell a nonbeliever about Jesus.

That should bother us.

Because somewhere along the way, I wonder if we have started mistaking Christian activity for obedience.

Jesus never said,

“Go and create more Christian gatherings.”

He said,

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”
Matthew 28:19

There is a difference.

Christian activity can help us obey Jesus. Gathering with believers matters. Studying Scripture matters. Worship matters. Fellowship matters. Equipping matters.

But none of those things were ever meant to become a replacement for going.

The problem is not Christian activity.

The problem is when Christian activity becomes a substitute for obedience.

We live in a time when biblical information is everywhere.

Sermons.

Podcasts.

Books.

Bible apps.

Studies.

Conferences.

Teaching clips.

Online courses.

We have more access to biblical content than nearly any generation before us.

And yet access to more information does not automatically produce greater obedience.

We can consume hours of teaching about prayer and still barely pray.

We can talk about discipleship and never actually disciple anyone.

We can study the Great Commission for years and still never make a disciple.

At some point, another Bible study cannot replace doing what the Bible study already taught us to do.

We don’t need to know everything before we obey something.

That may be one of the great dangers of our time.

We can become incredibly good at consuming discipleship content while avoiding the costly work of actually making disciples.

The purpose of equipping is obedience.

Paul wrote that Christ gave leaders to the Church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

The equipping was never meant to become the destination.

It was preparation for the work.

But sometimes I wonder if we have made equipping the work.

We gather.

We study.

We discuss.

We take notes.

We attend another class.

Then another.

Then another.

And all the while, the harvest is still waiting.

The numbers should make us stop and think.

Barna’s research released in 2025 found that only 31 percent of Christians strongly agreed that they have a personal responsibility to share their faith.

Think about that for a moment.

Jesus commissioned His followers to go and make disciples, yet only about three out of ten Christians strongly believe sharing their faith is personally their responsibility.

Even among practicing Christians, the picture is sobering.

In a 2023 Barna study, just 52 percent of practicing Christians strongly agreed that they personally have a responsibility to tell others about their beliefs.

In that same research, only 12 percent of pastors said their churches were very effective at encouraging Christians to share their faith.

Maybe we need to ask ourselves a difficult question.

Are we becoming better at doing church things than obeying Jesus?

Because if we spent as much time in the harvest as we do participating in the regular Christian activities that fill our calendars, imagine what could happen.

Imagine if every Bible study eventually produced people who went out and shared the gospel.

Imagine if every discipleship group produced disciplemakers.

Imagine if every worship gathering reminded us that the King we worship has also sent us.

Imagine if Sunday wasn’t simply the culmination of our Christian week, but the equipping ground for the mission that would continue Monday morning.

The gospel could be advancing all around our communities.

Across our nation.

And ultimately, around the world.

Instead, sometimes it seems easier to start a fifth or sixth Bible study than it is to share the gospel with one person.

That sentence may sound harsh.

But think about it.

There is always another study we could do.

Another book we could read.

Another sermon series we could watch.

Another conference we could attend.

Another gathering we could organize.

And again, those things can be incredibly valuable.

But there comes a point when we have to ask:

How much more do we need to learn before we obey what we already know?

James writes:

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
James 1:22

That is a frightening possibility.

Not that we would reject the Word.

That we would hear it.

Study it.

Discuss it.

Even teach it.

And somehow convince ourselves that knowing what Jesus said is the same thing as doing what Jesus said.

Biblical knowledge is meant to produce biblical obedience.

James will not let us separate the two.

Jesus said:

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
Matthew 9:37

Notice what He didn’t say.

The harvest is plentiful, but we need more meetings about the harvest.

He said the laborers are few.

People willing to go.

People willing to speak.

People willing to step into uncomfortable conversations.

People willing to pray for someone in public.

People willing to sit across from someone who is far from God and tell them what Jesus has done.

People willing to invest their lives in helping someone follow Him.

This isn’t a call to abandon the gathering of believers.

It’s a call to remember why we gather.

We gather to worship Jesus.

We gather to encourage one another.

We gather to be equipped.

We gather to grow.

And then we scatter.

Into our workplaces.

Into our schools.

Into restaurants.

Into neighborhoods.

Into parks.

Into coffee shops.

Into grocery stores.

Into the ordinary places where people are already living their lives.

The gathering should prepare us for the going.

The Bible study should lead toward obedience.

The equipping should lead toward action.

The disciple should eventually become a disciplemaker.

Otherwise, we risk becoming incredibly busy around the things of Jesus while neglecting something Jesus plainly told us to do.

So maybe the question isn’t:

How many Christian activities am I involved in?

Maybe the better question is:

Am I obeying Jesus?

When was the last time I intentionally shared the gospel with someone who doesn’t know Him?

When was the last time I asked someone where they were spiritually?

When was the last time I told someone what Jesus has done in my life?

When was the last time I invested in someone with the intention of helping them become a disciple of Jesus who could eventually disciple someone else?

Not to earn God’s love.

Not to prove our faithfulness.

Not so we can count conversations and brag about numbers.

But because we love the King.

And the King has sent us.

There are people all around us who desperately need the good news.

The harvest is still plentiful.

The commission hasn’t changed.

Go and make disciples.

Maybe it’s time to clear some space on the calendar.

And go.